Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium ProgramsPrivate (nonprofit)HSI

Vanguard University of Southern California

Costa Mesa, California·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Far West·vanguard.edu
Acceptance
62.4%
-13.3pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
6-yr Graduation
57%
-9.5pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Total enrollment
2,246
peer median 3,266
Avg net price
$21,241
-$5.4k vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
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AboutAdmissionsOutcomesProgram outcomesAccreditationCostFederal aidLoan defaultsAcademic programsEnrollment trendsAthleticsCampus safetyFacultyPeersDocuments

About

Vanguard University is a private Protestant university in Costa Mesa, California. Vanguard's required core curriculum includes courses on American politics and history, theology, fine arts, and public speaking.

Admissions & acceptance rate

First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.

IPEDS
Applied
3,948
3,948 candidates competed
Admitted
2,465
62.4% acceptance rate
Enrolled
485
19.7% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

IPEDS
Overall completion
57%-9.5pp vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
4-year graduation
52%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
57%
Full-time retention
70%

Pell equity

3.2pp gap
Pell recipients
55%122 of 221
Non-Pell (all)
58%138 of 237
Subsidized loan, no Pell
55%53 of 97
No Federal Aid
61%85 of 140

Non-Pell students graduate at a 3.2-point higher rate than Pell recipients.

Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) — Pell/SSL cohort, 2024 cohort.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

FVT/GE

Of 45 Title IV programs, 4 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 41 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
45
Passing
4
8.9% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

45programs
  • Passing4 · 8.9%
  • No Data41 · 91.1%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
4
No data
41

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

4
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
+31.9%
$47,582 vs $36,082
Clinical Counseling and Applied Psychology
Master's Degree · Psychology
+55.6%
$75,686 vs $48,653
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
+74.5%
$62,957 vs $36,082
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+183.4%
$102,239 vs $36,082

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

4
Clinical Counseling and Applied Psychology
Master's Degree · Psychology
54%
$41,000 debt · $75,686 earn
Psychology General
Bachelor Degree · Psychology
42%
$20,166 debt · $47,582 earn
Business Administration Management and Operations
Bachelor Degree · Business, Management, Marketing, And Related Support Services
40%
$24,992 debt · $62,957 earn
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
21%
$21,750 debt · $102,239 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

DAPIP
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

WASC Senior College and University Commission

Accredited since 1964Next review Jun 2033

Programmatic accreditations · 3

Action history · 5

  1. Jun 2025Renewal of Accreditation
    WASC Senior College and University Commission
  2. Apr 2024Renewal of Accreditation
    Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the baccalaureate degree levels
  3. May 2019Renewal of Accreditation
    Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the graduate degree levels
  4. Jun 2017Renewal of Accreditation
    WASC Senior College and University Commission
  5. Aug 2014Change in Agency recognition
    National Association of Schools of Theatre, Commission on Accreditation · Theatre (THEA) - Institutions and units within institutions offering degree-granting and/or non-degree-granting programs

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

College Scorecard

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$17,225
$30–48k$18,462
$48–75k$18,976
$75–110k$24,117
$110k+$27,684

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price (private)
$21,241
-$5,389vs Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs median $26,630
Federal loans
56.8%
In-state tuition
$41,700
Out-of-state
$41,700

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

Federal Student Aid

In AY 2024–25, 988 students received $5.9M in Pell grants, alongside $14.9M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
988
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$5.9M
$5,893,134 total
Direct Loans
$14.9M
2,185 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

1k
’20
1k
’21
1k
’22
1k
’23
1k
’24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$3.6M
859 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$3.3M
921 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$2.8M
173 loan awards
Parent PLUS$4.7M
218 loan awards
Grad PLUS$419K
14 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Cohort Default Rate

Of 620 borrowers who entered repayment, 7 (1.1%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
1.1%
-1.2pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
620
Defaulted
7
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
4.4%
2017
4.0%
2018
5.0%
2019
1.1%
2020*
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at Vanguard

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs43
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

478 total completions
01Psychology
12726.6%
02Business
8016.7%
03Health Professions
5411.3%
04Parks/Recreation
5010.5%
05Education
449.2%
06Biological Sciences
347.1%
07Theology
316.5%
08Communication
255.2%
09Philosophy/Religion
204.2%
10History
132.7%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

IPEDS
Fall total
2,246
12-mo unduplicated
2,562
Undergraduate
2,147
Graduate
415

Gender split

Men
33%855
Women
67%1,707

Race / ethnicity composition

Hispanic
47.2%
White
30.5%
Unknown
9.8%
Black
5.2%
Asian
3.9%
Two or more
2.2%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.5%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.3%
Non-resident
0.3%

Athletics & Title IX gender equity

How athletic participation, aid, and spending are split between men and women.

EADA
Athletes
416
174 M · 242 W
Women athletes
58.2%
Athletic aid
$2.9M
Total student aid
Budget
$8.1M
Total expenses

Men vs women · spending splits

Athletic student aid
$1.3M
$1.6M
Recruiting expense
$16K
$22K
Head-coach salaries
$59K
$60K
Men Women

Sport-by-sport · 10

Soccer
35 M · 32 W
$834K
Track and Field and Cross Country (combined)
23 M · 41 W
$651K
Wrestling
22 M · 28 W
$755K
Other Sports
— · 50 W
$524K
Volleyball
26 M · 23 W
$650K
Baseball
46 M · —
$517K

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Clery Act
Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
0.90
2 offenses · 2,219 students

3-year trend

1.322 yrs ago4.881 yr ago0.90Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
16
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
4
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
1
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Burglary
2

By location

2total
  • On campus2

Includes 2 in residence halls (a subset of on-campus, not added to the total).

VAWA offenses

1
Domestic violence
0
Dating violence
1
Stalking
2 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons10
Drugs017
Liquor018

Residence-hall fires

No residence-hall fires reported.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student-faculty ratio

Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

IPEDS
Student-to-faculty
13.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
73

Vanguard vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions Vanguard selected for federal comparison reporting.

IPEDS
GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
This institutionPeer median

A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

Carnegie
SubjectVanguard University of Southern California
57%62.4%2,246$21,241Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Azusa Pacific University
62%88.4%6,272$22,212R2 Research
Biola University
68%74.3%5,434$31,495Doctoral/Professional
California Baptist University
62%84.9%11,902$26,285Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Calvin University
74%70.9%3,681$22,992Masters Colleges & Universities: Small Programs
Concordia University-Irvine
58%66.0%3,658$28,115Doctoral/Professional
Evangel University
65%71.6%2,289$18,669Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
George Fox University
72%93.5%4,916$31,679Doctoral/Professional
Gordon College
69%69.2%1,595$24,883Baccalaureate
Northwest University
68%83.2%1,053$22,288Masters Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
Point Loma Nazarene University
77%83.7%4,757$38,729Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Seattle Pacific University
62%83.4%2,261$24,488Doctoral/Professional
Southeastern University
44%53.0%11,510$31,942Doctoral/Professional
University of Valley Forge
49%61.2%589$32,265Baccalaureate
Westmont College
70%77.0%1,310$29,053Baccalaureate
Wheaton College
85%87.4%2,874$26,975Baccalaureate
Peer group median67%75.7%3,266$26,630

Institutions like Vanguard

Explore the federal data for institutions in Vanguard's comparison group.

IPEDS

Reports & documents (1)

Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.

Frequently asked questions about Vanguard University of Southern California

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Vanguard.

What is the acceptance rate at Vanguard University of Southern California?

Vanguard University of Southern California's acceptance rate is 62.4% (2,465 admitted from 3,948 applicants), based on the latest IPEDS.

What is the graduation rate at Vanguard University of Southern California?

Vanguard University of Southern California reports a 6-year graduation rate of 57% per the latest IPEDS.

How many students attend Vanguard University of Southern California?

Vanguard University of Southern California reports a total enrollment of 2,246 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at Vanguard University of Southern California?

The average net price at Vanguard University of Southern California is $21,241 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at Vanguard University of Southern California?

Vanguard University of Southern California's yield rate is 19.7%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is Vanguard University of Southern California located?

Vanguard University of Southern California is located in Costa Mesa, California 92626.

About the data on this page

Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.

IPEDSFall 2025–26 release, published July 28, 2026
Enrollment, completions, graduation rates, tuition, financial aid, staffing, and finance for every U.S. institution in federal student aid programs.
National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education
College ScorecardJune 10, 2026 release (merged 2025–26 files)
Institution and field-of-study costs, graduate earnings, debt, completion, and admissions outcomes compiled from federal aid records, tax data, and IPEDS.
U.S. Department of Education
FVT/GE program performanceProvisional preview, May 18, 2026 release
Program-level debt-to-earnings and earnings-premium measures behind the FVT/GE and STATS accountability frameworks.
U.S. Department of Education
DAPIP accreditationContinuously refreshed
Accreditation status for institutions and programs, reported by recognized accrediting agencies.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Federal Pell Grant & loan volumeAY 2025–26 (through Q3), through March 31, 2026
Pell Grant and Direct Loan recipient counts, award amounts, and disbursement volume by institution and award year.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Cohort Default RatesFY 2022 official rates
Institution-level federal student loan default rates, measuring borrowers who default within three years of entering repayment.
U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid
Equity in Athletics (EADA)Academic year 2024–25
Athletics participation, coaching, revenues, and expenses by sport and gender for Title IV institutions.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Campus Safety & SecurityData through reporting year 2024
Criminal offenses, arrests, disciplinary actions, VAWA offenses, and fire statistics reported by campus under the Clery Act.
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
Last reviewed July 2026All data sources & release dates →

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