This is neither a college brochure nor a warning in disguise. It is what the United States federal government, through the IPEDS system, reports about UEI College-Gardena: what it is, how it charges, who stays, who does not, and which questions are still yours to ask. Let’s walk through it together.
What Kind of School It Is and Where It Is Located
UEI College-Gardena is a private, for-profit, two-year institution. Its highest reported level is the associate degree; it does not report awarding bachelor’s degrees. It is in Gardena, California, within Los Angeles County, in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim metropolitan area. Its census code places it in a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more. That does not tell you how to get to campus or what living options are nearby; if your child plans to live at home, drive the route yourself on a weekday at the time your child’s classes would meet. The actual travel time is almost never what the map says.
Something is worth clarifying at the outset because it frequently causes confusion: in the Carnegie Classification 2021, which groups the nation’s colleges and universities by type, UEI College-Gardena appears outside the classified universe. That does not say whether it is good or bad. Carnegie describes what kind of school it is, not how well it performs, and it simply did not assign it a classification. Before paying for the first term, ask admissions what accreditation the school has and the exact credential it awards, and independently confirm that name on the Department of Education’s website. No classification can spare you that call.
It also does not appear under any of the three special designations tracked by the government: it is not a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 colleges and universities in this national directory, 138 have at least one of the three designations. The fact that UEI College-Gardena is not among them does not say which communities it serves or how your child will feel on that campus. Ask about that directly: which student organizations exist today and, better still, speak with someone who already studies there.
Who Else Is on This Campus
UEI College-Gardena had 1,444 students enrolled in the official fall count, all of them undergraduates. It is a medium-sized school within its category, but compared with the 255 private two-year schools reporting this figure in the same census, it is among the largest: no more than one in ten has more students.
Of every 100 undergraduate students, 34 were reported as Hispanic or Latino. That is more than one in three. Compared with schools of the same type, it ranks above the midpoint of the group. Put plainly, being Latino here would not be the exception. But a large number of Latino students is not the same as support designed for Latino students. The figure counts how many there are, not whether there is a Spanish-speaking counselor, whether tutoring is available, or whether those students complete their programs. And it is the percentage for the entire school, not for the specific program that interests your child.
Nearly half of the undergraduate students, 49 out of every 100, are between 25 and 64 years old. This is not a campus where everyone has just graduated from high school. There are more women than men: 60 out of every 100. And there is something IPEDS simply did not report for this school in the 2023 cycle: where entering students came from. That data is unavailable and is not estimated.
A large school does not mean more options, and a small school does not mean more attention for your child. Always ask about the specific program, never only about the school as a whole.
How Academics Work
UEI College-Gardena reported a continuous academic calendar: there is no single “August” when everyone starts together. Students enter when the program that interests your child opens. That changes how you should plan: ask for the exact start date of the specific program rather than assuming a traditional academic calendar.
The school reported that it does not enroll high school students in college-credit courses, and in its response about special credit upon admission, it selected “none of the above”: it did not indicate credit for life experience or AP exams. That question also did not measure dual credit or other transfer policies, so confirm those policies directly with the school in writing.
Here is something important about the money: IPEDS asks schools of this type to report the cost of the entire program, not the cost per academic year. When you compare its price with another college’s price, make sure you are comparing the same thing. Ask in writing for the total program cost and when the program begins.
In the federal report of credentials awarded for the most recent year, UEI College-Gardena does not appear as having awarded any bachelor’s degrees. This is normal for its type: of the 256 private two-year schools in this census, 254 are in the same situation. But this is a count from a single academic year; a new program may not appear yet. If your child’s eventual goal is a bachelor’s degree, ask in writing for the list of credentials the school currently offers and its transfer agreements with other institutions. This data does not measure them.
The student-to-instructional-staff ratio is 23 to 1: 23 full-time-equivalent students for every full-time-equivalent instructional staff member. Compared with similar schools, it is on the high side, although it does not fall within the most extreme group. Be careful: this is not a class size. It is an aggregate institutional ratio. If class size matters to you, ask directly; IPEDS does not report it here.
One Academic Path the School Does Report
The institution reports offering a complete program that can be taken exclusively during evenings or weekends. If your child works, or if you need your child to work while studying, this may be relevant. Confirm exactly which program has this schedule and whether it is the one that interests your child.
How Admission Works
UEI College-Gardena reported an open-admission policy for all or most first-time undergraduate students. The published application fee is $0.
This is where many families become confused, so I want to be precise: open admission as a general policy does not guarantee that every applicant will enter every program. Your child must still meet any applicable eligibility conditions, and a specific program may have its own requirements. For that reason, under open admission, IPEDS does not ask the school to report how many people applied and how many were admitted, a post-admission enrollment rate, or an SAT or ACT policy. It is not that the school concealed those figures: under this policy, that component of the federal report simply does not apply. Do not turn that absence into a lack of transparency or into a requirement that does not exist.
Regarding transfers: in the fall 2023 count, 158 undergraduate students seeking a degree or certificate entered UEI College-Gardena for the first time after having studied at another institution. Compared with schools of its type, it is among those reporting the highest counts. This is a count of people, not a proportion, so a large school may accumulate more people simply because of its size. How many credits the school accepted from those transfer students is a separate question to ask the school directly.
What It Costs and What Is Actually Paid
At UEI College-Gardena, among 182 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $26,303. Among 14 students in the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $28,965; among 1 student with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $31,863. For dependent students, the income band combines their parents’ income with their own.
There is a difference of $5,560 between the average for the lowest-income band (182 students) and the average for the highest-income band (1 student). Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $26,482.
Even after grants and scholarships were deducted, the average net price for the lowest-income families was $26,303 for the largest program, whose reported duration was 9 months. If that number does not fit your budget, it is better to see it today than in August.
An average does not show how different the cases within that band were; this data cannot establish that some families were far below or above the published figure. The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at public institutions, they use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average with grant or scholarship aid, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships.
Where the Money May Come From
Almost everyone receives some money that does not have to be repaid: 89 out of every 100 degree- or certificate-seeking students received some grant or scholarship aid. But the fact that almost everyone receives it does not mean they receive a large amount: among recipients, the annual average was $4,395.
The Pell Grant, federal aid for students with demonstrated financial need, went to 76 out of every 100 degree- or certificate-seeking students. Applying for this aid here is neither unusual nor limited to a small number of students: most receive it. Do not hesitate to ask which documents are required and when they are due.
Now for the other side. Of every 100 undergraduate students, 77 received a federal student loan in the most recent academic year. That is a clear majority. Among those who borrowed, each received an average of $6,719 that year. Compared with other private two-year schools, UEI College-Gardena is on the high side: seven out of ten of those schools, or more, had an equal or lower proportion of students with loans.
Financing an education with debt is the norm here, not the exception. If your child borrows a similar amount each year and attends for the full two years, the total comes to about $13,438, not including interest. That decision is made before the first signature, not afterward.
And we need to be clear about what that figure does not include: it covers only one year and only federal loans taken out in the student’s name. It does not include PLUS loans that parents sometimes sign for, debt from banks, or credit cards. Nor is it the total debt with which someone graduates; that would require adding all the years together, and that data is not in this report.
The fact that borrowing is common here does not determine whether your child will need a loan. That depends on your child’s specific financial aid letter and the difference between the net price and what your family can actually pay. If debt appears in the letter, ask for the estimated monthly payment before accepting anything.
The institution also reports that an installment tuition payment plan is available. Ask exactly how it works and whether it has an additional cost.
Campus Life: What the School Does and Does Not Offer
UEI College-Gardena does not have its own housing. It offers neither dormitories nor apartments under its control, either on or off campus, and it does not report meal plans. That does not remove those expenses from the official cost-of-attendance budget that financial aid uses for off-campus housing and food; that budget does exist and is worth requesting directly.
It did not indicate any ROTC opportunity in its report, either in the general field or for any of the three military branches. Of the two-year institutions in this guide, 45 out of 843 did indicate one; this school was not among them. That does not prove that there is no related option nearby, only that none was reported in this field. If it matters to you, ask directly before ruling it out.
It also reports no membership in any national athletic association—neither NCAA, NAIA, NJCAA, USCAA, nor NCCAA. That record does not prove whether the school has teams; if sports weigh heavily in your child’s decision, confirm this with the school.
It does offer distance education at the undergraduate level. Of every 100 students, 23 took their entire course load completely through distance education in the fall count, and 77 took at least one in-person class. The school also reported having at least one complete program that can be completed entirely through distance education. Confirm exactly which program that is and whether it is the one that interests your child.
There is one specific point about the library that is worth understanding clearly: in its most recent institutional response, UEI College-Gardena stated that it did not have access to a library collection and that its library expenses were zero. It therefore was not required to complete that component of the federal report. This does not describe study rooms, computers, or other campus support; ask directly where students study and what tuition includes.
Regarding formal support, the institution reports combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students, placement services for those who complete their programs, a dedicated point of contact for veterans, military members, and their families, and a web address for disability services published in IPEDS. The fact that these services are reported does not indicate how good they are or how they work in practice; you learn that by speaking with the school and, if possible, with current students.
Who Stays and Who Finishes
Here we come to the figures that carry the most weight, and I want to give them to you in full, without softening or dramatizing them.
Of the cohort of first-time, full-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students—229 people who entered between August and October of 2022—only 57 out of every 100 met the official retention criterion: they were still enrolled or had already completed their program. Compared with similar private two-year schools, UEI College-Gardena ranks in the lower part of the group: seven out of ten schools in that group, or more, retained a higher proportion. The source does not say what happened to the rest: we do not know whether they transferred, paused their studies, or left school. If transferring is part of your child’s plan, that is a different figure that must be requested separately.
The graduation rate measures something different: it follows the cohort of first-time, full-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students who entered in 2020. Of those students, 63 out of every 100 completed a program at this institution within 150% of the expected normal time. This is a historical cohort, not a promise for your child, and it does not include students who arrive as transfers or those who begin part-time.
Then there is the longer, eight-year view. Of an annual cohort of 700 students who entered between July 2015 and June 2016, as of the August 2023 cutoff, 66 out of every 100 had earned a degree or certificate from this school. Among Pell Grant recipients, the figure was 65 out of every 100, just five points below the group without Pell Grants. Compared with other private two-year schools, this figure ranks below the midpoint of the group.
There is an honest detail worth mentioning: the federal report itself has a gray area here. It reports 0 out of every 100 as still enrolled without having received a credential, but the definition mixes different cutoff dates, so that figure does not establish precisely how many were still enrolled at the exact time of the count. And 34 out of every 100—236 people out of the 700—appear with unknown enrollment status. Unknown means that the report could not determine whether they were still enrolled somewhere; it does not mean that they had dropped out, and it does not explain why.
Put plainly for a family: between 6 and 7 out of every 10 students in this cohort finished with a credential from this school within eight years. It is an actual figure, not a prediction about your specific child. Before deciding, ask about the specific support available today to prevent a student from falling by the wayside, and request more recent outcomes if the school has them.
What Each Person Is Responsible For
None of this tells you whether UEI College-Gardena is the right school for your child. It tells you, as precisely as the government allows, what kind of school it is: a two-year, for-profit, open-admission institution with a high net price even for low-income families, a retention rate that ranks below similar schools, and an eight-year completion rate of about two-thirds of its cohort.
Your child is responsible for deciding whether the specific program, format, and schedule fit your child’s life. The school is responsible for admitting, charging, and, according to what it promises, placing students. Your responsibility is different: to understand the actual money behind the published price, request in writing what this report cannot give you—the exact program cost, transfer agreements, the housing and food budget, and the estimated monthly payment for any loan—and support the decision without carrying it alone or leaving it entirely in the hands of a teenager.
You now know in detail one of the pieces your family needs to make a decision. Combine it with what your child truly wants to study, what your child has built so far, and what you can and are willing to pay. None of those three pieces replaces either of the other two. Together, the three create a plan.
Note on sources: The information in this article comes from IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) and the United States Department of Education, using data from the 2022-23 and 2023-24 reports, as indicated in each section. Best College Aid does not represent UEI College-Gardena or any government agency; this article organizes public information to help you understand it.