Private for-profit · Community college
Douglas Education Center
Monessen, Pennsylvania · Fringe town
- 0%
- Transfer rate
- $27,348
- Avg net price
- 88%
- Grad / completion
- $30,814
- Median earnings
Douglas Education Center is a private for-profit certificate-granting institution in Monessen, Pennsylvania (fringe town setting), enrolling 178 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.
About Monessen, Pennsylvania
Monessen is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States, along the Monongahela River. Named for the Monongahela River and the industrial German city of Essen, Monessen was created by land speculators fairly late in the history of the Mon Valley, after neighboring towns had already been settled. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Fringe town
- Highest degree offered
- Associate
- Nearest big city
- 20 miles to Pittsburgh, PA
- To Great Lakes shore
- 129 miles
- Nearest airport
- 27 miles to Arnold Palmer (LBE)
How Douglas Education Center compares
Higher than 88% · #22 of 151 in Pennsylvania
Higher than 69%
Higher than 34% · #99 of 137 in Pennsylvania
Cheaper than 13% · #135 cheapest of 152 in Pennsylvania
Lower than 29%
Lower than 67%
Larger than 42%
Percentiles compare Douglas Education Center 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 Pennsylvania.
Student body
Undergraduates by gender
- Women13777%
- Men4123%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White85%
- Black5.6%
- Hispanic5.1%
- Other or multiracial4.5%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 178
- Student–faculty ratio
- 13 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 42%
- First-generation students
- 41%
- Students over 25
- 23%
- Median family income
- $27,789
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $42,660
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 103 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.
- From Pennsylvania75%
- Other U.S. states25%
Most first-years stay in state — Douglas Education Center draws overwhelmingly from Pennsylvania.
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
- $19,450
- Room & board
- —
- Books & supplies
- $3,985
- Total cost of attendance
- $32,767
- Average net price
- $27,348
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
- 88%
- First-year retention
- 83%
- Transferred to another college
- 0%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $25,006
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $30,814
- Median debt at graduation
- $12,000
- Students with federal loans
- 67%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 40%
Campus life & athletics
- On-campus housing
- No
- Application fee
- $50
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: 13% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $4,115. 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 75 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)
- $30,814
- Typical debt at graduation
- $12,000
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 39%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 29%
Typical debt would take roughly 3.9 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 $3,217 (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
- 84°F
- Winter low
- 20°F
- Annual rain
- 40.9″
- Annual snow
- 21.4″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Donora 1 SW, PA US station (1 mi from campus).
What Douglas Education Center 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 Douglas Education Center
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Douglas Education Center side by side →
Cortiva Institute
King of Prussia, Pennsylvania · Large suburb · 14 mi to Philadelphia
- Students
- 125
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
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Miller-Motte College-Berks Technical Institute-Lewisburg
Lewisburg, Pennsylvania · Distant town · 49 mi to Harrisburg
- Students
- 126
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $31k
CDE Career Institute
Tannersville, Pennsylvania · Fringe rural · 31 mi to Allentown
- Students
- 311
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
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Miller-Motte College-Berks Technical Institute-Allentown
Allentown, Pennsylvania · Large suburb · 3 mi to Allentown
- Students
- 285
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $31k
Metro Beauty Academy
Allentown, Pennsylvania · Large suburb · 4 mi to Allentown
- Students
- 197
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $34k
Penn Commercial Business/Technical School
Washington, Pennsylvania · Large suburb · 22 mi to Pittsburgh
- Students
- 265
- Tuition
- $14k
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $32k
Colleges near Douglas Education Center
Pennsylvania Western University
California, PA · Public · Bachelor's · 7,451 students
Empire Beauty School-West Mifflin
West Mifflin, PA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 82 students
Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Greater Allegheny
McKeesport, PA · Public · Bachelor's · 349 students
Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics
West Mifflin, PA · Private nonprofit · Certificate · 663 students
All-State Career School-Pittsburgh
West Mifflin, PA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 410 students
West Virginia Junior College-United Career Institute
Irwin, PA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 61 students
South Hills Beauty Academy
Pittsburgh, PA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 183 students
Westmoreland County Community College
Youngwood, PA · Public · Associate · 2,441 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.










