This is what official federal government data —reported by the institution itself— make it possible to see.
What type of school it is
Rio Hondo College is a public institution offering four-year programs or longer, located in Whittier, California, in Los Angeles County. The Carnegie system, which classifies the nation's colleges and universities according to what they do, describes it as a school that awards both bachelor's and associate degrees —and awards more of the latter.
Here it is worth pausing over a word that may sound unusual: “nonresidential.” Carnegie classifies Rio Hondo as a primarily nonresidential institution. That means that, under its definition, fewer than one out of every four undergraduate students lived in school-owned housing, or fewer than half studied full time —the data do not clarify which of the two conditions applied. If your family does not live near campus, this is something you have to work out yourself: where your child would live, how he would get there, how much travel time it involves. The census code places the campus setting in a rural area near a city, not inside a large urban area. That describes the school's address, not your child's daily life there. That is something to ask directly.
It is also worth knowing that Rio Hondo does not have any of three special designations: it is not a historically Black college or university, it is not a tribal college or university, and it is not a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 colleges in this directory, 138 do have at least one. Rio Hondo not having them says nothing about which communities it serves well or poorly —that is something to ask by speaking with people who already study there and seeing what organizations and cultural centers exist today.
One practical warning: if you come across a description of Rio Hondo from several years ago, be careful. Carnegie changed its category in 2021 from the one it had in 2015.
A community where language and culture are not the exception
Here is one of the clearest facts about who studies at Rio Hondo College. In fall 2023, 72 out of every 100 undergraduate students reported being Hispanic or Latino. That is half or more of the entire student body. Compared with the 194 open-admission public four-year schools that reported this figure in this census, Rio Hondo is among those reporting the highest shares: nine out of every ten of those schools reported an equal or lower proportion.
If your child worries about being “the only one” in a classroom, this number does not describe that scenario.
But I want to be honest with you about what this figure does say and what it does not. A high percentage of Latino students is not the same as targeted support for Latino students. This number counts how many there are, not whether there is counseling in Spanish, targeted tutoring, or whether those students actually complete their degrees. And it is the number for the entire school, not for the specific program your child is interested in.
Other facts about that same community: 46 out of every 100 undergraduate students are between 25 and 64 years old —nearly half are not teenagers fresh out of high school. There are more men than women: out of every 100 students, 43 are women. And virtually everyone who enrolled for the first time reported a permanent home address in California when applying for admission.
A large school, with many people coming and going
Rio Hondo College reported 17,193 enrolled students in the official fall count. It is a large school, in the range of 10,000 to 19,999 students. Compared with its 194 open-admission public peers in this census, it falls on the larger side: only between one and three out of every ten have more students than it does. All 17,193 are undergraduate students; there is no graduate enrollment in this count.
Here is one detail that changes how you should read its size: IPEDS estimates that, of total enrollment, the institution's full-time-equivalent enrollment is only 9,679 students. In other words, many people are enrolled part time. With so many part-time students, the school may not necessarily offer courses in your child's program at the times he expects. Ask about actual schedules before assuming anything.
How the academic year works
Rio Hondo organizes the year by semesters: two long terms of about 15 weeks each. The institution stated that it accepts credit for AP exams and also what IPEDS calls “credit for life experience” —learning acquired through independent study, work, portfolios, prior licenses, or military or government opportunities. It also reports accepting credit for military training and enrolling high school students in college-credit courses through a formal dual-enrollment program.
Here is a hard truth I will not soften: the school stating that it accepts AP does not mean it will grant credit for every exam. We do not know how many points it requires or whether those credits count toward your child's specific program. Request the equivalency evaluation in writing before enrolling. Do not budget for the savings until you have it in hand.
What Rio Hondo awards in bachelor's degrees —and what that does not mean
In the most recently reported year, Rio Hondo College awarded 12 bachelor's degrees. All came from a single academic family: mechanics and repair. Nationally, 17 institutions or reporting groups in the country award bachelor's degrees in that same family. Compared with 178 open-admission public four-year schools in this census, Rio Hondo falls in the quarter that awards the fewest bachelor's degrees each year.
This does not show that mechanics and repair is the school's only current offering, nor that your child would have to transfer institutions if he wants to study something else —Rio Hondo, like many community colleges, may have a broad offering of associate degrees and certificates that this bachelor's-degree count does not capture. Verify current programs directly. And with numbers this small, the count can shift substantially from one year to the next: ask for the most recent three years for the exact program your child is interested in.
One number worth examining carefully is the student-faculty ratio: 31 full-time-equivalent students for every full-time-equivalent faculty member. Among the 194 similar schools in this census, Rio Hondo falls in the highest quarter —three out of every four reported the same or lower ratio. This figure is not class size; it is an aggregate average for the whole institution. If class size matters to you, request that specific figure separately.
Academic paths the institution reports
Rio Hondo College reports offering study abroad, a complete program that can be completed only during evenings or weekends, and noncredit developmental education for students who need to strengthen foundational skills before taking regular courses.
Admission: the door is open, but that is not the same as guaranteed
Rio Hondo College stated an open-admission policy for all or most first-time undergraduate students. The published application fee is $0.
This is where I want to be very clear with you, because it is a common misunderstanding: open admission does not mean that every applicant is automatically admitted to every program. It is the general policy for entry to the institution. A particular program —a major with limited space, for example— may have its own requirements. Verify the current eligibility conditions directly for the program your child is interested in.
Precisely because Rio Hondo reports open admission, several figures you usually see at other colleges do not apply here: there is no applicant-admission rate because IPEDS does not request it under this model; there is no enrollment rate after admission, for the same reason; and there is no reported policy on the use of the SAT or ACT. None of these gaps is a lack of transparency by the school —it is how reporting works under open admission. If testing is used for placement or scholarships, ask the institution directly.
One figure does stand out: in the fall 2023 count, 1,436 undergraduate students entered Rio Hondo for the first time after studying at another institution. Compared with its 194 peers, Rio Hondo is among those receiving the most transfer students —although this is not a proportion, and a large school naturally counts more people. How many credits those transfer students had recognized is another question to ask directly at the school.
Cost: two very different prices depending on where you live
At Rio Hondo College, among 376 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and paid the state or district rate, whose records showed family EFC income below $30,000, the average net price was $11,073. Among 162 students from the same population with family EFC income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $13,812; among 1 student with family EFC income above $110,000, it was $11,240. For dependent students, the range combines their parents' income and their own.
The average for the lowest-income range (376 students) and the average for the highest range (1 student) ended up $167 apart. Among first-year students who received any grant, the average was $13,920.
Among the 194 schools of the same type and control included in this census that reported this figure with the same time coverage, this one falls in the most expensive quarter for lower-income families. That does not mean it should be ruled out. It means you need to request the aid letter before deciding.
The two end ranges being so close does not mean your family will pay that amount. The income ranges in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at public institutions they use the state or district rate. The overall average with grants, when it appears, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships. Run the school's net-price calculator with your own numbers before relying on this figure.
Scholarships, Pell, and loans: the money picture
At Rio Hondo College, 46 out of every 100 students seeking a degree or certificate received some scholarship or aid that does not have to be repaid. The other 54 received none of that. Compared with its peers, Rio Hondo falls in the quarter where grants reach fewer students. Among those who did receive them, the annual average was $4,008.
The federal Pell Grant —intended for students with demonstrated financial need— reached 26 out of every 100 students seeking a degree or certificate.
Here is something I want to tell you plainly: more than half of this school's students received no scholarship at all. That does not predict what they will offer your child. Nor does it rule it out. It says that at Rio Hondo, you have to actively seek aid rather than wait for it to arrive on its own.
On loans, there is a number that appears in the report as zero percent of undergraduate students with a federal loan —and yet it comes with an average amount of $6,992. Do not be confused: that zero is due to rounding. That year, 76 students did take out a federal loan at Rio Hondo. They were few compared with the total, not none. Compared with its 194 peers, Rio Hondo uses federal loans less than almost all of them: nine out of every ten in that group, or more, had a higher proportion of students with debt.
Of those who did borrow, each received an average of $6,992 that year. That number does not include Parent PLUS loans that parents sometimes sign for, debt with banks or credit cards, and it is not the total debt with which someone graduates —for that, all years would have to be added together, and that figure is not here. Ask the financial-aid office what exactly pays for the portion that grants do not cover.
Rio Hondo also reports a tuition installment-payment plan and institutional participation in a Promise program, which may reduce or eliminate costs for certain eligible students. It is worth asking directly about the requirements.
Campus life: no dorms, with an active library
Rio Hondo College does not offer its own housing: neither dormitories nor apartments under its control, on or off campus. It also does not report meal plans. That does not mean the official cost-of-attendance budget ignores off-campus housing —IPEDS does collect estimates for that in calculating financial aid. Request the specific budget they would use for your child.
The institution checked no ROTC opportunity in its report —neither the general box nor any of the three military branches. Of the four-year institutions in this guide, 926 out of 1,786 did check it; Rio Hondo was not among them. That does not prove that no nearby path exists: it only says none was reported in this field. If that scholarship matters to your family, ask admissions directly before ruling it out.
There are intercollegiate sports, although the institution does not report belonging to any of the five named national athletic associations in the record (NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, USCAA, or NCCAA). These fields do not say which sports exist, how many spots are available, or whether any offer scholarships.
As for online classes: 27 out of every 100 undergraduate students were taking only distance-education courses in the fall count; the other 73 were taking at least one in-person class. This number is for the whole school, not your child's program —one program may be almost entirely online while the one next to it is almost entirely on campus.
The library has hired staff and annual spending of $100,000 or more, with physical and digital collections. One practical detail: the institution reported that it does not have interlibrary loan service. If your child's program requires research, ask how students obtain materials that are not in its own collection.
Rio Hondo also reports combined academic and career counseling services, job placement for current students and graduates, on-campus child care, a dedicated point of contact for veterans and military personnel, a student veterans organization, and a disability-services webpage.
Persistence and graduation: the part you have to look at without blinking
Here we arrive at what weighs most heavily, and I am going to tell you directly, without wrapping it in optimism it does not deserve.
The retention figure —how many first-time, full-time students return for the second year— is blank in the most recent report because Rio Hondo's adjusted cohort for that calculation was zero. It is not that the school failed to report: it is that this specific group did not exist in the size needed to produce a percentage. If your child would enroll full time, ask admissions for the figure from other years.
IPEDS does not provide the separate rate for the bachelor's-degree subcohort here, but it does publish the rate for the total cohort of students who entered in 2017 full time, for the first time, and seeking a degree or certificate. 27 out of every 100 completed a program at this institution within 150% of normal time. This figure is a historical cohort, not a prediction about your child. It counts only those who entered for the first time and full time; it does not include those who arrived as transfers or started part time.
Now for the broader and more difficult figure to read: a cohort of 7,116 undergraduate students —first-time students and those with prior postsecondary experience, full-time and part-time— entered Rio Hondo between July 2015 and June 2016. At the eight-year cutoff, in August 2023, 17 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from this school. It is a hard figure. Most of that generation had not received a Rio Hondo credential during that period.
But before reaching a hasty conclusion, it is necessary to see the rest of the picture:
- When the count is limited only to first-time, full-time students —without mixing in those who already had prior studies or attended part time—, the figure rises to 41 out of every 100, 24 points higher.
- Among students in that cohort who received a Pell Grant, 32 out of every 100 left with a Rio Hondo degree or certificate, 20 points above those who did not receive Pell. The data say what happened, not why.
- IPEDS also reports that 26 out of every 100 still had no degree from this school but showed some enrollment record elsewhere. The definition of this number has an internal inconsistency in how it counts time, so it cannot be used to state precisely how many remained active exactly at the cutoff. Nor does it rule out that some may have completed a degree at another institution.
This 17% percentage is for the whole school, not for a particular program. If your child is pursuing a specific program, request that figure from the relevant department. And it is wise for the list of colleges you are building together to include more than one option.
What these numbers cannot tell you
None of the above tells you what will happen to your child after graduation: there are no employment, salary, or debt-at-completion data here. That information comes from other sources, and it is worth seeking separately when the time comes.
Putting the pieces together
You now know one piece of the map in depth: what type of school Rio Hondo College is, whom it serves, what it really costs, how likely someone is to complete a degree there, and how long that takes. It is a large, predominantly Latino school with open admission, low tuition for California residents, no school-owned housing, and a graduation rate that needs context to be read properly.
This piece alone decides nothing. Put it together with what your child wants to study and what he has built so far —his grades, effort, and interests— and with what your family can and is willing to pay. From that combination, made together, a real plan emerges. Your child has his part of the journey to make. Your part is to arrive at the door informed, without having missed an exit because you did not read the map carefully.
Note on sources: The information in this article comes from data reported by Rio Hondo College to IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) of the United States Department of Education, corresponding mainly to the years 2022-23 and 2023-24, as indicated in each section. Best College Aid does not represent Rio Hondo College or the United States government; this piece organizes and explains existing public information.