Outcomes
What it pays
Former students earn a median $62,908 ten years after enrolling, more than at 73% of colleges; 68% graduate within six years. Four years of net price is about 1.2 years of that salary.
Earnings
Earnings climb with time
Staying and finishing
Retention
come back for year two
Graduation
graduate within six years
National median graduation rate: 59%
Everyone who starts here, 8 years later
Students who entered in fall 2016, including and part-time students. The graduation rate counts only first-time, full-time students and treats a transfer out as not finishing.
67 of 100 students who start here earn a degree or certificate here within 8 years; 20 more are enrolled at another college. (3,827 students)
All entering students, by whether they had a Pell Grant.
44 of 100 finish within 4 years, 65 within 6, and 67 within 8.
| Earned a credential within | 4 yrs | 6 yrs | 8 yrs |
|---|---|---|---|
| All students | 44% | 65% | 67% |
| Started in college here | 22% | 55% | 58% |
| Transferred in | 73% | 78% | 79% |
Transfer students' clock starts when they arrive here, not when they first started college.
National median: 60% of all entering students earn a credential at the college they started at within 8 years.
Do lower-income students finish?
Pell Grant recipients: 51%, 8 points below students with no need-based federal aid (59%). First-time, full-time students who finished within 6 years; entered fall 2018.
- Pell Grant recipients1,163 students
51% · 8 points below students with neither
- Subsidized loan, no Pell Grant245 students
53% · 6 points below students with neither
- Neither Pell nor subsidized loan940 students
59% · comparison group
By race and ethnicity
First-time, full-time students who finished within 6 years, from the College Scorecard's most recent release. Groups under 30 students aren't shown.
- White562 students
60% · 5 points above all students
- Asian211 students
68% · 13 points above all students
- Hispanic/Latino1,240 students
51% · 3 points below all students
- Black75 students
41% · 13 points below all students
- Two or more races121 students
50% · 4 points below all students
- International80 students
54% · 1 point below all students
- American Indian/Alaska Native5 students
Not shown: under 30 students
- Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander5 students
Not shown: under 30 students
Cost vs. earnings
The 300 most-applied-to colleges plus California State University-San Marcos. Top-left is lower cost and higher earnings.
↑ Median earnings 10 years after entry (higher = more)
Sources:College Scorecard, most recent release;California State University-San Marcos Common Data Set 2025–26, Entered fall 2024;IPEDS Outcome Measures survey, Students entering fall 2016;IPEDS Graduation Rates survey (Pell Grant and subsidized loan recipients), Entered fall 2018;IPEDS Institutional Characteristics survey, 2023–24;IPEDS Student Financial Aid survey, 2023–24;California State University-San Marcos Common Data Set 2025–26, Class of 2025About the data(retrieved 2026-10-12)