Private nonprofit · COLLEGE PAYOFF

Laguna College of Art and Design

Laguna Beach, CA · 3 reportable field-and-credential outcomes

10-year estimate · Negative payoff

−$334,150 over 10 years

Modeled from observed year-5 institution earnings and the institution-wide average net price over four years.

With these assumptions, the added earnings do not recover the cost within ten years.

220.6 yrsModeled economic break-even
−95%Modeled 10-year ROI
$46,587Observed earnings · year 5
Not reachedMaximum annual price for positive 10-year payoff
Includes direct price and earnings forgone while studying. Assumes $45,000 in alternative annual earnings and no wage growth. How we calculate it
ECONOMIC INVESTMENT → PAYBACK

Estimated payoff over ten years.

The scenario counts direct price and earnings forgone upfront, then applies the reported annual earnings premium.

10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
−$334,150at year 10
Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
−$350,0200
2
4
6
8
−$334,15010
Years after graduationBreak-even: 220.6 years
FEDERAL COST DATA

Four ways to read college price.

Annual college-wide figures from the current College Scorecard release. Average net price covers full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving federal aid; public-college figures use in-state students. Program tuition and individual aid offers may differ.

Published in-state tuition$37,500
Sticker price
Published out-of-state tuition$37,500
Sticker price
Average net price$42,505
Title IV student average
Cost of attendance$57,989
Tuition + living budget
PRICE SOURCECollege reported · annual amount · federal dataset
COLLEGE AT A GLANCE

Institution details

Current federal characteristics describing the college—not the outcomes of a specific program.

Accreditor
Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission
Main award level
Bachelor’s degrees
Campus setting
Rural
Admissions
Selective admission
Delivery
Campus or mixed delivery
Federal designation
No special designation reported
Sources: College Scorecard June 2026 release and IPEDS 2024 institutional characteristics.
OBSERVED FEDERAL MEASURES

Cost, debt, completion and earnings context

$42,505Average net price / year
$57,989Cost of attendance
$27,000Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$286/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$46,587Median earnings · year 5 after completion
51.7%Completion rate
94.3%Admission rate
746Student size

Institution debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded; missing and privacy-suppressed values remain unavailable.

PRICE BY FAMILY INCOME

Average net price is not one price

Federal averages for aided students in each family-income band. Your aid offer can differ.

$0–30k$37,203
$30–48k$38,156
$48–75k$40,258
$75–110k$44,233
$110k+$46,889
LONGER-TERM CONTEXT

What happens beyond the first earnings measure

Year 5$46,587
Year 6$31,987
Year 10$47,867
Full-time retention
84.2%
Part-time retention
Not available
Completion within 200% of normal time
64.3%

Earnings timepoints may use different historical cohorts and should not be read as one group’s guaranteed salary growth.

NATIONAL CONTEXT

How this college compares

Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.

53thEarnings percentile
40thCompletion percentile
WHAT STANDS OUT

A faster read on this college

These summaries use only reportable field-and-credential records at this institution. They do not fill privacy-suppressed outcomes.

$38,850Median year-4 earnings across reportable program categories
$27,000Median federal debt across categories that report debt
33%Of earnings-reporting categories above their same-field national benchmark
EARNINGS PATH

Reported earnings over time

$19,729Year 1
$48,922Year 4
$46,587Year 5

Separate federal cohorts may underlie different measurement years.

PROGRAM PAYOFF SPREAD

The college average is not the whole story.

Observed earnings vary substantially by field and credential at the same institution.

1Design and Applied Arts · Bachelor's Degree$68,9342Graphic Communications · Bachelor's Degree$38,8503Fine and Studio Arts · Bachelor's Degree$27,815

Observed year-4 earnings · compare like fields and credentials before deciding

Strongest relative outcomes

Programs that stand out against the same-degree benchmark

This view rewards performance relative to the same field and credential—not simply majors that pay more everywhere.

1Design and Applied ArtsBachelor's Degree · $68,934 reported+34%vs same-degree national median$27,000federal debt2Graphic CommunicationsBachelor's Degree · $38,850 reported-10%vs same-degree national median$27,000federal debt3Fine and Studio ArtsBachelor's Degree · $27,815 reported-33%vs same-degree national median$27,625federal debt
BUILD A REAL SHORTLIST

Comparable colleges in CA

Currently operating private nonprofit institutions with the closest combination of annual net price and observed year-5 earnings. Similarity is descriptive—not a quality ranking.

Riverside, CA

La Sierra University

Annual net price
$45,566
Observed earnings · year 5
$56,301
Modeled 10-year ROI
-69%
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Claremont, CA

Pitzer College

Annual net price
$34,191
Observed earnings · year 5
$51,190
Modeled 10-year ROI
-80%
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Valencia, CA

California Institute of the Arts

Annual net price
$46,080
Observed earnings · year 5
$37,136
Modeled 10-year ROI
-122%
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Carlsbad, CA

Gemological Institute of America-Carlsbad

Annual net price
$30,055
Observed earnings · year 5
$44,504
Modeled 10-year ROI
-102%
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ALL REPORTABLE PROGRAM CATEGORIES

Explore exact field-and-credential outcomes

Federal fieldCredentialEarnings, year 4Federal debt2023–24 awards
Design and Applied ArtsBachelor's Degree$68,934$27,000Not reported
Graphic CommunicationsBachelor's Degree$38,850$27,000Not reported
Fine and Studio ArtsBachelor's Degree$27,815$27,625Not reported

Awards use first-major IPEDS completions aggregated to the same four-digit field and credential.

Earnings, price, completion and enrollment are observed federal measures. ROI, payoff and break-even are modeled scenarios built from those measures and fixed assumptions. College payoff is not the payoff of every degree at this school; use the program table for a more precise comparison.