College · Private nonprofit · Riverside, CA · City
La Sierra University
Riverside, CA
Hispanic-servingReligious affiliation
Admit rate92%
6-yr median pay$43k
Net price / yr$46k
Undergrad size1,116
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $46k/yr for a shot at a $43k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 92% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid. Admitted students average ACT 23.
If you get in
1,116 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
City campus — public transit, off-campus food, weekends happen nearby.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $51k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $46k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$206k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$182k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$24k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback4.3x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $37.7k
- Room & board
- $13.4k
- Books & supplies
- $1,062
How students pay for it.
Pell grants47%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans59%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$27k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $10k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention80%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr60%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$43k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$62k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out16%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- City
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 1,116
- Location
- Riverside, CA
- Region
- Far West (AK, CA, HI, NV, OR, WA)
- Carnegie class
- Master's Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
- Size & setting
- Four-year · small · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission
Identity
Hispanic-servingReligious affiliation
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- Hispanic54%
- Asian15%
- White9%
- Black7%
- Two or more races7%
- International6%
- Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander2%
First-gen students40%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time5%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$40k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 50
What you can study.