Which High Desert Medical College certificate program has the lowest debt?

Dental Hygiene and Assisting graduates leave with a median of $7,521 in federal loans, the lowest among 4 High Desert Medical College certificate programs that report debt.

How much does High Desert Medical College cost?

Tuition and fees for the school's largest program are $52,047 for the whole program. After grants and scholarships, the average net price for that program is $29,627.

How many High Desert Medical College programs report graduate pay?

One associate's program and 4 certificate programs at High Desert Medical College report first-year pay, and all of them also report federal debt.

High Desert Medical College Programs, Ranked by Graduate Pay and Debt

Private for-profit college
Lancaster, CA
2,245 undergraduates

College Scorecard June 2026 release

The short answer

4 High Desert Medical College certificate programs report what graduates earn. Practical Nursing pays the most in the first year ($49,021), and Dental Hygiene and Assisting the least ($17,720). The median program pays $23,280. High Desert Medical College also has one associate's program that reports pay.

Tuition for the largest program$52,047Tuition and fees for the whole program

Net price, largest program$29,627After aid, for the whole program

Graduation rate68%Within 1.5 times the normal program length

One associate's program

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in California" compares first-year pay with the same field's associate's programs across California.

Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in California
Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 93 graduates a year	$24,036	Not reported	$28,330	27th of 29

Program names link to the program's own page, and California ranks link to the full ranking for the field.

All 4 certificate programs, ranked

Each figure is the median for the program's graduates. "Rank in California" compares first-year pay with the same field's certificate programs across California. Programs that don't report a figure are listed last when you sort by it.

#	Program	Year 1 pay	Year 5 pay	Debt	Rank in California
1	Practical NursingAbout 166 graduates a year	$49,021	Not reported	$17,608	33rd of 41
2	Diagnostic and Treatment ProfessionsAbout 90 graduates a year	$25,056	$40,812	$22,181	23rd of 24
3	Allied Health and Medical AssistingAbout 186 graduates a year	$21,504	$29,880	$9,500	51st of 55
4	Dental Hygiene and AssistingAbout 65 graduates a year	$17,720	Not reported	$7,521	29th of 29

Program names link to the program's own page, and California ranks link to the full ranking for the field.

Common questions

Practical Nursing graduates earn a median of $49,021 in their first year, the most of 4 High Desert Medical College certificate programs that report pay.

About this data

Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid, and earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school.
Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
Tuition, net price, graduation rate, and admission rate are for the whole school, not one program.
Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of California rankings when their main campus is in another state.
Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago.

Sources

U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
NCES, IPEDS tuition and fees, 2023-24, for in-district tuition labels