Is Imperial Valley College Worth It?

Imperial Valley College costs almost nothing to attend, and that low price is the entire ROI case. At under $1,700 a year, your out-of-pocket risk is small, but so is the payoff for most graduates. Median earnings ten years out land around $34,500, roughly what a full-time worker on modest wages earns. The financial picture is mixed: cheap enough that most degrees pay back their cost, but weak enough that the degree itself won't lift you far.

The associate degree in registered nursing is the clear winner. Nursing graduates earn nearly double the school's median and almost twice what practical nursing graduates make, so if you can get into and finish the RN track, this is the program worth attending for. Everything else is a different story. Criminal justice and liberal arts graduates earn well below the school median, and biological and physical sciences at the associate level pays little on its own. Those programs make sense mainly as a transfer step toward a bachelor's degree elsewhere, not as a final credential.

The main risk here is the 46% graduation rate. More than half of students don't finish, and a partial degree buys you almost none of the nursing earnings advantage. The low price protects your wallet, but not your time.

On net price, families earning under $30k pay about the same as everyone at sticker price, while the $30-48k tier actually pays the most at roughly $5,400. If your family income sits in that middle band, budget for a higher bill than the headline number suggests.

This school fits you if you want the nursing program or a low-cost path to transfer. If you plan to stop at a general associate degree in liberal arts or criminal justice, the earnings won't reward it.