Ibex Insights
Ibex Insights
 Open dashboard

California Miramar University

San Diego, CA · official site ↗

Private for-profitSpecial Focus: EngineeringSmall
14
Fin. Resilience
Resilience score

vs. 22 peers in its group

California Miramar University is a private for-profit institution in San Diego, CA, classified by Carnegie as “Special Focus: Engineering.”

It enrolls about 135 undergraduates and is benchmarked here against 22 peer institutions (Special Focus: Engineering · Private for-profit).

On Ibex's Financial Resilience score it rates 14 out of 100 within that peer group, a transparent composite of endowment per undergraduate, net tuition revenue per student, and instructional spend per student.

Its strongest standing relative to peers is graduation rate (6-yr · first-time, full-time) (50%, 86th percentile).

Its weakest is 3-yr cohort default rate (21.6%).

Peer group

Special Focus: Engineering · Private for-profit

22 institutions

No cross-metric risk flags triggered.
Policy & demographic exposure

How exposed California Miramar University is to the structural shifts reshaping higher ed: a composite structural-risk index plus the 2025 federal budget law’s endowment excise tax and Grad PLUS elimination and the demographic enrollment cliff. Only signals that apply to this institution are shown.

Grad PLUS exposureShare of the school's graduate federal loan dollars that came from Grad PLUS, the program the 2025 budget law eliminates for new borrowers from July 2026 (FSA Direct Loan data). Higher = more graduate borrowing that will disappear above the new caps.
1.9%
Low exposure
Higher than 9% of schools nationally
AY2024-25 (Q4, full year)
Avg Grad PLUS loanAverage Grad PLUS loan per borrower (FSA). The 2025 law caps unsubsidized grad borrowing at $20,500/yr and ends Grad PLUS — this is the average per-student amount that vanishes above the cap. The depth half of the Grad PLUS shock; pair with Grad PLUS exposure (the reliance share).
$8,665
Below cap
Higher than 11% of schools nationally
AY2024-25 (Q4, full year)
Enrollment cliff (home state)Projected change in the institution's home-state high-school graduates from 2025 to 2041 (WICHE). The U.S. total falls about 13%; a directional feeder-market signal, not an enrollment forecast.
-27.7%
Severe decline

Indicative signals, not forecasts — see each metric’s definition and the methodology. Endowment-tax and Grad PLUS figures appear only where the institution is actually exposed; “nationally” compares against all schools that report each signal.

Turn these signals into action

Seeing exposure is step one. Ibex builds AI agents that monitor and act on exactly these pressures — explore an interactive demo. Live demos run real workflows; the rest are working mockups we build to your institution’s data.

Financial Aid AgentAI Recruiter Agent
Revenue composition
Where the money comes from $2.6M total revenue · IPEDS FY2022-23

Tuition & fees is the largest single source at 100% of revenue.

Tuition & fees100.0%

Where each dollar of revenue comes from, as a share of total positive revenue. Sources are standardized across public (GASB) and private (FASB) reporting; a net investment loss in a down market is shown as 0% and excluded from the mix.

Net price by income
Average net price by family income After grant & scholarship aid · Scorecard 2024-25
$0–30K$9,131
$30–48K$15,369
$48–75K$17,425
$75–110K$16,995
$110K+$17,467

Average annual net price (total cost minus grant and scholarship aid) paid by federal-aid recipients in each family-income band. Lower-income bands often pay less where need-based aid is strong.

Financial Health
Net tuition revenue / FTETuition revenue per full-time-equivalent student after institutional aid/discounts — what tuition actually nets.
Below peers
$7,640
14th percentile in peer grouppeer median $12,615
Instructional spend / FTESpending on instruction per FTE student — how much of the budget reaches the classroom.
Below peers
$1,398
14th percentile in peer grouppeer median $2,236
In-state tuition & feesPublished in-state tuition and fees before aid (sticker price).
$12,442
14th percentile in peer grouppeer median $13,920
Out-of-state tuition & feesPublished out-of-state tuition and fees before aid (sticker price).
$12,442
14th percentile in peer grouppeer median $13,920
Avg annual cost of attendanceAverage total annual cost — tuition, fees and living costs — before aid.
$19,067
8th percentile in peer grouppeer median $25,596
Average net priceAverage yearly price families actually pay after grants and scholarships.
Strong
$12,480
15th percentile in peer grouppeer median $22,593
Operating marginNet surplus as a share of total revenue — whether the institution runs in the black.
Thin
0.7%
— percentile in peer group
Net surplus as a share of total revenue (IPEDS FY2022-23): (total revenues − total expenses) ÷ total revenues. A surplus above 4% is strong; a thin surplus near 0% leaves little margin for shocks.
Tuition dependencyTuition's share of total revenue — how exposed the budget is to enrollment swings.
101.3%
— percentile in peer group
Tuition & fees as a share of total revenue (IPEDS FY2022-23). Higher = more exposed to enrollment swings.
Grad PLUS exposureShare of the school's graduate federal loan dollars that came from Grad PLUS, the program the 2025 budget law eliminates for new borrowers from July 2026 (FSA Direct Loan data). Higher = more graduate borrowing that will disappear above the new caps.
Low exposure
1.9%
— percentile in peer group
Share of the institution's graduate federal loan dollars (Grad Unsubsidized + Grad PLUS) that came from Grad PLUS — the program the 2025 budget law eliminates for new borrowers from July 1, 2026, alongside new caps on graduate borrowing. A higher share means more of the school's graduate students rely on borrowing that will no longer exist above the unsubsidized cap. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education / Federal Student Aid Direct Loan Dashboard — primarily award year 2025-26 (year-to-date through Q2, December 2025), the most current federal data; schools not yet reporting Grad PLUS in 2025-26 retain their most recent complete year (2024-25), shown per school. The reliance share is stable across the two vintages. Shown only for schools with Grad PLUS originations; an exposure signal, not a forecast of revenue loss.
Avg Grad PLUS loanAverage Grad PLUS loan per borrower (FSA). The 2025 law caps unsubsidized grad borrowing at $20,500/yr and ends Grad PLUS — this is the average per-student amount that vanishes above the cap. The depth half of the Grad PLUS shock; pair with Grad PLUS exposure (the reliance share).
Below cap
$8,665
— percentile in peer group
Average Grad PLUS loan per recipient (FSA Direct Loan Dashboard — award year 2025-26 year-to-date through Q2, with 2024-25 full-year retained where 2025-26 is not yet reported). The 2025 budget law eliminates Grad PLUS for new borrowers from July 1, 2026 and caps unsubsidized graduate borrowing at $20,500/year — so this is the average per-borrower amount that will no longer be available above that cap. Paired with Grad PLUS exposure (the institution's reliance share), it is the depth axis of the Grad PLUS shock: how much each affected borrower stands to lose. Shown only where Grad PLUS was originated.
Graduation & completion
Graduation rate · first-time, full-time
50%

50% graduate within 6 years (150% of normal time)
0% on-time, within 4 years (100%)
Counts only students who entered full-time as first-time freshmen and earned a bachelor's here — the conventional headline rate. Excludes part-time entrants and transfer-ins.

Completion rate · all students
7.5%

7.5% earned a degree or certificate within 8 years (IPEDS Outcome Measures)
The broader cohort — also counts part-time entrants and transfer-ins, and any credential. More inclusive, so it can run higher than the graduation rate.

Why two numbers? They measure different students over different windows, so they are not directly comparable. The graduation rate is the standard federal headline but tracks only first-time, full-time students through a bachelor's; the all-students completion rate adds the part-time and transfer students it leaves out, over a longer window. Read each for what it covers. Source: U.S. Department of Education — IPEDS Graduation Rates & Outcome Measures, via College Scorecard.

Enrollment & Pipeline
Undergraduate enrollmentNumber of degree-seeking undergraduates (IPEDS fall headcount). A size measure, not a quality signal.
135
32nd percentile in peer grouppeer median 375
Admission rateShare of applicants offered admission. Lower means more selective; open-admission schools report none.
18.5%
20th percentile in peer grouppeer median 95.9%
First-year retentionShare of first-time, full-time freshmen who return for a second year — an early signal of student fit and support.
Strong
92.3%
71st percentile in peer grouppeer median 73.3%
Graduation rate (6-yr · first-time, full-time)Of first-time, full-time freshmen, the share who earn a bachelor's at this institution within six years (150% of normal time) — the conventional headline graduation rate. It counts only first-time, full-time students and excludes part-time entrants and transfer-ins, who are captured instead by the all-students completion rate.
Strong
50%
86th percentile in peer grouppeer median 30.8%
Graduation rate (4-yr on-time · first-time, full-time)Of first-time, full-time freshmen, the share who earn a bachelor's within four years (100% of normal time) — the 'on-time' rate. It runs well below the six-year rate because many students take a fifth or sixth year; same first-time, full-time cohort as the six-year rate.
Average
0%
48th percentile in peer grouppeer median 7.7%
Pell recipient shareShare of undergraduates on a federal Pell Grant — a proxy for the share from lower-income families.
48.5%
36th percentile in peer grouppeer median 54.1%
12-month FTE enrollmentFull-time-equivalent enrollment over the full year — the denominator for per-student finance measures.
162
23rd percentile in peer grouppeer median 550
Full-time-equivalent enrollment over the full 12-month year (IPEDS 12-month enrollment, 2022-23). Counts part-time students at their fractional load, so it runs above fall full-time headcount and is the denominator used for per-student finance measures.
Student-faculty ratioStudents per instructional faculty member — lower usually means smaller classes and more contact.
17:1
55th percentile in peer grouppeer median 14:1
Students per instructional faculty member (IPEDS, fall 2023). Lower generally means smaller classes and more faculty contact, though the measure mixes undergraduate and graduate teaching and is institution-reported.
Enrollment cliff (home state)Projected change in the institution's home-state high-school graduates from 2025 to 2041 (WICHE). The U.S. total falls about 13%; a directional feeder-market signal, not an enrollment forecast.
Severe decline
-27.7%
— percentile in peer group
Projected change in the number of high-school graduates in the institution's HOME STATE from the class of 2025 (the national peak) to 2041, per WICHE's Knocking at the College Door, 11th Edition (Dec 2024). The 'enrollment cliff' is the post-2008 birth decline reaching college age; the U.S. total is projected to fall about 13% over this window. A college recruits from many states, so its home-state projection is an indicative directional signal of feeder-market pressure, not a forecast of that institution's own enrollment.
Completion rate (all students · 8-yr)Of ALL entering degree-seeking undergraduates — full- and part-time, first-time and transfer-in — the share who earned a degree or certificate at this institution within eight years (IPEDS Outcome Measures). Broader than the graduation rate, which counts only first-time, full-time students, so the two are measured on different students and are not directly comparable.
Below peers
7.5%
5th percentile in peer grouppeer median 17.8%
Share of ALL entering degree-seeking undergraduates — full- and part-time, first-time and transfer-in — who earned a degree or certificate at this institution within eight years (IPEDS Outcome Measures, via College Scorecard). Broader and more inclusive than the graduation-rate figures, which count only first-time, full-time students entering a bachelor's program — so the two are measured on different groups of students and are not directly comparable.
Admission yield
57.9%
— percentile in peer group
Share of admitted students who enrolled (IPEDS Admissions, Fall 2023): students who enrolled ÷ students admitted. A demand signal — how many accepted offers the institution converts to enrollment. Higher yield generally reflects stronger demand, though binding early-decision programs and price positioning can inflate it. Open-admission institutions do not report admissions and show none.
Student body
Undergraduate race & ethnicity IPEDS 2024-25
Hispanic/Latino22.2%
Black17.8%
International17.8%
White14.1%
Unknown12.6%
Two or more races6.7%
Asian4.4%
American Indian/Alaska Native2.2%
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander2.2%

Undergraduate enrollment by race and ethnicity, as reported to IPEDS (College Scorecard). “International” denotes nonresident students; “Unknown” means race/ethnicity was not reported.

Student Outcomes & Risk
Median debt at graduationMedian federal loan debt graduates carry at the point they complete.
Average
$31,000
52nd percentile in peer grouppeer median $31,000
3-yr cohort default rateShare of borrowers who default within three years of entering repayment. Lower is better.
Below peers
21.6%
100th percentile in peer grouppeer median 11.3%
Share of borrowers who defaulted within three years of entering repayment (U.S. Dept. of Education official cohort default rate). Shown for the FY2017 borrower cohort — the most recent cohort whose full three-year default window closed before the 2020-23 federal student-loan payment pause. More recent cohorts are reported by the College Scorecard at essentially 0%, but that reflects the payment pause (no payments were due, so almost no one could default), not borrower health, so the pre-pause cohort is the last meaningful reading. Lower is better.
Share taking federal loansShare of students taking out federal loans — a borrowing-reliance signal.
48.5%
36th percentile in peer grouppeer median 59.8%
Full-time faculty shareShare of faculty employed full-time — higher generally means more availability and continuity.
Below peers
7.1%
6th percentile in peer grouppeer median 16.7%
Top fields of study (bachelor's)

California Miramar University’s largest fields by completions, with graduate earnings (4 years out) and debt benchmarked against the same field at its peer group. Sparklines show the 8-year completions trend.

FieldCompletions / yrMedian earnings, 4 yrs outMedian debtEarnings premiumRisk score
Business, Management & Marketing18———Low · 0

Earnings-premium status is an indicative estimate: median graduate earnings four years out vs the CA state median earnings of a high-school graduate (undergraduate credentials) or a bachelor’s-degree holder (graduate credentials) from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (2022 ACS 5-year). The official U.S. Department of Education determination uses its own cohort definition and may differ.

The risk score (0–100) is an indicative blend of earnings-premium margin and the five-year completions trend—higher means a field pays closer to (or below) the benchmark and is shrinking. A directional screen, not an official determination.

See the interactive dashboard for all fields and credential levels (associate through doctoral). Source: College Scorecard Field of Study.

Frequently asked
How selective is California Miramar University?
California Miramar University admits about 18% of applicants, and roughly 92% of first-year students return for a second year.
What is California Miramar University's student-faculty ratio?
California Miramar University reports a student-faculty ratio of 17:1 (IPEDS, fall 2023) — that is, about 17 students for every instructional faculty member.
How much does California Miramar University cost?
The average published cost of attendance is $19,067 and the average net price after aid is $12,480 (College Scorecard).
Which schools are California Miramar University's peers?
California Miramar University is benchmarked against 22 institutions in the Special Focus: Engineering · Private for-profit peer group; all percentiles and medians on this page are computed within that group.
Compare with peers
University of the Potomac-VA CampusDeVry University-FloridaStrayer University-DelawareDeVry College of New YorkMillennia Atlantic UniversitySchiller International University

Explore California Miramar University interactively

Open the full dashboard to switch peer views, hover trends, and compare head-to-head.

Open in dashboard

Want a custom dashboard for California Miramar University?

We build tailored intelligence dashboards — California Miramar University and the peer set you choose, the metrics and risk signals your team cares about, kept current and delivered to you. Tell us what you’d want to track and a specialist will scope it with you.

Request a custom dashboard

Source: U.S. Department of Education — College Scorecard & IPEDS (most recent releases), with the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (Employment Projections, field-demand outlook) and WICHE (enrollment-cliff projections). Figures lag the current academic year by roughly two to three years. Percentiles and medians are computed within the institution's peer group. Financial Resilience is a transparent composite — see each component above. Compiled by Ibex Insights.