Desert College vs Cerritos College

College of the Desert and Cerritos College, both esteemed community colleges in California, offer diverse educational opportunities to students seeking higher education. While they share similarities, each institution possesses unique characteristics that cater to different academic aspirations and preferences. College of the Desert boasts an open admissions policy, welcoming all applicants with a high school diploma or equivalent, while Cerritos College maintains a selective admissions process, accepting approximately 100% of applicants. In terms of student demographics, College of the Desert's student body is predominantly Hispanic, while Cerritos College's student population is more diverse, with a significant Asian population. Both colleges offer a wide range of academic programs, with popular majors including Liberal Arts and Humanities, Business, and Health Professions. To further explore the distinctions between these two institutions, delve into the comprehensive comparison table provided on this page, which delves into acceptance rates, graduation rates, student body demographics, and popular majors, empowering you to make an informed decision about your educational journey.

	Cerritos College	College of the Desert
Overview
Location	Norwalk, California	Palm Desert, California
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	City: Small
College type	2 year	2 year
Control/business model	Public	Public
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate	Undergraduate
Students retention rate	62.0%	67.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	Open Admission	Open Admission
Application fees
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants
Total number of admissions given out
Admitted students who chose to enroll
Yield rate
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	Not required	Not required
High school GPA	N/A	N/A
Recommendation letters	N/A	N/A
High school transcript	N/A	N/A
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	N/A	N/A

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $27,998 Out of state: $36,678	In state: $24,465 Out of state: $32,109
Average net price	$9,557	$14,179
Tuition	In state: $1,288 Out of state: $9,968	In state: $1,288 Out of state: $8,932
Room & board
Available payment plans		Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	88.0% Average amount $5,822	95.0% Average amount $5,621
Students receiving federal student loan	2.0% Average amount $6,246
Students taking out private loans	0.0% Average amount $0

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	18,656 Men 46.1% Women 53.9%	10,229 Men 41.1% Women 58.9%
Graduate students	N/A	N/A
Racial/ethnic diversity	Low	Low
Out-of-state students	0.7%	1.5%
International students	0.3%	0.6%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	City: Small
Dormitory capacity	N/A	N/A
First year students are required to live on campus?	N/A	N/A
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	California	California Colorado Arizona Florida Indiana

Academics
Popular study areas	Liberal Arts Business Health Professions Social Sciences Multidisciplinary Studies	Business Liberal Arts Psychology Health Professions Family and Consumer Sciences
Students to faculty ratio	26:1	24:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	33.2%	29.4%
Dropout rate	38.8%	48.9%
Transferred out	10.0%	5.0%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $74,847 Year 2: $71,351 Year 3: $83,079 Dental Support Services and Allied Professions (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $62,409 Year 2: $60,578 Year 3: $64,421 Allied Health and Medical Assisting Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $48,147 Year 2: $51,169 Year 3: $46,983 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $49,126 Year 2: $54,713 Year 3: $45,794 Communication Disorders Sciences and Services (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $40,060 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $37,939 Year 2: $33,281 Year 3: $36,564 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $29,118 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $30,021 Psychology, General (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $14,935 Year 3: $23,897 Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services (Undergraduate Certificates or Diplomas) Year 1: $26,738 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $13,359 Communication and Media Studies (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $18,087 Year 3: N/A	Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $79,088 Year 2: $73,446 Year 3: $79,174 Criminal Justice and Corrections (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $20,301 Year 2: $37,208 Year 3: $41,242 Liberal Arts and Sciences, General Studies and Humanities (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $22,277 Year 2: $21,781 Year 3: $25,003 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $22,771 Year 2: $30,409 Year 3: $23,897 Psychology, General (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $16,835 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Practical Nursing, Vocational Nursing and Nursing Assistants (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $35,428 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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