College · Private for-profit · Bakersfield, CA · Suburb
California Aeronautical University
Bakersfield, CA
Admit rate—
6-yr median pay$37k
Net price / yr$36k
Undergrad size347
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $36k/yr for a shot at a $37k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of unspecified means this is admit rate not reported for this school.
If you get in
347 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
Suburban — a short drive to the nearest city, greener but still connected.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $46k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $36k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$185k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$145k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$40k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback3.9x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $37.7k
- Room & board
- $8.8k
How students pay for it.
Pell grants46%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans61%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$31k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $9k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention66%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr30%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$37k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$38k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out28%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- Suburb
- Control
- Private for-profit
- Undergrad size
- 347
- Location
- Bakersfield, CA
- Region
- Far West (AK, CA, HI, NV, OR, WA)
- Carnegie class
- Associate's Colleges: Mixed Transfer/Career · High Traditional
- Size & setting
- Four-year · very small · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges
- Also known as
- California Aeronautical University
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- Hispanic39%
- White37%
- Asian10%
- Black6%
- Two or more races6%
- Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander1%
- Unknown1%
First-gen students50%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time0%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$23k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 4
What you can study.