+59%
Out-of-state tuition
Out-of-state tuition at Fullerton College rose 59% between 2021 and 2024 ($7.8k → $12.4k).
California · Public · Predominantly associate's
Fullerton College
Fullerton, California. 16,637 undergraduate students. 104 programs in the federal Field-of-Study dataset.
ANOMALY ENGINE · NOTABLE SIGNALS
What the data flags at Fullerton College
Short-arc shifts (recent 3-year window), peer outliers, earnings trend breaks, completion drops, enrollment cliffs, and debt-to-earnings warnings — surfaced deterministically from the federal record. Multi-decade shifts are reported separately in the Long Arc section, since 25-year tuition drift isn't really an anomaly.
-99%
3-year cohort default rate
3-year cohort default rate at Fullerton College fell 99% between 2021 and 2024 (9.3% → 0.1%).
+30%
Median federal debt at exit
Median federal debt at exit at Fullerton College rose 30% between 2007 and 2010 ($3.5k → $4.5k).
+29%
In-state tuition
In-state tuition at Fullerton College rose 29% between 2007 and 2010 ($508 → $656).
SECTION 01 · OUTCOMES SNAPSHOT
The numbers, vs. California
Each tile compares this institution to the California median for the same metric. Sub-line shows the comparison value, not an interpretation. Sparklines trace the federally available history.
$43,366+26% · 6→10y
California median $42,588$34,531
Treasury earnings · 6y post-entry33.9%+5% · '97→'10
California median 61.3%$6,500+29% · '97→'10
At program completion16,637+44% · '96→'10
latest IPEDS73.3%+8% · '04→'10
first-time, full-time—
latest cohort$1,150+128% · '01→'10
out-of-state $9,399SECTION 02 · EARNINGS HORIZONS
How earnings spread, 4 to 10 years after entry
Treasury tax-record earnings for federally aided students who first enrolled at this institution. Each point is a horizon from the most-recent vintage. Single median per horizon (no p25/p75 publishing).
Earnings widen with time post-entry. Selection: federal-aid recipients only — not all graduates.Methodology →
SECTION 03 · DEBT-TO-EARNINGS
What loans cost relative to earnings
Annual debt service as a share of median earnings 10 years after entry, computed under federal Direct loan terms (10-year fixed at 6%). The 8% line is the gainful-employment threshold from federal regulation; above 12% has historically been considered “failing” under prior rule cycles.
Institution-wide
2.0%Median federal debt $6,500 amortized over 10 years vs. median earnings $43,366 (10y after entry).
SECTION 04 · LONG ARC
Ten-plus year arc
Federally available history. Coverage varies by metric — IPEDS publishes some series only after 2009 and others only before.
Undergraduate enrollment.
150%-time completion rate.
Median federal student debt at exit.
+44%
Fullerton College · undergrad enrollment rose
14,424 → 20,714
+37%
Fullerton College · in-state tuition rose
$288 → $656
+282%
Fullerton College · out-of-state tuition rose
$3,240 → $12,379
+29%
Fullerton College · median debt rose
$3,500 → $4,500
-100%
Fullerton College · cohort default rate fell
22.2% → 0.1%
+50%
Fullerton College · pell share rose
13.0% → 19.5%
+27%
Fullerton College · earnings_median_6yr rose
$27,100 → $34,531
SECTION 07 · SIMILAR INSTITUTIONS
Same sector and degree mix in California
Picked by Carnegie sector × predominant credential level. These are not rankings — just nearest-neighbour surfaces for comparison.
CAUSAL DISCIPLINE
“Fullerton College graduates earn $X” — not “Fullerton College makes you earn $X”
Median earnings describe what cohorts earned. They do not describe what attending Fullerton College caused. Selection effects (who admits, who enrolls, who completes) are real. We publish federal data with strict descriptive phrasing — and link the methodology where you can read about the limitations directly.