Associate Degr + Practical Nursing
College of the DesertNursing programs, NCLEX pass rate & cost
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How it stacks up · California RN programs
How does College of the Desert rank for you?
Tap what matters most to you, in order.
if pass rate came first
- #1Saddleback College Associate Degree98.8% pass
- #2Mendocino College Associate Degree100% pass
- #3California State University, Long Beach Baccalaureate Degree98.8% pass
- #4Sonoma State University Baccalaureate Degree95.7% pass
- #5California State University, Los Angeles Baccalaureate Degree96.1% pass
- #90College of the Desert Associate Degree89.1% pass
Bars show each program’s overall score under these priorities. A figure a program hasn’t published is a fill-in, as in the full rankings: a missing graduation rate or cost is scored at the 40th percentile of programs that publish it; missing graduates’ pay is filled in at the state’s median new-grad pay. Tap a heart to shortlist.
Your path into College of the Desert · 30 sec
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Board-approved programs · 2025
Nursing programs at College of the Desert
College of the Desert runs 2 board-approved nursing programs in California — 1 RN-track and 1 PN/LPN-track. Its best 2025 first-time NCLEX-RN pass rate is 89.1% — below the California average of 90.9%. Everything here comes from the state board of nursing and U.S. Department of Education data — not the school's marketing.
Nursing program completion · California BRN
Do students finish?
A pass rate only counts the students who reach the exam. Of every 100 who start, this is how many finish on time and then pass the NCLEX on the first try.
California BRN: Students who completed in the academic year ÷ students scheduled to complete that year. We use the median of the three most recent reported years; the board reports one figure for all of a school’s prelicensure degrees.
U.S. Dept. of Education · whole institution
Cost & admissions
This school's own nursing graduates
What graduates earn
Federal figures lag the current class by several years; treat them as comparison floors, not salary predictions.
Frequently asked questions
What is the NCLEX pass rate at College of the Desert?
College of the Desert's RN program had a 89.1% first-time NCLEX-RN pass rate in 2025, per the California board of nursing — the state average is 90.9% and the national average is 86.5%.
How much does College of the Desert cost?
College of the Desert's published in-state tuition / yr is $1,326, and the average net price after aid is $15,728 a year. That is the whole institution's sticker price, not the nursing program's alone, and most students pay less after grants and scholarships.
What do nursing graduates of College of the Desert earn?
ADN / Associate graduates: $91,848 median one year out. These federal figures track this school’s own nursing-program graduates and lag the current class by several years.
About this data
Programs and 2025 first-time NCLEX pass rates: the California board of nursing. Tuition, admissions, earnings and debt: the U.S. Department of Education. Not the school's marketing.