West Coast University-Orange County
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.
Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Pell equity
Non-Pell students graduate at a 43.0-point higher rate than Pell recipients.
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Student loan default rate
The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.
Of 3,179 borrowers who entered repayment, 4 (0.1%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* 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.
Academic programs at WCUC
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Race / ethnicity composition
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
- On campus4
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
No hate crimes reported.
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
WCUC vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions WCUC selected for federal comparison reporting.
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-Orange County | 60% | 95.3% | 4,586 | $36,836 | — |
AdventHealth University | 37% | 33.7% | 1,861 | $31,885 | — |
Allen College | — | — | 483 | — | — |
Barnes-Jewish College Goldfarb School of Nursing | — | — | 539 | — | — |
Bellin College | 63% | 97.2% | 927 | $27,313 | — |
Blessing Rieman College of Nursing and Health Sciences | — | — | 193 | — | — |
Bryan College of Health Sciences | 63% | 67.4% | 765 | $25,884 | — |
Chamberlain University-Arizona | 50% | 90.9% | 693 | $37,002 | — |
Chamberlain University-Illinois | 42% | 82.6% | 32,944 | $26,933 | — |
Chamberlain University-Ohio | 29% | 87.5% | 257 | $32,074 | — |
Clarkson College | 36% | 78.2% | 1,121 | $15,928 | — |
Cox College | 100% | 100.0% | 724 | — | — |
D'Youville University | 67% | 81.4% | 2,556 | $19,585 | Doctoral/Professional |
Loma Linda University | — | — | 4,210 | — | R2 Research |
MGH Institute of Health Professions | — | — | 1,672 | — | — |
Mount Carmel College of Nursing | 54% | 84.3% | 670 | $12,939 | — |
Nebraska Methodist College of Nursing & Allied Health | 49% | 73.4% | 1,067 | $19,474 | — |
Regis College | 71% | 69.8% | 2,517 | $28,346 | Masters Colleges & Universities: Larger Programs |
Saint Anthony College of Nursing | — | — | 263 | — | — |
Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing | — | — | 605 | — | — |
Samuel Merritt University | — | — | 1,926 | — | — |
| Peer group median | 54% | 82.6% | 927 | $27,123 |
WCUC Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
The webpage for West Coast University's Institutional Research department contains links to program brochures and BPPE-related reports. There is limited information about the office's objectives or team, and the page primarily includes navigation links related to various university programs and admissions resources.
Visit IR office pageReports & documents (2)
Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.
- DFR reportIPEDS Data Feedback Report 20242024nces.ed.gov
- GlossaryGlossary of TermsThe West Coast University-Orange County's Glossary of Terms page is a comprehensive resource for definitions of commonly used terms within the institution and healthcare field. The glossary includes recently added terms such as 'Nurse extern' and 'Chief nursing officer,' along with a vast collection of medical and academic terminologies. It serves as a beneficial tool for students and professionals to understand specific concepts used in their education and practice.westcoastuniversity.edu
Frequently asked questions about West Coast University-Orange County
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about WCUC.
What is the acceptance rate at West Coast University-Orange County?
What is the graduation rate at West Coast University-Orange County?
How many students attend West Coast University-Orange County?
What is the average net price at West Coast University-Orange County?
What is the yield rate at West Coast University-Orange County?
Where is West Coast University-Orange County located?
Who runs Institutional Research at West Coast University-Orange County?
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