Cuesta College vs. San Diego Mesa College

Cuesta College vs. San Diego Mesa College comparison

	Cuesta College	San Diego Mesa College	College 3	College 4
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Overview	Cuesta College	San Diego Mesa College
Location	San Luis Obispo, CA	San Diego, CA
Setting	Rural Fringe	Large City
Enrollment	9,908	18,076
Type	Public 2 Year	Public 2 Year
National Ranking
Religious Affiliation	-	-	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	cuesta.edu	sdmesa.edu
Team Colors

Costs	Cuesta College	San Diego Mesa College
Tuition (In State)	$1,288	$1,104
Tuition (Out of State)	$9,296	$7,400
Room & Board	$17,784	$17,786
Avg Net Price	$14,507	$8,506
Avg Grant Aid	$4,559	$6,656
% Receiving Grant Aid	86%	57%

Admission	Cuesta College	San Diego Mesa College
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	San Diego Mesa College
Student to Faculty Ratio	27:1	24:1
Popular Majors	Liberal Arts and Humanities (56%) Health Professions (12%) General Studies (8%) Business (6%) Mechanic and Repair Technologies (2%)	Business (27%) Liberal Arts and Humanities (16%) Health Professions (14%) General Studies (10%) Visual and Performing Arts (5%)
Outcomes	Cuesta College	San Diego Mesa College
Graduation Rate	-	-
Median Earnings (After 10 years)	$40,800	$41,600
Making Student Loan Payments	51%	41%
Median Student Loan Debt	$11,250	$4,500
Median Loan Payment	$116	$46

Diversity	Cuesta College	San Diego Mesa College
% Men	49%	44%
% Women	51%	56%
Racial Diversity	Medium	Very High
HBCU	No	No
% White	62%	33%
% Black	2%	6%
% Hispanic	27%	35%
% Native American	1%	0%
% Pacific Islander	0%	1%
% Two or More Races	5%	6%
% International	0%	2%
% Unknown Race	1%	2%

Students	Cuesta College	San Diego Mesa College
% In-State	95%	98%
% Out-of-State	0%	1%
Campus	Cuesta College	San Diego Mesa College
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

• San Diego Mesa College is larger than than Cuesta College based on total student enrollment (18,076 students vs. 9,908 students)

Cuesta College vs. San Diego Mesa College Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, Cuesta College or San Diego Mesa College?

• Cuesta College is 16.7% more expensive to attend than San Diego Mesa College for in-state tuition ($1,288.00 vs. $1,104.00)
• Out of state tuition is 25.6% higher at Cuesta College than San Diego Mesa College ($9,296.00 vs. $7,400.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at San Diego Mesa College than Cuesta College ($8,506 vs. $14,507)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at Cuesta College are 0% lower than costs at San Diego Mesa College ($17,784 vs. $17,786)
• More students receive financial grant aid at Cuesta College than San Diego Mesa College (86% vs. 57%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by San Diego Mesa College students is 46% larger than aid received Cuesta College ($6,656 vs. $4,559)

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

Cuesta College vs. San Diego Mesa College Graduation Outcomes Comparison

Which is better, Cuesta College or San Diego Mesa College? 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 San Diego Mesa College and Cuesta College.

• Graduates from San Diego Mesa College earn on average $800 more per year than Cuesta College graduates after ten years. ($41,600 vs. $40,800)
• San Diego Mesa College students graduate with a $6,750 lower median federal student loan debt than Cuesta College graduates. ($4,500 vs. $11,250)
• San Diego Mesa College graduates are paying $70 less per month on federal student loans than Cuesta College graduates. ($46 vs. $116)
• More Cuesta College graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former San Diego Mesa College students, three years after graduation. (51% vs. 41%)

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