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After San Diego Mesa College: graduation, pay and debt

San Diego, California · Public · 16,098 undergrads

34% of San Diego Mesa College students finish within six years, the typical student earns $50,947 ten years after starting and graduates leave with $5,225 in federal loans at the median.

The short answers

$50.9k
median pay 10 years after starting college.
34%
finish within six years.
$5,225
median federal debt at graduation.
44%
of borrowers were paying down their loans three years after leaving.
All the federal numbers

Finishing

Finished within six yearsIPEDS, fall 2023
34%
Men who finished within six yearsIPEDS, students who started in 2017
29%
Women who finished within six yearsIPEDS, students who started in 2017
38%
Students in that six-year groupIPEDS, students who started in 2017
1,268
Earned a degree or certificate here within eight yearsIPEDS, full-time students who started in 2015
45%
Still enrolled here after eight yearsIPEDS, full-time students who started in 2015
20%
Students in that eight-year groupIPEDS, full-time students who started in 2015
1,816
Transferred to another collegeCollege Scorecard, earlier release
13%

Pay after college

Median pay 6 years after starting collegeCollege Scorecard
$42,791
Median pay 10 years after starting collegeCollege Scorecard, 2022-23
$50,947
Earning more than $25,000 six years after startingCollege Scorecard, earlier release
53%

Pay is for students who got federal aid and are working, counted from the year they started college, whether or not they finished.

Debt and paying it back

Median federal debt, students who graduatedCollege Scorecard, 2024-25
$5,225
Median federal debt, everyone who borrowed (finished or not)College Scorecard, earlier release
$4,500
Median federal debt, students with a Pell GrantCollege Scorecard, earlier release
$4,500
Median federal debt, students without a Pell GrantCollege Scorecard, earlier release
$3,500
Paying down their loans 3 years after leavingCollege Scorecard, 2024-25
44%
Paying down their loans 5 years after leavingCollege Scorecard, earlier release
45%
Paying down their loans 7 years after leavingCollege Scorecard, earlier release
55%

Federal student loans only. Private loans and Parent PLUS loans aren't counted.

Where these numbers come from

Updated Oct 31, 2026Spot a mistake?How we get our numbers