Private for-profit · Community college
Prism Career Institute-Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania · Large city
- 0%
- Transfer rate
- $29,960
- Avg net price
- 55%
- Grad / completion
- $32,473
- Median earnings
Prism Career Institute-Philadelphia is a private for-profit certificate-granting institution in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (large city setting), enrolling 468 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.
About Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, colloquially referred to as Philly, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the sixth-most populous city in the United States. Before the arrival of Europeans in the early 17th century, the Lenape, an Indian tribe also known as the Delaware Indians, lived in the village of Shackamaxon in present-day Philadelphia and the surrounding area. Philadelphia is home to many national historical sites that relate to the founding of the United States. Independence National Historical Park is the center of these historical landmarks and one of the country's 22 UNESCO World Heritage Sites. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Large city
- Highest degree offered
- Certificate
- Nearest big city
- 10 miles to Philadelphia, PA
- To the ocean
- 3 miles
- Nearest airport
- 16 miles to Philadelphia (PHL) · major hub
How Prism Career Institute-Philadelphia compares
Higher than 42% · #108 of 151 in Pennsylvania
Higher than 87%
Higher than 40% · #89 of 137 in Pennsylvania
Cheaper than 8% · #143 cheapest of 152 in Pennsylvania
Lower than 9%
Lower than 2%
Larger than 61%
Percentiles compare Prism Career Institute-Philadelphia 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
- Women42992%
- Men398%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White3.6%
- Black71%
- Hispanic12%
- Asian1.3%
- Other or multiracial12%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 468
- Student–faculty ratio
- 35 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 80%
- First-generation students
- 61%
- Students over 25
- 70%
- Median family income
- $18,344
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Cost
- In-state tuition
- —
- Room & board
- —
- Total cost of attendance
- —
- Average net price
- $29,960
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
- 55%
- First-year retention
- 94%
- Transferred to another college
- 0%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $38,311
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $32,473
- Median debt at graduation
- $17,200
- Students with federal loans
- 67%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 17%
Campus life & athletics
- On-campus housing
- No
- Application fee
- $100
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%.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- A
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 0.0 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 0
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 0
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (468 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.
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?
Prism Career Institute-Philadelphia 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)
- $32,473
- Typical debt at graduation
- $17,200
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 53%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 35%
Typical debt would take roughly 5.3 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 $3,695 (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
- 88°F
- Winter low
- 27°F
- Annual rain
- 45″
- Annual snow
- 19.9″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Philadelphia NE AP, PA US station (2.5 mi from campus).
What Prism Career Institute-Philadelphia 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 Prism Career Institute-Philadelphia
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Prism Career Institute-Philadelphia side by side →
CDE Career Institute
Tannersville, Pennsylvania · Fringe rural · 31 mi to Allentown
- Students
- 311
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $31k
Miller-Motte College-Berks Technical Institute-Allentown
Allentown, Pennsylvania · Large suburb · 3 mi to Allentown
- Students
- 285
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $31k
Miller-Motte College-Berks Technical Institute
Wyomissing, Pennsylvania · Large suburb · 27 mi to Lancaster
- Students
- 544
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $31k
Fortis Institute-Scranton
Scranton, Pennsylvania · Small city · 1 mi to Scranton
- Students
- 372
- Tuition
- $15k
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $30k
Douglas Education Center
Monessen, Pennsylvania · Fringe town · 20 mi to Pittsburgh
- Students
- 178
- Tuition
- $19k
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $31k
Lincoln Technical Institute-Levittown
Levittown, Pennsylvania · Large city · 11 mi to Philadelphia
- Students
- 345
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $39k
Colleges near Prism Career Institute-Philadelphia
Aviation Institute of Maintenance-Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 385 students
Lincoln Technical Institute-Levittown
Levittown, PA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 345 students
Orleans Technical College
Philadelphia, PA · Private nonprofit · Certificate · 340 students
Holy Family University
Philadelphia, PA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 2,464 students
Manor College
Jenkintown, PA · Private nonprofit · Associate · 443 students
Empire Beauty School-NE Philadelphia
Philadelphia, PA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 110 students
Gratz College
Jenkintown, PA · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 143 students
Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Abington
Abington, PA · Public · Bachelor's · 2,877 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.