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.

Private for-profitSmall · 82 undergradsLarge suburbCold wintersSnowy

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
To Great Lakes shore
34 miles
Nearest airport
3 miles to Gerald R. Ford (GRR) · major hub

How Dorsey College-Grand Rapids compares

First-year retention50%

Higher than 11%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$29,392

Higher than 29% · #52 of 88 in Michigan

Average net price$28,062

Cheaper than 11% · #86 cheapest of 94 in Michigan

Median debt at graduation$13,000

Lower than 22%

Student–faculty ratio21 : 1

Lower than 23%

Undergraduate enrollment82

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

82undergrads
  • 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)

Low-income (Pell)
50%
First-generation
50%

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.

< $30k
$28,098
$30–48k
$27,846
$48–75k
$75–110k
$110k+

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.

Solid value

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
$28,763
Men
$31,976

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

HighLow
10°50°90°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.02.04.0JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Grand Rapids, MI US station (1.5 mi from campus).

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 →

Colleges near Dorsey College-Grand Rapids

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.