---
filename: hancock-cost.png
title: Hancock — Tuition & Cost of Attendance
cluster: Cost
college: Allan Hancock College — Santa Maria, CA
model: gemini-3-pro-image (Nano Banana Pro)
aspect_ratio: 4:5
resolution_target: 4K
generated_at: 2026-04-29
generated_by: Media skill via Generate.ts CLI
status: v2 — math documented + shared-room reality 2026-04-29
---

## Cluster
Cost (Allan Hancock College — Santa Maria, CA)

## Data points (edit these to change rendered content; re-run `bun generate-all.ts hancock-cost.png` to regenerate)
- Tuition & Fees (CA-resident, 2025-26): $1,158/yr
- Health Supervision Fee: $54/yr
- Books and Supplies: $1,089/yr
- Housing and Food: shared room ~$14K-$18K/yr (1BR-style ~$22,752 — see hancock-cost.md)
- Transportation: $4,788/yr
- Miscellaneous: $5,067/yr
- Hancock Promise (HP2): 2 yrs FREE T+F for AHJCCD HS grads (Aoife NOT eligible)
- Aoife (out-of-district, shared room): 4-yr ~$144K-$162K w/ 5% infl. (saves $20-38K vs 1BR scenario)
- Aoife with AHC institutional 1BR-equivalent: ~$165K rate-locked / ~$183K w/ 5% infl.
- In-district + Promise + lives at home: ~$58K rate-locked — see hancock-cost.md for full math

## Per-year math + shared-room reality (added 2026-04-29 — primary-source verified)

### ⚠ AHC's $22,752 Housing-and-Food = typical 1BR-style rental

The $22,752 figure on AHC's official COA page assumes **typical apartment / 1BR-equivalent** housing — that's how institutional COA budgets are built for federal aid eligibility. **Aoife renting a room in a shared house pays much less.**

### Verified Santa Maria room-share market 2026

Source: deep research 2026-04-29 from RentCafe, Craigslist Santa Maria, Roomies.com (see [hancock-housing.md](https://aptos.bike/infographics/hancock-housing.md) for full methodology).

| Tier | Housing $/mo | + Food ~$400–500/mo | Total $/yr |
|---|---:|---:|---:|
| **Bed in shared bedroom (bunkmate, 2–3 ppl/room)** | $550–$900 (utilities often incl.) | +$400–$500 | **$11,400–$16,800** |
| **Private bedroom in shared house** (modal) | $950–$1,200 | +$400–$500 | **$16,200–$20,400** |
| Private bedroom in shared house (high end, master with private bath) | $1,200–$1,400 | +$400–$500 | $19,200–$22,800 |
| **AHC official 1BR-equivalent** (institutional COA estimate) | — | — | **$22,752** |

**Aoife (Aptos out-of-district) realistic housing-and-food range**: **$11,400–$22,800/yr** depending on tier · **modal ~$18,000/yr** for a private room in a shared house. AHC's institutional figure is at the **top** of this range, not the middle.

### Hancock 2025-26 verified COA (off-campus, CA resident)

Source: <https://www.hancockcollege.edu/finaid/cost.php> verified 2026-04-29

| Component | $ (AHC official, 1BR-equivalent) | $ (Aoife shared-room realistic, modal $18K) |
|---|---:|---:|
| Tuition & Fees | $1,158 | $1,158 |
| Health Supervision Fee | $54 | $54 |
| Books and Supplies | $1,089 | $1,089 |
| Housing and Food (off-campus) | $22,752 | **~$18,000** ← shared private room |
| Transportation | $4,788 | $4,788 |
| Miscellaneous | $5,067 | $5,067 |
| **TOTAL annual COA** | **$34,854** | **~$30,156** |

**Savings from shared-room vs AHC institutional**: ~$4,752/yr (private room) or ~$8,652/yr (bunkmate).

### Cal Poly SLO 2025-26 verified (CA resident off-campus)

Source: <https://www.calpoly.edu/financial-aid/costs-and-affordability/undergraduate-costs-attendance-2025-26> verified 2026-04-29

For Cal Poly 2+2 students at Hancock campus: pay Cal Poly T+F + Santa Maria living costs (NOT Cal Poly's SLO living estimates).

- Cal Poly T+F (Liberal Arts/Business): $14,037
- Santa Maria living (shared room realistic): ~$28,000 (housing+food $18K + books $1,089 + transport $4,788 + misc $5,067 = $28,944)
- **Y3-Y4 annual (shared room)**: ~$42,981 (vs $47,733 with AHC institutional)

### Cheapest-path scenarios for Aoife

#### Scenario A — out-of-district, **shared room** (private bedroom, modal $18K/yr housing+food)

| Year | Components | $ |
|---|---|---:|
| Y1 (2026-27 Hancock + shared room) | $30,156 × 1.05 (1 yr from 2025-26 base) | $31,664 |
| Y2 (× 1.05²) | | $33,247 |
| Y3 (× 1.1025 Cal Poly 2+2 + shared room) | $42,981 × 1.1025 | $47,387 |
| Y4 (× 1.157625) | | $49,756 |
| **TOTAL with 5% escalation** | | **$162,054** |
| Rate-locked alternative | $30,156 × 2 + $42,981 × 2 | $146,274 |

#### Scenario B — out-of-district, **AHC institutional** ($22,752/yr housing+food)

| Year | Components | $ |
|---|---|---:|
| Y1 (Hancock COA full) | $34,854 × 1.05 | $36,597 |
| Y2 (× 1.05²) | | $38,427 |
| Y3 (Cal Poly 2+2 institutional living) | $47,733 × 1.1025 | $52,632 |
| Y4 (× 1.157625) | | $55,264 |
| **TOTAL with 5% escalation** | | **$182,920** |
| Rate-locked alternative | | $165,174 |

#### Scenario C — out-of-district, **bunkmate** (cheapest realistic, ~$14K/yr housing+food)

| Year | Components | $ |
|---|---|---:|
| Y1 (Hancock + bunkmate) | $26,156 × 1.05 | $27,464 |
| Y2 (× 1.05²) | | $28,837 |
| Y3 (Cal Poly + bunkmate) | $38,981 × 1.1025 | $42,977 |
| Y4 (× 1.157625) | | $45,126 |
| **TOTAL with 5% escalation** | | **$144,404** |
| Rate-locked alternative | | $130,274 |

#### Scenario D — in-district AHC student + Promise + lives at home (NOT Aoife)

| Year | Components | $ |
|---|---|---:|
| Y1 | T+F $0 (Promise) + small personal/transport | ~$5,000 |
| Y2 | Same | ~$5,000 |
| Y3 | Cal Poly T+F $14,037 + ~$10K personal/books/transport | ~$24,000 |
| Y4 | × 1.05 | ~$25,500 |
| **TOTAL** | | ~$58,000 |

### Summary table for Aoife

| Scenario | Rate-locked 4-yr | With 5% inflation | vs AHC institutional |
|---|---:|---:|---:|
| **C. Bunkmate** ($14K/yr housing+food) | $130,274 | **$144,404** | -$38,516 |
| **A. Private shared room** ($18K/yr) | $146,274 | **$162,054** | -$20,866 |
| B. AHC institutional 1BR ($22,752/yr) | $165,174 | $182,920 | baseline |

Choosing a shared-room scenario over AHC's institutional 1BR-equivalent saves Aoife **$20K-$38K over 4 years** depending on tier — a substantial portion of the total cost.

### Comparison to other paths (Aoife, with realistic shared-room housing where applicable)

| Path | 4-yr total (with 5% infl. · realistic housing) | Saves vs Direct OSU OOS |
|---|---:|---:|
| Direct OSU OOS (S1 from lbcc-savings.md) | $280,215 | — |
| Cabrillo Y1-2 + UCSC TAG Y3-4 (lives at home Y1-2, room-share Y3-4 if needed) | ~$60-80K | ~$200-220K |
| SBCC Y1-2 (Promise N/A — out-of-district) + UCSB TAG Y3-4 | ~$129K | ~$151K |
| **Hancock Y1-2 + Cal Poly 2+2 Y3-4 (bunkmate)** | **~$144K** | ~$136K |
| LBCC bridge + parent moves to OR | $148,668 | $131,547 |
| **Hancock + Cal Poly 2+2 (private shared room)** | **~$162K** | ~$118K |
| Direct Cal Poly SLO (room-share housing) | ~$170K | ~$110K |
| Hancock + Cal Poly 2+2 (AHC institutional 1BR) | ~$183K | ~$97K |
| Direct Cal Poly SLO (institutional housing) | ~$185K | ~$95K |

For Aoife, the **lowest-cost paths**:
1. Cabrillo Y1-2 + UCSC TAG Y3-4 ≈ $60-80K — by far the cheapest (lives at home Y1-2)
2. SBCC Y1-2 + UCSB TAG ≈ $129K — modal among non-Aptos paths
3. **Hancock + Cal Poly 2+2 with bunkmate housing ≈ $144K** — Cal Poly access at 69% admit
4. LBCC + parent moves to OR ≈ $149K — requires family relocation
5. **Hancock + Cal Poly 2+2 with shared private room ≈ $162K** — modal Hancock path

Hancock 2+2 path becomes meaningfully cheaper than direct Cal Poly SLO ($170-185K) **only with shared-room housing**. With AHC's institutional 1BR estimate, the savings nearly disappear.

## Style hints (edit to shift visual treatment)
- Palette: paper #F4ECDC base + ink #2A1810 body + Bulldog maroon #7B2D44 primary accent + Santa Maria gold #D4A55A secondary
- Aesthetic: editorial / hand-printed California Country
- Typography: elegant serif headline + clean geometric sans-serif data labels
- Iconography: dollar bill with Bulldog, California state outline, Cal Poly 2+2 diploma path, savings stack
- Forbidden: photorealism, stock photos, neon, holographic, gradient mesh, generic AI aesthetic

## Adjustment hints
- **To re-render at higher resolution**: this script already requests 4K; if rendering quality is off, increase resolution by editing the `--size 4K` flag in generate-all.ts to a future tier
- **To adjust color temperature**: change `accent` and `secondary` hex codes in the SPECS entry for hancock-cost.png; re-run `bun generate-all.ts hancock-cost.png`
- **To add/remove data points**: edit the `data` array in SPECS for hancock-cost.png; the prompt rebuilds automatically
- **To shift layout (vertical vs grid)**: append a layout directive after the BODY paragraph in buildPrompt(); re-run
- **To swap iconography**: edit the `iconography` array in SPECS

⚠ **WARNING**: regenerating this infographic will overwrite this sidecar's auto-generated sections (frontmatter, Cluster, Data points, Style hints, Prompt sent to Nano Banana Pro, Adjustment hints, Citations). The "Per-year math + shared-room reality (added 2026-04-29 ...)" section above is hand-added and will be LOST on next regen unless the generator is updated. Re-add manually after regen — git history preserves the section across all `*.md` revisions.

## Citations
- https://www.hancockcollege.edu/finaid/cost.php (Hancock 2025-26 official COA — $22,752 housing+food assumes 1BR-equivalent)
- https://www.hancockcollege.edu/promise/faq.php (Promise eligibility — AHJCCD-restricted)
- https://catalog.hancockcollege.edu/current/admission/fees.php
- https://www.cccco.edu/Students/Pay-for-College/California-College-Promise-Grant
- https://www.calpoly.edu/financial-aid/costs-and-affordability/undergraduate-costs-attendance-2025-26 (Cal Poly 2025-26 verified)
- https://ucm.calpoly.edu/news/cal-poly-partners-cuesta-hancock-colleges-make-it-easier-local-students-earn-four-year-degrees (2+2 program)
- https://socialsciences.calpoly.edu/hancock (Cal Poly 2+2 BA Sociology)
- https://www.rentcafe.com/average-rent-market-trends/us/ca/santa-maria/ (Santa Maria room market)
- https://santamaria.craigslist.org/search/roo (Santa Maria room-share listings — $550-1,400 verified)
- https://www.roomies.com/rooms/santa-maria-ca (room-share platform)