Private for-profit · Community college
Bellus Academy
Manhattan, Kansas · Small city
- 6%
- Transfer rate
- $26,631
- Avg net price
- 74%
- Grad / completion
- $25,223
- Median earnings
Bellus Academy is a private for-profit certificate-granting institution in Manhattan, Kansas (small city setting), enrolling 209 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.
About Manhattan, Kansas
Manhattan is a city in and the county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County. Before settlement by European-Americans in the 1850s, the land around Manhattan was home to Native tribes. From 1780 to 1830, it was home to the Kaw people, also known as the Kansa. Aggieville is a center of shopping and nightlife with many stores, bars, and live bands. Downtown Manhattan, and the Manhattan Town Center Mall, are an anchor for shopping, art, fine dining, and entertainment in eastern Manhattan. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Small city
- Highest degree offered
- Certificate
- Nearest big city
- 109 miles to Kansas City, MO
- To Great Lakes shore
- 506 miles
- Nearest airport
- 5 miles to Manhattan (MHK)
How Bellus Academy compares
Higher than 68% · #10 of 45 in Kansas
Higher than 75%
Higher than 19% · #39 of 42 in Kansas
Cheaper than 15% · #45 cheapest of 46 in Kansas
Lower than 75%
Lower than 49%
Larger than 46%
Percentiles compare Bellus Academy with the nation's 3,519 two-year and certificate schools, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count two-year and certificate schools in Kansas.
Student body
Undergraduates by gender
- Women18990%
- Men2010%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White67%
- Black6.7%
- Hispanic15%
- Asian1.0%
- Other or multiracial11%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 209
- Student–faculty ratio
- 16 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 45%
- First-generation students
- 44%
- Students over 25
- 28%
- Median family income
- $23,753
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Where students come from
Home state of the 58 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.
- From Kansas100%
Most first-years stay in state — Bellus Academy draws overwhelmingly from Kansas.
Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.
Cost
- In-state tuition
- —
- Room & board
- —
- Total cost of attendance
- —
- Average net price
- $26,631
Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.
Outcomes
- Graduated
- 74%
- First-year retention
- 86%
- Transferred to another college
- 6%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $23,546
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $25,223
- Median debt at graduation
- $7,917
- Students with federal loans
- 55%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 51%
Campus life & athletics
- On-campus housing
- No
- Application fee
- Free
Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.
What you'll actually pay, by family income
Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.
College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.
Does the school pay you to attend?
Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.
Modest institutional aid: 24% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $985. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.
Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 84 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.
Is it worth it?
A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.
- Median earnings (10 years)
- $25,223
- Typical debt at graduation
- $7,917
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 31%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 35%
Typical debt would take roughly 3.1 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.
Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.
The pay gap here
Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.
Women out-earn men by $1,125 (5%) a decade out.
Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.
Campus climate
- Summer high
- 91°F
- Winter low
- 19°F
- Annual rain
- 35.8″
- Annual snow
- 17.6″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Manhattan, KS US station (1.5 mi from campus).
What Bellus Academy graduates study — and earn
Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.
Colleges similar to Bellus Academy
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Bellus Academy side by side →
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Paul Mitchell the School-Pasadena
Pasadena, California · Midsize city · 9 mi to Los Angeles
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Colleges near Bellus Academy
Manhattan Area Technical College
Manhattan, KS · Public · Certificate · 342 students
Kansas State University
Manhattan, KS · Public · Bachelor's · 15,142 students
Manhattan Christian College
Manhattan, KS · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 146 students
Washburn Institute of Technology
Topeka, KS · Public · Certificate · 615 students
Washburn University
Topeka, KS · Public · Bachelor's · 4,562 students
Rasmussen University-Kansas
Topeka, KS · Private for-profit · Associate · 359 students
Flint Hills Technical College
Emporia, KS · Public · Certificate · 352 students
Emporia State University
Emporia, KS · Public · Bachelor's · 2,239 students
Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.