10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
−$237,340at year 10Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
Private for-profit · COLLEGE PAYOFF
Design Institute of San Diego
San Diego, CA · 1 field-and-degree records
Earnings reported for 0 · Federal debt reported for 1
Based onObserved earnings + college priceEstimate10-year payoff
Estimated 10-year payoff
Negative payoff
−$237,340 over 10 years
Modeled from observed year-5 institution earnings and the institution-wide average net price over four years.
30.0 yrsTime to earn back the modeled cost
−67%Estimated return after 10 years
$56,870Observed earnings · year 5
Not reachedHighest annual price before payoff reaches $0
Start with your question
What do you want to understand?
ECONOMIC INVESTMENT → PAYBACK
Estimated payoff over ten years.
The scenario counts direct price and earnings forgone upfront, then applies the reported annual earnings premium.
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 STUDENT BUDGET · 2024–25
What makes up the annual price?
Sticker-price components reported to IPEDS. Grants and scholarships are not subtracted here.
Living off campus: $22,086 housing and food allowance plus $6,930 in other expenses.
Do not confuse this with net price. Net price subtracts average grants and scholarships. DegreeVerdict continues to use the separately labeled average net price in its standard college ROI scenario.
PRICE SENSITIVITY
The price can change the verdict.
Hold observed earnings constant and see how the modeled ten-year payoff changes as annual price rises.
← Negative payoff$0Positive payoff →
$0Annual price−$61,300
$12,000Annual price−$109,300
$24,000Annual price−$157,300
$36,000Annual price−$205,300
$44,000Current college-wide context−$237,300
$48,000Annual price−$253,300
$60,000Annual price−$301,300
HOW STUDENTS ATTEND · 2023-24
Most students take at least some classes online.
IPEDS enrollment counts show course delivery across the whole institution. They do not indicate whether a specific degree can be completed online.
Institution-level attendance context from IPEDS. Program delivery is reported separately on degree pages and in the program directory. These figures do not enter ROI.
College identity and local contextAccreditation, institution type, dual enrollment and state prices
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
- City
- Admissions
- Selective admission
- Delivery
- Campus or mixed delivery
- Federal designation
- No special designation reported
STATE PRICE CONTEXT · 2024
Prices in California run 11% above the U.S. level.
BEA Regional Price Parities compare price levels across states. A value of 100 equals the national average.
What it costs and what graduates earn
$44,010Average net price / year
$55,911Cost of attendance
$36,844Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$391/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$56,870Median earnings · year 5 after completion
80.0%Completion rate
100.0%Admission rate
77Student size
Debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. It does not include Parent PLUS or private loans. We show admissions scores only when a valid federal value is available.
What the numbers say about Design Institute of San Diego
What does Design Institute of San Diego cost?
Design Institute of San Diego reports an average annual net price of $44,010 after grants and scholarships. This is an institution-wide average, not an individual aid offer.
What do Design Institute of San Diego graduates earn?
The observed median earnings figure is $56,870 5 years after completion. It describes a federal cohort, not a guaranteed starting salary.
How much federal debt do Design Institute of San Diego graduates have?
Completer borrowers report median cumulative federal student debt of $36,844. Parent PLUS and private loans are not included.
Is every degree at Design Institute of San Diego worth the same?
No. The current release contains 1 field-and-degree records for Design Institute of San Diego; 0 report year-4 earnings and 1 report federal debt. Outcomes can differ substantially by field and degree level.
DEBT AFTER COLLEGE
Are borrowers making progress?
Repayment progress, default and debt at exit describe different federal borrower cohorts. They are shown separately and do not change the ROI estimate.
Source: College Scorecard. Repayment progress is the share of borrowers who reduced principal by at least $1 at the stated measurement point. Debt covers federal student loans; Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded. Cohorts and reporting periods differ across measures.
Who studied here during the year
112Students enrolled at any point
93Undergraduate students
19Graduate students
Unduplicated students enrolled at any point from July 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025. This full-year measure is different from a fall headcount and does not enter ROI.
More student and earnings detailPrice by family income, retention, equity and common industries
WHO PAYS, WHO FINISHES, WHO EARNS
Outcomes are not the same for every family.
These federal cohorts add context that a single college average can hide. Missing figures remain unreported rather than estimated.
Complete within 150% of the expected time
39% received a Pell Grant within eight yearsMedian Parent PLUS debt
13 parent borrowers in the reported cohortMedian federal student debt
62% making progress in repayment after three yearsThree-year repayment progress
Lower income55%
Middle incomeNot reported
Higher incomeNot reported
Undergraduate student composition
White45%
Black6%
Hispanic18%
Asian8%
Source: College Scorecard, June 2026 release. Parent PLUS debt belongs to parents; student-debt measures exclude Parent PLUS and private loans. Cohort definitions differ by measure.
NATIONAL CONTEXT
How this college compares
Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.
EARNINGS OVER TIME
What graduates earned in later years
$35,230Year 1
Not availableYear 4
$56,870Year 5
Each year can represent a different federal cohort, so the points do not track the same people over time.
Comparable colleges in CA
Currently operating private for-profit institutions with the closest combination of annual net price and observed year-5 earnings. Similarity is descriptive, not a quality ranking.
Irvine, CA
Stanbridge University
- Annual net price
- $45,372
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $59,120
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -61%
California Career College
- Annual net price
- $46,880
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $53,814
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -76%
Smith Chason College
- Annual net price
- $34,367
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $56,808
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -63%
Career Networks Institute
- Annual net price
- $49,677
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $52,428
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -80%
Compare fields and degree levels
Showing all 1 field-and-degree records in the current release.
| Major or field | Degree level | Earnings, year 4 | Federal debt | 2024–25 graduates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design and Applied Arts | Bachelor's Degree | Not available | $45,687 | Not reported |
Graduate counts come from IPEDS and group related majors into the same federal field. Missing earnings or debt values remain labeled as unavailable.
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.