Steven J. Brittan President and CEO | Laguna College Of Art And Design
Steven J. Brittan President and CEO | Laguna College Of Art And Design
Of the 55 institutions in the county, seven provided detailed enrollment data at the time, including Concorde Career College-Garden Grove, Pacific College and Hope International University.
At least 67,700 people applied to Orange County colleges in the 2022-23 school year.
NCES data shows that among them, around 156,267 students enrolled in the universities, including 146,185 in undergraduate and 10,082 in graduate programs. In total 10.1% of undergraduates transferred from another college or university.
The reported undergraduate student body is comprised mostly of Hispanic (41.5%) and white (24.8%) students.
Among the institutions that provided disclosed enrollment data, California State University-Fullerton stood out with the largest enrollment at the time, welcoming 40,386 students.
U.S. college enrollment has been in a downward trend since peaking at around 18.1 million students in 2010. Recent increases offered some relief, but experts project a steeper decline in 2025.
This decline is likely due to two main factors. First, the pool of young adults is shrinking as birth rates have fallen nearly 23% between 2007 and 2022. Second, the rising cost of higher education, including skyrocketing student loan debt. A 2023 Wall Street Journal report shows that more than half of Americans think a four-year degree is not worth the cost.
NCES shows that enrollment data was not available for 24 institutions in Orange County, including Vanguard University of Southern California, Santa Ana Beauty College and South Coast College.
Some educational data is based on estimates. Shifting demographics among student populations can sometimes result in gender totals which do not equal 100%.
| Institution | # of Applicants | # of Admitted Students | Total Enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| California State University-Fullerton | 48,748 | 32,661 | 40,386 |
| Columbia College - Los Alamitos | -- | -- | -- |
| Advance Beauty College | -- | -- | 516 |
| Golden West College | -- | -- | 10,053 |
| Brownson Technical School | -- | -- | 264 |
| North-West College-Anaheim | -- | -- | 340 |
| Alliant International University-Irvine | -- | -- | -- |
| Chapman University | 13,690 | 9,994 | 10,014 |
| Paul Mitchell the School-Costa Mesa | -- | -- | 405 |
| American Career College-Anaheim | -- | -- | 1,465 |
| Interior Designers Institute | -- | -- | 96 |
| Pacific College | 30 | 10 | 272 |
| Marshall B Ketchum University | -- | -- | -- |
| Career Academy of Beauty | -- | -- | 205 |
| Coastline Beauty College | -- | -- | 195 |
| Irvine Valley College | -- | -- | 10,464 |
| Cypress College | -- | -- | 13,523 |
| Grace Mission University | -- | -- | 342 |
| American Institute of Massage Therapy | -- | -- | 20 |
| Modern Technology School | -- | -- | 115 |
| Bethesda University | -- | -- | 264 |
| CRU Institute of Cosmetology and Barbering | -- | -- | 112 |
| Concordia University-Irvine | 3,576 | 2,467 | 3,744 |
| Concorde Career College-Garden Grove | 485 | 466 | 803 |
| Laguna College of Art and Design | 361 | 318 | 760 |
| Asian-American International Beauty College | -- | -- | 463 |
| Coba Academy | -- | -- | 111 |
| University of Massachusetts Global | -- | -- | -- |
| IDEA at ATEP | -- | -- | -- |
| Orange Coast College | -- | -- | 16,614 |
| Coastline Community College | -- | -- | 8,077 |
| Hope International University | 810 | 259 | 1,116 |
| Fullerton College | -- | -- | 18,370 |
| Platt College-Anaheim | -- | -- | 418 |
| Haven University | -- | -- | 80 |
| Southern California Institute of Technology | -- | -- | -- |
| Touro University Worldwide | -- | -- | -- |
| Santa Ana College | -- | -- | -- |
| Stanbridge University | -- | -- | -- |
| UEI College-Garden Grove | -- | -- | -- |
| Santa Ana Beauty Academy | -- | -- | -- |
| Soka University of America | -- | -- | -- |
| Trinity Law School | -- | -- | -- |
| Saddleback College | -- | -- | 16,660 |
| Santiago Canyon College | -- | -- | -- |
| South Coast College | -- | -- | -- |
| The Chicago School at Anaheim | -- | -- | -- |
| University of California-Irvine | -- | -- | -- |
| West Coast University-Orange County | -- | -- | -- |
| South Baylo University | -- | -- | -- |
| Westcliff University | -- | -- | -- |
| Vanguard University of Southern California | -- | -- | -- |
| Thanh Le College School of Cosmetology | -- | -- | -- |
| Santa Ana Beauty College | -- | -- | -- |
| Sri Sai Krish Institute | -- | -- | -- |
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