Private for-profit · Community college

Empire Beauty School-Vernon Hills

Vernon Hills, Illinois · Large suburb

0%
Transfer rate: $14,906
Avg net price: 70%
Grad / completion: $24,407
Median earnings

Empire Beauty School-Vernon Hills is a private for-profit certificate-granting institution in Vernon Hills, Illinois (large suburb setting), enrolling 50 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

Private for-profitSmall · 50 undergradsLarge suburbCold wintersSnowy

About Vernon Hills, Illinois

Vernon Hills is a suburb north of Chicago, Illinois in Lake County, Illinois, United States. The land that was to become Vernon Hills, founded by Richard Theodore Freese, Ron Freese, Nathan Kowitt, and Jim Carswell, began with the establishment of a 200-acre (0.81 km2) farm in 1857. Vernon Hills is one of six communities which, in part, comprise the Cook Memorial Public Library District. The Evergreen Interim library, which was one of the District's two library facilities, closed on July 3, 2010. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Large suburb
Highest degree offered: Certificate
Nearest big city: 30 miles to Chicago, IL
To Great Lakes shore: 7 miles
Nearest airport: 18 miles to Chicago O'Hare (ORD) · major hub

How Empire Beauty School-Vernon Hills compares

Graduation rate70%

Higher than 61% · #40 of 122 in Illinois

First-year retention73%

Higher than 50%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$24,407

Higher than 16% · #100 of 113 in Illinois

Average net price$14,906

Cheaper than 51% · #72 cheapest of 123 in Illinois

Median debt at graduation$13,583

Lower than 19%

Student–faculty ratio25 : 1

Lower than 12%

Undergraduate enrollment50

Larger than 13%

Percentiles compare Empire Beauty School-Vernon Hills 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 Illinois.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women4794%
Men36%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White32%
Black26%
Hispanic28%
Asian2.0%
Other or multiracial12%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 50
Student–faculty ratio: 25 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 60%
First-generation students: 55%
Students over 25: 30%
Median family income: $13,614

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 37 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From Illinois100%

Most first-years stay in state — Empire Beauty School-Vernon Hills draws overwhelmingly from Illinois.

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: $14,906

Outcomes

Graduated: 70%
First-year retention: 73%
Transferred to another college: 0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $20,172
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $24,407
Median debt at graduation: $13,583
Students with federal loans: 51%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 25%

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students

70%

Low-income (Pell)

49%

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: $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

$14,510

$30–48k

$14,138

$48–75k

$15,946

$75–110k

$17,071

$110k+

$19,680

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.

10%

of first-years get a grant from the school

$625

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 10% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $625. 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 40 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): $24,407
Typical debt at graduation: $13,583
Debt vs. one year's pay: 56%
Out-earn a HS grad: 30%

Typical debt would take roughly 5.6 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

$24,712

Men

$21,331

Women out-earn men by $3,381 (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: 14°F
Annual rain: 38.5″
Annual snow: 43.1″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Mundelein 4 Wsw, IL US station (6.1 mi from campus).

What Empire Beauty School-Vernon Hills graduates study — and earn

Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services

30 grads$17k 1 yr$23k 5 yr$17k debt

30$17,113$22,594$16,500

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-Vernon Hills

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

Ms Roberts Academy of Beauty Culture

For-profit

Hillside, Illinois · Large suburb · 13 mi to Chicago

Students: 52
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $25k

Hair Professionals Career College

For-profit

Sycamore, Illinois · Small suburb · 29 mi to Rockford

Students: 55
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $24k

Cameo Beauty Academy

For-profit

Oak Lawn, Illinois · Large suburb · 13 mi to Chicago

Students: 82
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $25k

Hair Professionals Career College

For-profit

Palos Hills, Illinois · Large suburb · 15 mi to Chicago

Students: 86
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $23k

Capri Beauty College

For-profit

New Lenox, Illinois · Large suburb · 30 mi to Chicago

Students: 75
Tuition: —
Transfer: 0%
Earnings: $27k

Taylor Business Institute

For-profit

Chicago, Illinois · Large city · < 1 mi to Chicago

Students: 98
Tuition: $12k
Transfer: 11%
Earnings: $26k

Colleges near Empire Beauty School-Vernon Hills

Tricoci University of Beauty Culture-Libertyville

Libertyville, IL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 162 students

3 mi

University of Saint Mary of the Lake

Mundelein, IL · Private nonprofit · Graduate

3 mi

Trinity International University-Illinois

Deerfield, IL · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 55 students

5 mi

Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science

North Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit · Graduate

6 mi

Worsham College of Mortuary Science

Wheeling, IL · Private for-profit · Associate · 183 students

7 mi

Lake Forest College

Lake Forest, IL · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,813 students

7 mi

College of Lake County

Grayslake, IL · Public · Certificate · 9,420 students

8 mi

State Career College

Gurnee, IL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 185 students

10 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.