Coastline Community College is a public institution offering associate degrees based in Fountain Valley, California. It enrolls 7,393 students (a large student body), according to IPEDS 2023-24 data. Every figure on this page is reported by the federal government, not supplied by the college, so it can be compared like for like against anywhere else you are looking.
AccreditorWestern Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges
Academic CalendarSemester
How It Measures Up
These four scores answer one question: compared with similar colleges, is this one worth the money? Each runs 0 to 100 and is judged only against its peer group (2-Year), so a community college is never marked down for not being Harvard. Everything is computed from federal data. Nobody can pay to move a score, and a pillar with missing data is left unscored rather than guessed.
Fair
46/100
UCD Score · 2-Year
Outcomes15
Value37
Affordability17
Selectivity—
Admissions & Acceptance Rate
As a two-year college, Coastline Community College admits essentially everyone who qualifies, so plan around cost and completion instead of your odds of getting in.
Acceptance Rate
Open
SAT Range (25th–75th)
—
Not reported
ACT Range (25th–75th)
—
Not reported
Cost & Financial Aid
Ignore the sticker price. What matters is the net price, which is what a typical family pays here after grants and scholarships come off. At $16,341 a year on average, it sits below what public colleges charge nationally. That still leaves most families a gap to cover, but a manageable one. Figures are College Scorecard 2023-24.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Tuition & Fees (in-state)
$1,364
Tuition & Fees (out-of-state)
$11,612
Room & Board (off-campus)
$23,659
Books & Supplies
$1,465
Other Expenses (off-campus)
$6,192
Total Cost of Attendance
$24,290
Net Price by Family Income
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Under $30,000
$16,454
$30,001 – $48,000
$19,464
$48,001 – $75,000
$15,207
$75,001 – $110,000
$21,617
Debt at Graduation
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
$1,92110%percentile
$3,50025%percentile
$8,250Medianpercentile
$10,50075%percentile
$18,32590%percentile
Median Debt by Student Type
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
GroupDebtvs Median
Pell recipients $8,000
↓ $250
No Pell $4,750
↓ $3,500
Dependent students $4,500
↓ $3,750
Independent students $8,316
—
Female students $7,666
↓ $584
Male students $7,750
↓ $500
Worth knowing:
Students who don't finish leave with a median debt of $7,648, close to what completers borrow ($8,250) but without the degree to show for it.
Graduation Rate & Retention
15% of students who start here finish within six years, and 43% come back after first year. Most students who start here do not finish. That is the single most important number on this page. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Completion and earnings carry the most weight in this college's score, and how the UCD Score weighs each measure sets out exactly how they are combined.
6-Year Graduation Rate
15%
Of students who graduate within six years
First-Year Retention
43%
Returning for their second year
What this means:
Lower than typical completion. Worth asking the school how they support students who fall behind.
After Graduation: Earnings & Outcomes
Ten years after starting here, the median student earns $44,483 a year, close to the national median. Typical for most colleges, so what you study will matter more than where. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Median Earnings (10 yrs)
$44,483
Earning > $25K
64%
10 yrs after entry
Earnings Growth After Graduation
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Earnings by Demographic
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
By Gender
Female graduates
$41,100
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Male graduates
$46,100
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Loan Repayment Progression
Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.
Declining: debt management worsening over time ↓
8.0 pts
across 6 years
What this signals:
Moderate. Only 52% of graduates are paying down principal seven years out.
Who Studies Here
Who you would actually be sitting next to: 7,393 students, a large student community. Worth knowing: 55% are the first in their family to go to college, and 90% study part-time, so many are working alongside classes.
Total Enrolled
7,393
Part-Time
90%
First-Generation
55%
Race & Ethnicity Breakdown
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
GroupShareStudents
Hispanic 33.2%2,455
White 26.9%1,987
Asian 18.6%1,373
Black 9.9%729
Other 5.1%378
International 2.2%159
Student Life & Campus Culture
Where students live, learn, and connect at Coastline Community College. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
Coastline Community College offers
a varied set of programs:
33 distinct programs across
25 majors.
Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings.
Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
There are 32 students for every instructor here: high, so expect big lectures and to work harder for one-to-one time.
Student : Faculty
32:1
Students per instructional faculty member
Instruction / Student
$1,864
Annual instructional spending per enrolled student
Endowment
$3.3M
Modest endowment
Avg Faculty Salary
$122,673
9-month equivalent across all ranks
Faculty by Rank
55 instructional faculty across 1 ranks.
The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
Rank
Faculty Count
Share
Avg Salary
Instructors
55
100%
$122,673
Pros & Cons of Coastline Community College
No college is right for everyone. Here is where Coastline Community College is likely to suit you and where it may not, based on the same figures shown above.
Low completion rate, many students don't graduate within six years
First-year retention is below typical
Most students don't qualify for need-based federal aid
Mostly part-time student body, less full-time campus feel
Best for:
Based on the data, Coastline Community College is a fit for
students who want a clear path to start college without a competitive admissions barrier; working adults or students needing part-time study options.
Frequently Asked Questions about Coastline Community College
The questions families ask most about Coastline Community College, answered straight from the federal data rather than from the college's own marketing.
Is Coastline Community College hard to get into?
Not especially. Coastline Community College admits most qualified applicants, and reports no competitive acceptance rate. Plan around cost and whether students finish, not your odds of getting in.
What is the acceptance rate at Coastline Community College?
No acceptance rate is reported, which for a college like this normally means admission is open to anyone meeting the basic requirements. Confirm with the admissions office rather than assuming it.
How much does Coastline Community College cost?
Budget around $16,341 a year. That is the net price, what families typically pay once grants and scholarships come off, not the sticker price. Your own figure depends on household income, so treat this as a midpoint rather than a quote. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Is Coastline Community College worth it?
On the numbers, yes: moderate return on investment. Ten years in, the median graduate earns $44,483 a year against a net price of $16,341, about 2.7 dollars of earnings for every dollar of annual cost. That ratio ignores whether you finish and what you study, which matter just as much. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
What is Coastline Community College known for?
Mostly Liberal Arts, Business Administration, Biological and Physical Sciences. Those are the fields where it awards the most degrees, which is a better guide to where the teaching strength sits than any reputation ranking. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
What do Coastline Community College graduates earn?
About $44,483 a year, measured ten years after students first enrolled. Half earn more and half earn less, and what you study moves that figure far more than where you study. Source: College Scorecard 2023-24.
Is Coastline Community College accredited?
Yes. Coastline Community College is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges.
How many students attend Coastline Community College?
7,393 students. Big enough for a wide course catalogue without feeling anonymous. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
What is the graduation rate at Coastline Community College?
15% finish within six years. That means most students do not finish in six years. Ask the school directly what support exists for students who fall behind. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Is Coastline Community College a public or private college?
It is Public. Public, so in-state students usually pay materially less than everyone else.
Where is Coastline Community College located?
Coastline Community College is located in Fountain Valley, California.
What programs does Coastline Community College offer?
33 different programs, most commonly Liberal Arts, Business Administration, Biological and Physical Sciences. If the subject you want is not among them, check the full list before applying rather than assuming it is offered.
What is the student-to-faculty ratio at Coastline Community College?
32 students per instructor. On the high side, so expect big classes and to seek out contact time yourself. Source: IPEDS 2023-24.
Related Colleges in California
Other colleges in California share the same applicant pool, regional economy, and academic landscape. Comparing nearby options puts admissions, costs, and outcomes in context, useful when weighing your fit against local alternatives.
Liberal Arts
Allied Health Diagnostic
Social Sciences
Related Guides
Free, data-backed guides to help you decide, built on the same federal data as this profile.
H
How to Build Your College List Pillar
The full process of narrowing from 3,811 US colleges to a shortlist of ~10. Cost, location, size, selectivity, and fit factors that actually predict whether you'll thrive.
What actually makes a college work for first-generation students, the support and aid signals that predict success, and how to find the schools that deliver them using federal data.
How to find the colleges that deliver the strongest return on a STEM degree by weighing earnings outcomes against net cost, rather than chasing the most selective name.
Original data analyses built on the same federal data as this profile. Rankings, outliers, and patterns, no opinions.
American Colleges by the Numbers
One federal dataset, 3,811 colleges. The median school costs $16,296 a year, admits 78% of applicants, and enrolls 1,280 students. The shape of US higher ed.
Higher education data
Net price
College enrollment
Acceptance rate
College ownership
Do Selective Schools Actually Graduate More Students?
Across 1,645 four-year colleges, graduation rates climb steadily with selectivity, from 54% at open-admission schools to 93% at the most exclusive. The gap is real.
Graduation rate
Acceptance rate
Selectivity
Completion
College outcomes
For-Profit Colleges Charge the Most and Pay the Least
For-profit colleges post the highest median net price of any sector and the lowest graduate earnings. They cost more than private nonprofits and pay less than publics.
For-profit colleges
Net price
Earnings
College ROI
College ownership
Continue Exploring
Browse our full directory: every college, major, program, and career we track, all built from verified government data.
