Private nonprofit · Community college
CET-El Paso
El Paso, Texas · Large city
- 0%
- Transfer rate
- $15,578
- Avg net price
- 64%
- Grad / completion
- $32,986
- Median earnings
CET-El Paso is a private nonprofit certificate-granting institution in El Paso, Texas (large city setting), enrolling 67 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.
About El Paso, Texas
El Paso is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The El Paso region has had human settlement for thousands of years, as evidenced by Folsom points from hunter-gatherers found at Hueco Tanks. This suggests 10,000 to 12,000 years of human habitation. The earliest known cultures in the region were maize farmers. The culture of El Paso, Texas is influenced heavily by the mixing of American and Mexican cultures, due to the city's position on the U.S. Mexico border, its large Chicano population, and its history as part of Hispanic America and Mexico. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Large city
- Highest degree offered
- Certificate
- Nearest big city
- 11 miles to El Paso, TX
- To the ocean
- 364 miles
- Nearest airport
- 8 miles to El Paso (ELP) · major hub
How CET-El Paso compares
Higher than 54% · #119 of 253 in Texas
Higher than 44%
Higher than 42% · #110 of 206 in Texas
Cheaper than 49% · #107 cheapest of 252 in Texas
Lower than 83%
Lower than 67%
Larger than 19%
Percentiles compare CET-El Paso 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 Texas.
Student body
Undergraduates by gender
- Women2334%
- Men4466%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White1.5%
- Black6.0%
- Hispanic93%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 67
- Student–faculty ratio
- 13 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 66%
- First-generation students
- 69%
- Students over 25
- 86%
- Median family income
- $13,272
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Cost
- In-state tuition
- —
- Room & board
- —
- Total cost of attendance
- —
- Average net price
- $15,578
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
- 64%
- First-year retention
- 70%
- Transferred to another college
- 0%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $33,264
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $32,986
- Median debt at graduation
- $7,041
- Students with federal loans
- 63%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 29%
Graduating on time
By student background (4 years)
When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.
Campus life & athletics
- On-campus housing
- No
- Application fee
- $100
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?
CET-El Paso funds essentially no grants of its own — almost all aid here comes from federal (Pell), state, or outside sources rather than the school's own discount. Its sticker price is what it is.
Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid, 2022–23 full-time first-year undergraduates.
Is it worth it?
A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.
- Median earnings (10 years)
- $32,986
- Typical debt at graduation
- $7,041
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 21%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 33%
Typical debt would take roughly 2.1 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.
Men out-earn women by $12,396 (48%) 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
- 97°F
- Winter low
- 34°F
- Annual rain
- 8.8″
- Annual snow
- 2.8″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, EL Paso Intl AP, TX US station (8.5 mi from campus).
What CET-El Paso 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 CET-El Paso
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare CET-El Paso side by side →
Valley Grande Institute for Academic Studies
Weslaco, Texas · Large suburb · 15 mi to McAllen
- Students
- 84
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $33k
Southwestern Christian College
Terrell, Texas · Distant town · 30 mi to Dallas
- Students
- 110
- Tuition
- $15k
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $33k
Remington College-Houston Southeast Campus
League City, Texas · Large suburb · 23 mi to Houston
- Students
- 111
- Tuition
- $17k
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $31k
Remington College-Fort Worth Campus
North Richland Hills, Texas · Large suburb · 8 mi to Fort Worth
- Students
- 154
- Tuition
- $16k
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $31k
CET-Coachella
Coachella, California · Large suburb · 71 mi to Riverside
- Students
- 96
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $33k
Mystros Barber Academy
Houston, Texas · Large city · 18 mi to Houston
- Students
- 50
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- —
Colleges near CET-El Paso
Western Technical College
El Paso, TX · Private for-profit · Certificate · 1,206 students
Tri-State Cosmetology Institute
El Paso, TX · Private for-profit · Certificate · 126 students
Milan Institute of Cosmetology-El Paso
El Paso, TX · Private for-profit · Certificate · 448 students
El Paso Community College
El Paso, TX · Public · Associate · 24,214 students
Pima Medical Institute-El Paso
El Paso, TX · Private for-profit · Certificate · 617 students
Southwest University at El Paso
El Paso, TX · Private for-profit · Associate · 2,073 students
Texas Tech University Health Scienes Center El Paso
El Paso, TX · Public · Bachelor's · 242 students
The University of Texas at El Paso
El Paso, TX · Public · Bachelor's · 21,005 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.