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San Diego Mesa College: Rankings, Admissions, Cost & Majors

367 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
12% Student Loan Default Rate

San Diego Mesa College is a public institution in San Diego, California enrolling 16,098 undergraduates. It has an on-time graduation rate of 35%, near the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #1,258 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 24%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.

Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.

How Is San Diego Mesa College Ranked?

San Diego Mesa College ranks #1,258 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 24%.

#1,258 Best Colleges in Nation
#142 Best Colleges in CA
San Diego Mesa College ranking badge

2027 Rankings

In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.

San Diego Mesa College was awarded 367 badges in the 2027 rankings.

Overall Quality

According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, San Diego Mesa College is ranked #1,258 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality.

San Diego Mesa College also holds the #142 spot on the Best Colleges in California ranking.

See all of the rankings for San Diego Mesa College.

Is It Hard to Get Into San Diego Mesa College?

Acceptance Rate

Learn more about San Diego Mesa College admissions.

What Is the Student-to-Faculty Ratio at San Diego Mesa College?

23 to 1 Student to Faculty
38% Full Time Teachers

Student to Faculty Ratio

The student to faculty ratio at San Diego Mesa College is 23 to 1, which is high when compared to the national average of 15 to 1. This may indicate that some of your classes will be larger in size than they would be at other schools. However, upper level classes will probably be smaller.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.

The full-time faculty percentage at San Diego Mesa College is 38%. This is lower than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  38 out of 100
0
100

What Are the Graduation and Retention Rates at San Diego Mesa College?

35% On-Time Graduation Rate

Graduation Rate

The on-time graduation rate is the percent of first-time, full-time students who get their bachelor’s degree within four years. At San Diego Mesa College this rate is 35%, which is about average when compared to the national rate of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  35 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at San Diego Mesa College.

How Diverse Is San Diego Mesa College?

16,098 Undergraduate Students
70.6% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
54.4% Percent Women

During the most recent academic year, there were 16,098 undergraduates at San Diego Mesa College.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at San Diego Mesa College.

How Much Does San Diego Mesa College Cost?

$17,140 Net Price
2% Take Out Loans
$16,464 Total Student Loans

The typical net cost at San Diego Mesa College is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.

Net Price by Income Group for San Diego Mesa College

$0-30 K $30K-48K $48-75 $75-110K $110K +
$3,842 $5,316 $8,883 $13,576 $13,977

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of San Diego Mesa College, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Loan Debt

While almost two-thirds of students nationwide take out loans to pay for college, the percentage may be quite different for the school you plan on attending. At San Diego Mesa College, approximately 2% of students took out student loans averaging $4,116 a year. That adds up to $16,464 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 12.1%. This is higher than the national default rate of 10.1% so you should proceed with caution when taking out student loans. Get more details about paying for San Diego Mesa College.

How Much Do San Diego Mesa College Graduates Earn?

$45,120 Avg Salary of Grads
Low Earnings Boost

Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from San Diego Mesa College make around $45,120 per year during the early years of their employment. This is right on par with the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Also, graduates in your major field may make more. Average Salary for San Diego Mesa College Graduates

See which majors at San Diego Mesa College make the most money.

Where Is San Diego Mesa College Located?

California State
16,098 Undergraduate Students
Large City Campus Setting

San Diego Mesa College is an public institution found in San Diego, California. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life. Get more details about the location of San Diego Mesa College.

Location of San Diego Mesa College

Get in touch with San Diego Mesa College are given below.

Contact Details
Address: 7250 Mesa College Dr, San Diego, CA 92111-4998
Phone: 6193882600
Website: www.sdmesa.edu/

What Majors Does San Diego Mesa College Offer?

27 Majors With Completions
3,852 Undergraduate Degrees

In the most recent reporting year, students from 27 majors graduated from San Diego Mesa College. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.

Most Popular Majors Completions Average Salary of Graduates
Multi-Disciplinary Studies 1,926 NA
Liberal Arts General Studies 284 $26,620
Business Administration & Management 266 $17,518
Biological & Physical Science 165 NA
General Psychology 147 $17,293
General Biology 119 $28,413
Health/Medical Admin Services 68 NA
Business & Commerce 52 NA
Allied Health Services 45 $34,796
Computer Science 41 NA

Learn more about the majors offered at San Diego Mesa College along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Does San Diego Mesa College Offer Online Classes?

76% Take At Least One Class Online
46% Take All Classes Online

12,295 students took at least one online class at San Diego Mesa College.

Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.

Learn more about online learning at San Diego Mesa College.

Interested in comparing San Diego Mesa College? Compare them side by side using College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.

Notes and References

Footnotes

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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