Santa Monica College: A Parent's Guide to Admissions, Cost & Outcomes
San Diego, California · Public · Unknown · CDS 2024-2025
Santa Monica College is a public institution located in San Diego, California. The average net price after grants and scholarships is -$818 per year, which is the figure most families actually pay rather than the published sticker price. For parents weighing whether Santa Monica College is realistic for their teenager, the most useful planning step is comparing your child's current GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against these admitted-student ranges — not the headline acceptance rate alone.
What GPA does my child need for Santa Monica College?
Successful applicants to Santa Monica College typically present unweighted GPAs at or near 4.0 with the most rigorous course load their school offers, including multiple AP, IB, or dual-enrollment courses. Parents tracking their child's GPA toward this tier of school can use Solyo's free calculator to see weighted, unweighted, and college-recalculated numbers side by side.
SAT and ACT scores Santa Monica College typically admits
Many applicants to schools in this tier submit test scores, though the policy varies by year — check the latest test-optional status before deciding.
How much does Santa Monica College actually cost?
Published tuition is $1,150 for in-state students and $9,094 for out-of-state, before grants and scholarships. After need-based and merit aid, the average family pays a net price of -$818 per year — the number that actually matters for budgeting. Roughly 22% of students receive Pell Grants, a useful indicator of how much need-based aid the school distributes.
| Average net price (after aid) | -$818 |
Application deadlines and early decision data for Santa Monica College
Other colleges in California parents ask about
- Stanford University4% acceptance
- University of California-Berkeley12% acceptance
- University of California-Los Angeles9% acceptance
- University of Southern California10% acceptance
- University of California-Davis42% acceptance
- University of California-Irvine26% acceptance
- University of California-San Diego25% acceptance
- University of California-Santa Barbara63% acceptance
How parents track GPA toward selective schools like Santa Monica College
Solyo helps parents track grades pulled directly from school emails, calculate GPA the same way colleges like Santa Monica College recalculate it, and ask an AI college counselor specific questions about their teen's odds. The platform is built for parents — not students — and turns what's usually a fragmented planning process into a single dashboard.
Common questions parents ask about Santa Monica College
What GPA do I need for Santa Monica College?
Successful applicants to Santa Monica College typically present unweighted GPAs at or near 4.0 with the most rigorous course load their school offers, including multiple AP, IB, or dual-enrollment courses.
What SAT or ACT score does Santa Monica College typically admit?
Santa Monica College does not publish standardized test ranges in the most recent reporting cycle. Test-optional policies have made scores less universally required, but submitting strong scores still helps when available.
How much does Santa Monica College actually cost after financial aid?
The average net price at Santa Monica College after grants and scholarships is -$818 per year. That figure is more useful for budgeting than the published sticker price, because it reflects what families actually pay after aid is applied.
Is Santa Monica College realistic for my child?
Compare your teen's current unweighted GPA and most recent SAT or ACT against the ranges above. If both numbers fall inside the school's middle-50, Santa Monica College is a target school. If both fall below the 25th-percentile mark, treat it as a reach and balance the application list accordingly.
Data sourced from the 2024-2025 Common Data Set submitted by Santa Monica College, and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Solyo extracts admissions data from official Common Data Set publications and refreshes it annually.