Private (for-profit)

West Coast University - Los Angeles

North Hollywood, California·Private for-profit, 4-year or above·Far West·westcoastuniversity.edu

West Coast University-Los Angeles's acceptance rate is 92.3% (2018). Its six-year graduation rate is 31% and its four-year rate is 25% (2024). Tuition and fees are $36,854 (2024). Fall enrollment is 2,673 students, and 3,038 enrolled over the full 12-month year (2024). Source: IPEDS.

Acceptance
92.3%
+9.7pp vs peer
6-yr graduation
31%
-19.0pp vs peer
Total enrollment
2,673
peer median 927
Avg net price
$53,020
+$25k vs peer
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About

West Coast University (WCU) is a private, for-profit university focused on healthcare degrees with campus locations in Los Angeles, Anaheim, and Ontario, California; Richardson, Texas; and Miami, Florida. David Pyle founded American Career College in 1979 under the name of American College of Optics. Originally the school focused only on optical dispensing. In May 1997, Pyle purchased West Coast University, which was chartered by the State of California in 1909, out of bankruptcy, and developed a program for the training of registered nurses.

Admissions & acceptance rate

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

IPEDS
Applied
39
39 candidates competed
Admitted
36
92.3% acceptance rate
Enrolled
18
50.0% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

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

IPEDS
Overall completion
31%
4-year graduation
25%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
31%-19.0pp vs peer
Full-time retention
100%

Pell equity

30.0pp gap
Pell recipients
20%2 of 10
Non-Pell (all)
50%3 of 6
Subsidized loan, no Pell
40%2 of 5
No Federal Aid
100%1 of 1

Non-Pell students graduate at a 30.0-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 22 Title IV programs, 9 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 13 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
22
Passing
9
40.9% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
0
0.0% of portfolio
Fail rate
0.0%
-0.6pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

22programs
  • Passing9 · 40.9%
  • No Data13 · 59.1%
  • Failing0 · 0.0%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
0
Recoverable
0
At Risk
0
Watch
0
Safe
9
No data
13

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.

9
Health and Medical Administrative Services
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+28.7%
$77,341 vs $60,112
Public Health
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+43.9%
$86,490 vs $60,112
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+52.5%
$91,685 vs $60,112
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions
Doctoral Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+58.6%
$95,360 vs $60,112
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+127.1%
$136,520 vs $60,112
Pharmacy Pharmaceutical Sciences and Administration
Doctoral Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+130.3%
$138,431 vs $60,112
Health Professions Education Ethics and Humanities
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+139.8%
$144,164 vs $60,112
Dental Support Services and Allied Professions
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
+146.5%
$85,797 vs $34,808

Debt vs earnings

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

8
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions
Doctoral Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
175%
$166,540 debt · $95,360 earn
Pharmacy Pharmaceutical Sciences and Administration
Doctoral Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
149%
$206,702 debt · $138,431 earn
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
105%
$96,377 debt · $91,685 earn
Dental Support Services and Allied Professions
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
39%
$33,707 debt · $85,797 earn
Health and Medical Administrative Services
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
35%
$26,672 debt · $77,341 earn
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Bachelor Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
31%
$34,500 debt · $111,455 earn
Public Health
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
30%
$25,945 debt · $86,490 earn
Registered Nursing Nursing Administration Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing
Master's Degree · Health Professions And Related Clinical Sciences
23%
$31,180 debt · $136,520 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 2011Next review Feb 2025
AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools

Accredited since 2002Next review Dec 2013

Programmatic accreditations · 13

Action history · 7

  1. Sep 2024Renewal of Accreditation
    Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education · Nursing (CNURED) - Nursing education programs at the graduate degree levels
  2. Feb 2020Grant Substantive Change: Program
    WASC Senior College and University Commission
  3. Jan 2019Loss of Accreditation or Preaccreditation: Other
    American Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education · Occupational Therapy (OTM) - Programs leading to a Master's Degree
  4. Nov 2018Grant Substantive Change: Other
    American Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education · Occupational Therapy (OTM) - Programs leading to a Master's Degree
  5. Sep 2018Grant Substantive Change: Degree
    WASC Senior College and University Commission

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$49,093
$30–48k$50,493
$48–75k$54,788
$75–110k—
$110k+$55,938

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

Avg net price (private)
$53,020
+$24,896vs peer median $28,124
Federal loans
88.1%
Tuition and fees
$36,854

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, 7,136 students received $42.0M in Pell grants, alongside $232.8M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
7,136
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$42.0M
$41,986,388 total
Direct Loans
$232.8M
25,311 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

6k
’20
6k
’21
6k
’22
6k
’23
7k
’24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$50.3M
9,925 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$61.4M
10,290 loan awards
Unsubsidized · Grad$62.1M
3,053 loan awards
Parent PLUS$41.4M
1,395 loan awards
Grad PLUS$17.5M
648 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 3,179 borrowers who entered repayment, 4 (0.1%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.1%
-2.2pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
3,179
Defaulted
4
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2016
2.6%
2017
1.6%
2018
0.5%
2019
0.1%
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 West Coast University-Los Angeles

Top program areas ranked by completions.

IPEDS
Distinct CIP programs11
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

635 total completions
01Health Professions
62298.0%
02Business
132.0%

Enrollment trends & demographics

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

IPEDS
Fall total
2,673
12-mo unduplicated
3,038
Undergraduate
1,821
Graduate
1,217

Gender split

Men
13%403
Women
87%2,635

Race / ethnicity composition

Hispanic
35.7%
White
35.2%
Asian
19.4%
Two or more
5.2%
Black
2.6%
Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander
0.9%
Unknown
0.6%
Non-resident
0.2%
American Indian / Alaska Native
0.1%

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
1.12
3 offenses · 2,687 students

3-year trend

0.002 yrs ago0.381 yr ago1.12Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
4
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
1
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
0
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

Arson
1
Aggravated assault
1
Motor vehicle theft
1

By location

3total
  • On campus3

VAWA offenses

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

Hate crimes by bias

No hate crimes reported.

Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

CategoryArrestsReferrals
Weapons00
Drugs00
Liquor00

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
17.0:1
Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
89

West Coast University-Los Angeles vs Peer comparison

The peer institutions West Coast University-Los Angeles selected for federal comparison reporting.

IPEDS
6-yr gradRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
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
SubjectWest Coast University-Los Angeles
31%92.3%2,673$53,020—
AdventHealth University
37%33.7%1,861$30,135—
Allen College
No freshman cohortNo freshman entry483$31,509—
Barnes-Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing
No freshman cohortNo freshman entry539No freshman cohort—
Bellin College
63%97.2%927$37,408—
Blessing Rieman College of Nursing and Health Sciences
No freshman cohortNo freshman entry193No freshman cohort—
Bryan College of Health Sciences
63%67.4%765$26,919—
Chamberlain University-Arizona
50%90.9%693$40,096—
Chamberlain University-Illinois
42%82.6%32,944$31,837—
Chamberlain University-Ohio
29%87.5%257$31,544—
Clarkson College
36%78.2%1,121$19,241—
Cox College
100%100.0%724$28,124—
D'Youville University
67%81.4%2,556$20,433Doctoral/Professional
Loma Linda University
No freshman cohortNo freshman entry4,210No freshman cohortR2 Research
MGH Institute of Health Professions
No freshman cohortNo freshman entry1,672No freshman cohort—
Mount Carmel College of Nursing
54%84.3%670$10,420—
Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing & Allied Health
49%73.4%1,067$21,863—
Regis College
71%69.8%2,517$27,477Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs
Saint Anthony College of Nursing
Not reportedNot reported263$21,045—
Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing
No freshman cohortNo freshman entry605No freshman cohort—
Samuel Merritt University
No freshman cohortNo freshman entry1,926No freshman cohort—
Peer group median50%82.6%927$28,124

Institutions like West Coast University-Los Angeles

Explore the federal data for institutions in West Coast University-Los Angeles's comparison group.

IPEDS
  • Florida

    AdventHealth University

    Grad rate
    37%
    Admit rate
    33.7%
    Enrollment
    1,861
    Net price
    $30,135
  • Iowa

    Allen College

    Grad rate
    No freshman cohort
    Admit rate
    No freshman entry
    Enrollment
    483
    Net price
    $31,509
  • Missouri

    Barnes-Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing

    Grad rate
    No freshman cohort
    Admit rate
    No freshman entry
    Enrollment
    539
    Net price
    No freshman cohort
  • Wisconsin

    Bellin College

    Grad rate
    63%
    Admit rate
    97.2%
    Enrollment
    927
    Net price
    $37,408
  • Illinois

    Blessing Rieman College of Nursing and Health Sciences

    Grad rate
    No freshman cohort
    Admit rate
    No freshman entry
    Enrollment
    193
    Net price
    No freshman cohort
  • Nebraska

    Bryan College of Health Sciences

    Grad rate
    63%
    Admit rate
    67.4%
    Enrollment
    765
    Net price
    $26,919
  • Arizona

    Chamberlain University-Arizona

    Grad rate
    50%
    Admit rate
    90.9%
    Enrollment
    693
    Net price
    $40,096
  • Illinois

    Chamberlain University-Illinois

    Grad rate
    42%
    Admit rate
    82.6%
    Enrollment
    32,944
    Net price
    $31,837
  • Ohio

    Chamberlain University-Ohio

    Grad rate
    29%
    Admit rate
    87.5%
    Enrollment
    257
    Net price
    $31,544
  • Nebraska

    Clarkson College

    Grad rate
    36%
    Admit rate
    78.2%
    Enrollment
    1,121
    Net price
    $19,241
  • Missouri

    Cox College

    Grad rate
    100%
    Admit rate
    100.0%
    Enrollment
    724
    Net price
    $28,124
  • Doctoral/ProfessionalNew York

    D'Youville University

    Grad rate
    67%
    Admit rate
    81.4%
    Enrollment
    2,556
    Net price
    $20,433
  • R2 ResearchCalifornia

    Loma Linda University

    Grad rate
    No freshman cohort
    Admit rate
    No freshman entry
    Enrollment
    4,210
    Net price
    No freshman cohort
  • Massachusetts

    MGH Institute of Health Professions

    Grad rate
    No freshman cohort
    Admit rate
    No freshman entry
    Enrollment
    1,672
    Net price
    No freshman cohort
  • Ohio

    Mount Carmel College of Nursing

    Grad rate
    54%
    Admit rate
    84.3%
    Enrollment
    670
    Net price
    $10,420
  • Nebraska

    Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing & Allied Health

    Grad rate
    49%
    Admit rate
    73.4%
    Enrollment
    1,067
    Net price
    $21,863
  • Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger ProgramsMassachusetts

    Regis College

    Grad rate
    71%
    Admit rate
    69.8%
    Enrollment
    2,517
    Net price
    $27,477
  • Illinois

    Saint Anthony College of Nursing

    Grad rate
    Not reported
    Admit rate
    Not reported
    Enrollment
    263
    Net price
    $21,045
  • Illinois

    Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing

    Grad rate
    No freshman cohort
    Admit rate
    No freshman entry
    Enrollment
    605
    Net price
    No freshman cohort
  • California

    Samuel Merritt University

    Grad rate
    No freshman cohort
    Admit rate
    No freshman entry
    Enrollment
    1,926
    Net price
    No freshman cohort

Campuses

The 6 campuses that make up West Coast University-Los Angeles.

IPEDS

West Coast University-Los Angeles Institutional Research office

The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.

Office
Phone
866-508-2684

The page provides links to different resources available at West Coast University, such as program brochures, BPPE reports, and various degree programs. It includes contact information with a phone number, but not much specific information about the Office of Institutional Research itself.

Visit IR office page

Reports & documents (1)

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

Frequently asked questions about West Coast University-Los Angeles

Quick answers to the questions most often asked about West Coast University-Los Angeles.

What is the acceptance rate at West Coast University-Los Angeles?

West Coast University-Los Angeles's acceptance rate is 92.3% (36 admitted from 39 applicants), based on the latest IPEDS.

What is the graduation rate at West Coast University-Los Angeles?

West Coast University-Los Angeles's six-year graduation rate is 31% and its four-year rate is 25%, per 2024 IPEDS data.

How many students attend West Coast University-Los Angeles?

West Coast University-Los Angeles reports a total enrollment of 2,673 students per the latest IPEDS.

What is the average net price at West Coast University-Los Angeles?

The average net price at West Coast University-Los Angeles is $53,020 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

What is the yield rate at West Coast University-Los Angeles?

West Coast University-Los Angeles's yield rate is 50.0%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

Where is West Coast University-Los Angeles located?

West Coast University-Los Angeles is located in North Hollywood, California 91606.

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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