Private for-profit · Community college

Empire Beauty School-Michigan

Grand Rapids, Michigan · Large suburb

0%
Transfer rate: $17,021
Avg net price: 57%
Grad / completion: $22,377
Median earnings

Empire Beauty School-Michigan is a private for-profit certificate-granting institution in Grand Rapids, Michigan (large suburb setting), enrolling 259 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

Private for-profitSmall · 259 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
Nearest big city: 5 miles to Grand Rapids, MI
To Great Lakes shore: 27 miles
Nearest airport: 13 miles to Gerald R. Ford (GRR) · major hub

How Empire Beauty School-Michigan compares

Graduation rate57%

Higher than 45% · #50 of 96 in Michigan

First-year retention73%

Higher than 50%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$22,377

Higher than 10% · #72 of 88 in Michigan

Average net price$17,021

Cheaper than 43% · #45 cheapest of 94 in Michigan

Median debt at graduation$10,667

Lower than 39%

Student–faculty ratio12 : 1

Lower than 73%

Undergraduate enrollment259

Larger than 50%

Percentiles compare Empire Beauty School-Michigan 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

Women24494%
Men156%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White50%
Black18%
Hispanic15%
Asian1.2%
Other or multiracial15%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 259
Student–faculty ratio: 12 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 53%
First-generation students: 53%
Students over 25: 31%
Median family income: $10,876

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 144 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From Michigan100%

Most first-years stay in state — Empire Beauty School-Michigan draws overwhelmingly from Michigan.

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: $17,021

Outcomes

Graduated: 57%
First-year retention: 73%
Transferred to another college: 0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $18,493
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $22,377
Median debt at graduation: $10,667
Students with federal loans: 49%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 24%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

57%

Low-income (Pell)

48%

First-generation

49%

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: $125

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

$16,158

$30–48k

$16,111

$48–75k

$17,816

$75–110k

$21,312

$110k+

$21,154

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.

19%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$673

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 19% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $673. 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 164 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): $22,377
Typical debt at graduation: $10,667
Debt vs. one year's pay: 48%
Out-earn a HS grad: 17%

Typical debt would take roughly 4.8 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

$22,950

Men

$19,746

Women out-earn men by $3,204 (16%) 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: 82°F
Winter low: 17°F
Annual rain: 39.6″
Annual snow: 74.9″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, E Grand Rapids, MI US station (7.4 mi from campus).

What Empire Beauty School-Michigan graduates study — and earn

Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services

111 grads$16k 1 yr$22k 5 yr$14k debt

111$16,062$22,064$13,583

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 Empire Beauty School-Michigan

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Empire Beauty School-Michigan side by side →

Michigan College of Beauty-Troy

For-profit

Troy, Michigan · Small city · 17 mi to Detroit

Students: 230
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $22k

Twin City Beauty College

For-profit

Saint Joseph, Michigan · Small suburb · 30 mi to South Bend

Students: 274
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $23k

David Pressley School of Cosmetology

For-profit

Royal Oak, Michigan · Large suburb · 11 mi to Detroit

Students: 225
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $23k

L'esprit Academy

For-profit

Canton, Michigan · Large suburb · 21 mi to Detroit

Students: 266
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $22k

Empire Beauty School-Center City Philadelphia

For-profit

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · Large city · < 1 mi to Philadelphia

Students: 279
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $22k

Detroit Business Institute-Downriver

For-profit

Detroit, Michigan · Large suburb · 13 mi to Detroit

Students: 124
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $27k

Colleges near Empire Beauty School-Michigan

Ross College-Grand Rapids North

Grand Rapids, MI · Private for-profit · Certificate · 387 students

3 mi

Grand Rapids Community College

Grand Rapids, MI · Public · Associate · 10,698 students

4 mi

Kuyper College

Grand Rapids, MI · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 145 students

5 mi

Aquinas College

Grand Rapids, MI · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,083 students

6 mi

Cornerstone University

Grand Rapids, MI · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,298 students

6 mi

Grace Christian University

Wyoming, MI · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 716 students

8 mi

Calvin University

Grand Rapids, MI · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 3,193 students

9 mi

Calvin Theological Seminary

Grand Rapids, MI · Private nonprofit · Graduate

9 mi

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.