Private for-profit · Community college

Paul Mitchell the School-Costa Mesa

Costa Mesa, California · Midsize city

0%
Transfer rate: $21,920
Avg net price: 82%
Grad / completion: $26,897
Median earnings

Paul Mitchell the School-Costa Mesa is a private for-profit certificate-granting institution in Costa Mesa, California (midsize city setting), enrolling 395 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.

Private for-profitSmall · 395 undergradsMidsize cityNear the coast

About Costa Mesa, California

Costa Mesa is a city in Orange County, California, United States. Members of the Tongva and Acjachemen nations long inhabited the area. The Tongva villages of Lupukngna, at least 3,000 years old, and the shared Tongva and Acjachemen village of Genga, at least 9,500 years old, were located in the area on the bluffs along the Santa Ana River. The Orange County Fair takes place at the fairgrounds in Costa Mesa each July. The Fair receives more than one million visitors each year. (Wikipedia)

Setting: Midsize city
Highest degree offered: Certificate
Nearest big city: 31 miles to Los Angeles, CA
To the ocean: 5 miles
Nearest airport: 4 miles to John Wayne Orange County (SNA) · major hub

How Paul Mitchell the School-Costa Mesa compares

Graduation rate82%

Higher than 80% · #80 of 382 in California

First-year retention86%

Higher than 76%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$26,897

Higher than 23% · #272 of 326 in California

Average net price$21,920

Cheaper than 26% · #220 cheapest of 377 in California

Median debt at graduation$13,000

Lower than 22%

Student–faculty ratio12 : 1

Lower than 73%

Undergraduate enrollment395

Larger than 58%

Percentiles compare Paul Mitchell the School-Costa Mesa 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 California.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

Women34788%
Men4812%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

White36%
Black3.8%
Hispanic48%
Asian5.1%
Other or multiracial7.6%

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

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment: 395
Student–faculty ratio: 12 : 1
Pell Grant recipients: 40%
First-generation students: 43%
Students over 25: 45%
Median family income: $22,429

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 34 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.

From California100%

Most first-years stay in state — Paul Mitchell the School-Costa Mesa draws overwhelmingly from California.

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: $21,920

Outcomes

Graduated: 82%
First-year retention: 86%
Transferred to another college: 0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry: $23,724
Median earnings, 10 years after entry: $26,897
Median debt at graduation: $13,000
Students with federal loans: 48%
Paying down their loans (1 year in): 42%

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing: No
Application fee: $25

Campus safety

Safety grade: A
Reported offenses per 1,000 students: 0.0 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024): 0
Property offenses (2022–2024): 0

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

$20,550

$30–48k

$21,891

$48–75k

$22,252

$75–110k

$24,052

$110k+

$25,241

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.

of first-years get a grant from the school

$1,000

average award, among those who get one

Modest institutional aid: 3% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $1,000. 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 64 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): $26,897
Typical debt at graduation: $13,000
Debt vs. one year's pay: 48%
Out-earn a HS grad: 31%

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

$26,964

Men

$25,379

Women out-earn men by $1,585 (6%) 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: 80°F
Winter low: 48°F
Annual rain: 11.2″

Average temperature

HighLow

Average precipitation (inches)

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Santa Ana John Wayne AP, CA US station (3.7 mi from campus).

What Paul Mitchell the School-Costa Mesa graduates study — and earn

Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services

331 grads$16k 1 yr$26k 5 yr$12k debt

331$16,464$25,624$12,000

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.

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Colleges near Paul Mitchell the School-Costa Mesa

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Vanguard University of Southern California

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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.