Private for-profit · Community college
Dorsey College-Grand Rapids
Grand Rapids, Michigan · Large suburb
- —
- Transfer rate
- $28,062
- Avg net price
- —
- Grad / completion
- $29,392
- Median earnings
Dorsey College-Grand Rapids is a private for-profit certificate-granting institution in Grand Rapids, Michigan (large suburb setting), enrolling 82 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.
About Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in and the county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. After the French established territories in Michigan, Jesuit missionaries and traders traveled down Lake Michigan and its tributaries. In 1969, Alexander Calder's abstract sculpture, La Grande Vitesse, which translates from French as "the great swiftness" or more loosely as "grand rapids," was installed downtown on Vandenberg Plaza, the redesigned setting of Grand Rapids City Hall. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Large suburb
- Highest degree offered
- Certificate
- Nearest big city
- 7 miles to Grand Rapids, MI
- To Great Lakes shore
- 34 miles
- Nearest airport
- 3 miles to Gerald R. Ford (GRR) · major hub
How Dorsey College-Grand Rapids compares
Higher than 11%
Higher than 29% · #52 of 88 in Michigan
Cheaper than 11% · #86 cheapest of 94 in Michigan
Lower than 22%
Lower than 23%
Larger than 23%
Percentiles compare Dorsey College-Grand Rapids 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 Michigan.
Student body
Undergraduates by gender
- Women6680%
- Men1620%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White73%
- Black8.5%
- Hispanic3.7%
- Asian2.4%
- Other or multiracial12%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 82
- Student–faculty ratio
- 21 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 17%
- First-generation students
- 57%
- Students over 25
- 55%
- Median family income
- $11,499
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $9,695
- Room & board
- —
- Books & supplies
- $0
- Total cost of attendance
- $32,076
- Average net price
- $28,062
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
- —
- First-year retention
- 50%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $21,514
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $29,392
- Median debt at graduation
- $13,000
- Students with federal loans
- 17%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 16%
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
- 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?
Dorsey College-Grand Rapids 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)
- $29,392
- Typical debt at graduation
- $13,000
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 44%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 28%
Typical debt would take roughly 4.4 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 $3,213 (11%) 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
- 83°F
- Winter low
- 19°F
- Annual rain
- 39.4″
- Annual snow
- 77.6″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Grand Rapids, MI US station (1.5 mi from campus).
What Dorsey College-Grand Rapids 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 Dorsey College-Grand Rapids
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Dorsey College-Grand Rapids side by side →
Ross Medical Education Center-Taylor
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- Tuition
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- Transfer
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Ross Medical Education Center-Canton
Canton, Michigan · Large suburb · 22 mi to Detroit
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- Tuition
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Ross Medical Education Center-Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, Michigan · Large suburb · 32 mi to Detroit
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- Tuition
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- Earnings
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Colleges near Dorsey College-Grand Rapids
Calvin Theological Seminary
Grand Rapids, MI · Private nonprofit · Graduate
Calvin University
Grand Rapids, MI · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 3,193 students
Paul Mitchell the School-Grand Rapids
Kentwood, MI · Private for-profit · Certificate · 86 students
Mosley School of Cosmetology
Kentwood, MI · Private for-profit · Certificate · 62 students
Ross Medical Education Center-Kentwood
Kentwood, MI · Private for-profit · Certificate · 134 students
Davenport University
Grand Rapids, MI · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 3,134 students
Cornerstone University
Grand Rapids, MI · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,298 students
Aquinas College
Grand Rapids, MI · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,083 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.














