+36%
Median federal debt at exit
Median federal debt at exit at Cuesta College rose 36% between 2007 and 2010 ($3.5k → $4.8k).
California · Public · Predominantly certificates
Cuesta College
San Luis Obispo, California. 6,879 undergraduate students. 112 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Cuesta College
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
-100%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Cuesta College fell 100% between 2021 and 2024 (2.1% → 0.0%).
+27%
Out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state tuition at Cuesta College rose 27% between 2021 and 2024 ($8.7k → $11.0k).
+38%
Undergraduate enrollment
Undergraduate enrollment at Cuesta College rose 38% between 2007 and 2010 (7.1k → 9.8k).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. California
Each tile compares this institution to the California median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$46,047+19% · 6→10y
California median $42,588$38,541
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry44.2%-27% · '97→'10
California median 61.3%$9,500+81% · '97→'10
At program completion6,879+43% · '96→'10
latest IPEDS69.2%+9% · '04→'24
first-time, full-time—
latest cohort$1,340+257% · '00→'24
out-of-state $11,000SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
2.7%Median federal debt $9,500 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $46,047 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Ten-plus year arc
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
Undergraduate enrollment.
150%-time completion rate.
Median federal student debt at exit.
-27%
Cuesta College · completion · 150% fell
43.2% → 31.6%
+43%
Cuesta College · undergrad enrollment rose
6,865 → 9,810
+97%
Cuesta College · in-state tuition rose
$378 → $1,350
+164%
Cuesta College · out-of-state tuition rose
$4,174 → $11,010
+81%
Cuesta College · median debt rose
$2,625 → $4,750
-100%
Cuesta College · cohort default rate fell
11.6% → 0.0%
+69%
Cuesta College · pell share rose
10.4% → 17.6%
+27%
Cuesta College · earnings_median_8yr rose
$33,600 → $42,739
+39%
Cuesta College · earnings_median_6yr rose
$27,800 → $38,541
SECTION 05 · PROGRAMS
Ranked by 5-year earnings
Each row is one (CIP × credential) program reported by the institution in College Scorecard's Field-of-Study data. Cohort floor is 30 students; below this, federal data is suppressed.
Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing.$97,289Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions.$65,866Business Administration, Management and Operations.$56,729Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities.$43,886Psychology, General.$41,854Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities.$35,374
SECTION 06 · BY CIP FAMILY
6 programs with earnings, grouped
Programs are grouped by 2-digit CIP family. Programs without reported earnings are hidden to keep the list focused.
LIBERAL ARTS & GENERAL STUDIES · CIP 24
PSYCHOLOGY · CIP 42
HEALTH PROFESSIONS · CIP 51
BUSINESS, MANAGEMENT & MARKETING · CIP 52
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Same sector and degree mix in California
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Cuesta College graduates earn $X” — not “Cuesta College makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Cuesta College caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.