San Diego Mesa College
Tuition, net price, admissions, graduation rate, and graduate salary · San Diego, California
Net price / year
$5,814
after grants & scholarships
lower than 90% of public 4-year colleges
Acceptance rate
Open admission
accepts most applicants
Graduation rate
34%
within 150% of normal time
lower than 76% of public 4-year colleges
Median earnings
$50,709
4 years after graduating
lower than 83% of public 4-year colleges
San Diego Mesa College at a glance
- What is the tuition at San Diego Mesa College?
- In-state undergraduate tuition and fees are $1,146 for the 2024-25 academic year, or $10,002 for out-of-state students.
- What is the cost of attendance at San Diego Mesa College?
- The average cost of attendance is $19,371 a year before financial aid (2023-24), counting tuition, books, housing and other living expenses.
- What is the net price at San Diego Mesa College?
- The average net price for in-state students is $5,814 a year after grants and scholarships (2023-24).
- What is the acceptance rate at San Diego Mesa College?
- This school has open admission: most applicants who meet basic requirements are accepted.
- What is the graduation rate at San Diego Mesa College?
- 34% of first-time, full-time students finish within 150% of normal time, or 6 years (entering classes through fall 2018).
- How much do graduates of San Diego Mesa College earn?
- The median graduate earns $50,709 four years after finishing, among graduates working and not enrolled (2024 dollars).
Key takeaways
- At $5,814 a year, the average net price is lower than 90% of public 4-year colleges.
- The earnings premium over a typical high-school graduate would cover the estimated net cost in about 1.7 years of work (not counting income forgone while studying).
- This school has open admission, so most applicants who meet basic requirements are accepted.
- Families earning under $30,000 pay about $3,842 a year on average, versus $13,977 for families earning over $110,000.
- Graduates earn a median $50,709 four years after finishing, less than 83% of public 4-year colleges.
Tuition and cost of attendance at San Diego Mesa College
Average net price (in-state)
$5,814 per year
Cost of attendance minus average grants and scholarships, for first-time full-time students receiving federal aid.
Estimate your own price with the San Diego Mesa College net price calculator ↗
Estimated total net cost
$23,256
Net price × 4 years, at today's prices and assuming on-time completion. Your actual cost depends on your aid.
Net price by family income
Average yearly net price for students receiving federal aid.
- $0–30k $3,842
- $30–48k $5,316
- $48–75k $8,883
- $75–110k $13,576
- $110k+ $13,977
Where the sticker price goes· Cost of attendance $19,371
- Tuition & fees$1,146
- Books & supplies$1,062
- Room & board$31,243
- Other expenses$4,968
- Tuition & fees (in-state)
- $1,146
- Tuition & fees (out-of-state)
- $10,002
San Diego Mesa College acceptance rate and admissions
Open admission
The school admits most applicants who meet basic requirements.
Graduation rate and salary after graduating from San Diego Mesa College
Graduation rate
34%
First-time, full-time students finishing within 150% of normal time.
Typical monthly payment
$50
On a standard 10-year federal plan.
Years of earnings premium to cover cost
1.7 years
Net cost ÷ (graduate earnings − high-school graduate earnings). Excludes income forgone while studying and assumes today's earnings. A rough guide, not a prediction.
Earnings vs debt
Of graduates working and not enrolled, in 2024 dollars.
- Debt-to-earnings
- 0.1×Median debt divided by median earnings 4 years after graduating.
- Share of pay going to loans
- 1.2%
- 3-year loan default rate
- 0%
Outcomes by student group
The Scorecard reports some outcomes separately for groups of students. A group is left out when it is too small to report. These are school-level figures and say nothing about any individual student.
Completion within 150% of normal time, by group
Share of students who entered in 2018 and completed within 150% of normal time (six years at a four-year college, three at a two-year college).
All students, same entering cohort: 35%
Group rates and the all-student rate come from the same 2018 entering cohort, so they can be compared directly. Groups at small colleges can rest on very few students. Data period: Entering cohort 2018 (IPEDS).
Earnings ten years after entry
All students who entered this college, whether or not they graduated, in 2022 dollars, ten years after entry.
Typical range: middle half of students
25th percentile $20,924 · median $45,120 · 75th percentile $71,725
Median by family income
Median by sex
This is not the same as the graduates' earnings shown above. It covers everyone who entered, including students who left without a degree, ten years after entry and in 2022 dollars. The graduates' figure covers only completers, four years after finishing, in 2024 dollars. Do not compare the two directly.
Data period: Students who entered in academic years 2009-10 and 2010-11 (pooled), earnings measured in 2020 and 2021, 2022 dollars (Treasury).
Median federal student debt, by group
Median federal loan debt of students who borrowed, when they left school, by group.
By Pell Grant status
By first-generation status
By family income
By gender
Data period: Loans in fiscal years 2020 and 2021 (pooled, NSLDS).
Programs and majors at San Diego Mesa College ranked by earnings
| Program | Earnings, 4 yrs after | Earnings over time | Compared with the U.S. median for this field | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics Associate · Graduates: 23 Small sample | $62,616 | 4 yrs$62,6165 yrs$59,965 | U.S. median $59,929 U.S. middle half $35.6K–$81.6K · Above the U.S. median | — |
| Business Administration, Management and Operations Associate · Graduates: 214 | $59,220 | 1 yr$40,6424 yrs$59,2205 yrs$55,898 | U.S. median $48,733 U.S. middle half $31.7K–$67.6K · Above the U.S. median | — |
| Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services Associate · Graduates: 24 Small sample | $57,592 | 4 yrs$57,5925 yrs$58,851 | U.S. median $42,269 U.S. middle half $28.6K–$56K · Above the U.S. median | — |
| Communication and Media Studies Associate · Graduates: 57 | $56,321 | 4 yrs$56,3215 yrs$41,041 | U.S. median $43,243 U.S. middle half $26.7K–$60.6K · Above the U.S. median | — |
| Veterinary/Animal Health Technologies/Technicians Associate · Graduates: 21 Small sample | $53,912 | — | U.S. median $41,460 U.S. middle half $31.8K–$51.8K · Above the U.S. median | — |
| Biological and Physical Sciences Associate · Graduates: 59 | $51,936 | 1 yr$19,5214 yrs$51,9365 yrs$61,434 | U.S. median $50,181 U.S. middle half $32.5K–$73.8K · Above the U.S. median | — |
| Health and Medical Administrative Services Associate · Graduates: 17 Small sample | $50,872 | — | U.S. median $37,073 U.S. middle half $23.3K–$49.3K · Above the U.S. median | — |
| Associate · Graduates: 86 | $49,919 | 4 yrs$49,9195 yrs$51,811 | U.S. median $44,758 U.S. middle half $27.5K–$65.1K · Above the U.S. median | — |
| Associate · Graduates: 77 | $48,650 | 1 yr$26,2294 yrs$48,6505 yrs$42,029 | U.S. median $39,288 U.S. middle half $24.8K–$53.2K · Above the U.S. median | — |
| Sociology Associate · Graduates: 44 | $46,618 | 4 yrs$46,6185 yrs$42,067 | U.S. median $44,144 U.S. middle half $28K–$58.7K · Above the U.S. median | — |
Show all 13 programs
| Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities Associate · Graduates: 54 | $44,652 | 4 yrs$44,6525 yrs$47,561 | U.S. median $44,125 U.S. middle half $28.9K–$61.6K · Above the U.S. median | — |
| English Language and Literature, General Associate · Graduates: 18 Small sample | $41,826 | 4 yrs$41,8265 yrs$39,391 | U.S. median $36,134 U.S. middle half $21.9K–$50.7K · Above the U.S. median | — |
| Romance Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics Associate · Graduates: 24 Small sample | $36,098 | — | U.S. median $40,755 U.S. middle half $24.9K–$58.4K · Below the U.S. median | — |
Earnings are for graduates working and not enrolled, 4 years after completing, in 2024 dollars.
The U.S. median and middle half (25th to 75th percentile) are for graduates of the same field and credential level at all colleges, 4 years after completing.
The 1-year, 4-year and 5-year figures come from different graduating cohorts and dollar years (1-year: AY2018-19 and AY2019-20 graduates, 2022 dollars; 4-year: AY2017-18 and AY2018-19 graduates, 2024 dollars; 5-year: AY2014-15 and AY2015-16 graduates, 2022 dollars), so read them as three separate measures, not a single career path.
Small samples are noisy: the Scorecard adds privacy noise to program figures and some rows are based on only a handful of graduates, so rows marked “small sample” can move a lot from year to year.
What students study
The largest fields among the degrees and certificates this college awarded, grouped by two-digit CIP code (the federal Classification of Instructional Programs). Fields under 1% are left out.
Share of degrees and certificates awarded, by field
A large share means many awards, not necessarily many students or higher earnings. Data period: Awards in academic year 2024-25 (IPEDS).
Who attends
A snapshot of the undergraduate student body as this college reported it to the federal government. Shares are shown as published; they can differ slightly from 100% because of rounding.
Race and ethnicity
- White 27.8%
- Black or African American 6.9%
- Hispanic or Latino 42.3%
- Asian 13.3%
- American Indian or Alaska Native 0.2%
- Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander 0.5%
- Two or more races 7.7%
- U.S. nonresident 0.4%
- Race and ethnicity unknown 1%
Federal reporting categories. Students who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents are counted as nonresident, and students who did not report are counted as unknown. Data period: Fall 2024 (IPEDS).
Gender
- Men 45%
- Women 55%
Federal reporting uses two categories. Data period: Fall 2024 (IPEDS).
Students aged 25 or older
32%
of undergraduates
Many adult students work or have families while enrolled. Data period: Fall 2023 (IPEDS).
Students and campus
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 16,098
- Part-time students
- 83%
- Receive Pell Grants
- 16%
- Receive federal loans
- 2%
- Students per faculty member
- 23 : 1
- Setting
- City
Similar colleges
Schools of a similar type, price, size and outcomes.
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California State University-San Bernardino
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Net price $4,564Earnings $55,441
-
Modesto Junior College
Modesto, CA
Net price $2,818Earnings $46,619
-
Antelope Valley Community College District
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Net price $3,860Earnings $46,723
-
San Diego Miramar College
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Net price $3,337Earnings $53,936
-
Tallahassee State College
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Net price $7,781Earnings $52,652
-
College of Southern Nevada
Las Vegas, NV
Net price $6,615Earnings $51,080
Where it ranks
This college appears in the top 50 of these TuitionScope rankings.
Guides worth reading
Plain-language explainers that help you read the numbers on this page.
More in California
In California
National rankings
Frequently asked questions
How much is tuition at San Diego Mesa College?
For the 2024-25 academic year, San Diego Mesa College reported undergraduate tuition and fees of $1,146 for in-state students and $10,002 for out-of-state students. These are published prices before grants and scholarships; what you pay depends on your aid.
What is the cost of attendance and net price at San Diego Mesa College?
The average cost of attendance at San Diego Mesa College is $19,371 a year (2023-24), counting tuition, books, housing and other living expenses. After grants and scholarships, the average net price is $5,814 a year. That is lower than 90% of public 4-year colleges.
How much financial aid do students at San Diego Mesa College get?
16% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. 2% receive federal loans. The average net price runs from $3,842 a year for families earning under $30,000 to $13,977 for families earning over $110,000 (2023-24).
What is the acceptance rate at San Diego Mesa College?
San Diego Mesa College has open admission: it accepts most applicants who meet basic requirements.
What is the graduation rate at San Diego Mesa College?
34% of first-time, full-time students at San Diego Mesa College finish within 150% of normal time.
How much do San Diego Mesa College graduates earn after graduation?
The median graduate earns $50,709 four years after finishing, among graduates working and not enrolled in further study (2024 dollars). One year after finishing, the median is $33,074.
Is San Diego Mesa College worth it?
There is no single answer: it depends on your major, your aid and whether you finish. For San Diego Mesa College, the data shows this. The earnings premium over a typical high-school graduate would cover the estimated net cost in about 1.7 years of work. Graduates who borrowed have a median debt of $4,725, about 0.1 times their median earnings four years after finishing. 34% of first-time, full-time students finish within 150% of normal time. These are averages, not predictions, and they do not count income forgone while studying.
How much debt do San Diego Mesa College graduates have?
Graduates who borrowed have a median federal-loan debt of $4,725, or about $50 a month on a 10-year plan.
Sources and data periods
All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard (June 2026 release). Periods differ by measure:
- Average net price: AcadYr 2023-24, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25
- Acceptance rate: Fall 2024, reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25
- Graduation rate: Fall 2018 or AcadYr 2018-19 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2024-25 pooled with previous years (# of total pooled years found in POOLYRS)
- Median earnings: Treasury AY2017-18, AY2018-19 pooled cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
- Median graduate debt: NSLDS FY2020, FY2021 pooled cohorts
Some figures are blank because the school did not report them or the group was too small to publish. How we calculate things