Cuesta College vs. College of the Desert

Cuesta College vs. College of the Desert comparison

	Cuesta College	College of the Desert	College 3	College 4
	Remove	Remove	+Add	+Add
Overview	Cuesta College	College of the Desert
Location	San Luis Obispo, CA	Palm Desert, CA
Setting	Rural Fringe	Small City
Enrollment	9,908	10,382
Type	Public 2 Year	Public 2 Year
National Ranking
Religious Affiliation	-	-	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	cuesta.edu	collegeofthedesert.edu
Team Colors

Costs	Cuesta College	College of the Desert
Tuition (In State)	$1,288	$1,288
Tuition (Out of State)	$9,296	$9,100
Room & Board	$17,784	$17,784
Avg Net Price	$14,507	$13,704
Avg Grant Aid	$4,559	$6,758
% Receiving Grant Aid	86%	85%

Admission	Cuesta College	College of the Desert
Admission Chances	Calculate	Calculate
Applied	-	-
Admitted	-	-
Acceptance Rate	Open	Open
Enrolled %	Open	Open
Avg High School GPA	-	-
Typical High School Grades	-	-
Admissions Standards	Unavailable	Unavailable
Applicant Competition
ACT Range
SAT Range
Submit Test Scores
Application Deadline	Aug 13, 2025

Academics	Cuesta College	College of the Desert
Student to Faculty Ratio	27:1	26:1
Popular Majors	Liberal Arts and Humanities (56%) Health Professions (12%) General Studies (8%) Business (6%) Mechanic and Repair Technologies (2%)	Liberal Arts and Humanities (26%) Health Professions (18%) Business (10%) General Studies (5%) Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting (5%)
Outcomes	Cuesta College	College of the Desert
Graduation Rate	-	-
Median Earnings (After 10 years)	$40,800	$35,100
Making Student Loan Payments	51%	35%
Median Student Loan Debt	$11,250	$5,338
Median Loan Payment	$116	$55

Diversity	Cuesta College	College of the Desert
% Men	49%	42%
% Women	51%	58%
Racial Diversity	Medium	Medium
HBCU	No	No
% White	62%	20%
% Black	2%	3%
% Hispanic	27%	68%
% Native American	1%	0%
% Pacific Islander	0%	0%
% Two or More Races	5%	3%
% International	0%	2%
% Unknown Race	1%	1%

Students	Cuesta College	College of the Desert
% In-State	95%	95%
% Out-of-State	0%	2%
Campus	Cuesta College	College of the Desert
Campus Housing	No	No
Freshman Dorm Required	No	No
Meal Plan	No	No
Weekend/Evening Classes	Yes	Yes
Daycare Facility	Yes	Yes
Learn More	Details	Details

Comparable Facts

• College of the Desert is larger than than Cuesta College based on total student enrollment (10,382 students vs. 9,908 students)

Cuesta College vs. College of the Desert Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, Cuesta College or College of the Desert?

• Cuesta College and College of the Desert cost the same to attend based on in-state tuition ($1,288.00 vs. $1,288.00)
• Out of state tuition is 2.2% higher at Cuesta College than College of the Desert ($9,296.00 vs. $9,100.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at College of the Desert than Cuesta College ($13,704 vs. $14,507)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at College of the Desert are 0% lower than costs at Cuesta College ($17,784 vs. $17,784)
• More students receive financial grant aid at Cuesta College than College of the Desert (86% vs. 85%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by College of the Desert students is 48.2% larger than aid received Cuesta College ($6,758 vs. $4,559)

Which college is harder to get into, Cuesta College or College of the Desert? Average SAT and ACT scores plus acceptance rates offer good insight into the difficulty of admission between College of the Desert or Cuesta College .

Cuesta College vs. College of the Desert Graduation Outcomes Comparison

Which is better, Cuesta College or College of the Desert? Graduation rate, salary and amount of student loan debt are indicators of a college which offers better outcomes for its graduates. Compare the following outcomes facts between College of the Desert and Cuesta College.

• Graduates from Cuesta College earn on average $5,700 more per year than College of the Desert graduates after ten years. ($40,800 vs. $35,100)
• College of the Desert students graduate with a $5,912 lower median federal student loan debt than Cuesta College graduates. ($5,338 vs. $11,250)
• College of the Desert graduates are paying $61 less per month on federal student loans than Cuesta College graduates. ($55 vs. $116)
• More Cuesta College graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former College of the Desert students, three years after graduation. (51% vs. 35%)

Sources: U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov IPEDS and College Scorecard https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/