Private for-profit · Community college
Sierra College of Beauty
Merced, California · Small city
- 0%
- Transfer rate
- $10,794
- Avg net price
- 84%
- Grad / completion
- $18,519
- Median earnings
Sierra College of Beauty is a private for-profit certificate-granting institution in Merced, California (small city setting), enrolling 220 undergraduates. Admission is open to all applicants.
About Merced, California
Merced is a city in and the county seat of Merced County, California, United States, in the San Joaquin Valley. During World War II, the Merced County fairgrounds were the site of a temporary "assembly center" where Japanese Americans were detained after being removed from their West Coast homes under Executive Order 9066. 4,669 men, women and children from central California (with most coming from Merced County) were confined in the Merced Assembly Center from May 6 to September 15, 1942, when they were transferred to the more permanent Granada internment camp in Colorado. In the summer of 2014, the Castle Commerce Center's call center closed, subtracting 400 jobs from AT&T's share of employment. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Small city
- Highest degree offered
- Certificate
- Nearest big city
- 55 miles to Fresno, CA
- To the ocean
- 70 miles
- Nearest airport
- 2 miles to Merced Regional Macready Field (MCE)
How Sierra College of Beauty compares
Higher than 83% · #71 of 382 in California
Higher than 76%
Higher than 4% · #314 of 326 in California
Cheaper than 67% · #98 cheapest of 377 in California
Lower than 67%
Larger than 47%
Percentiles compare Sierra College of Beauty 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
- Women14666%
- Men7434%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White13%
- Black3.2%
- Hispanic73%
- Asian2.7%
- Other or multiracial8.2%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 220
- Student–faculty ratio
- 13 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 77%
- First-generation students
- 61%
- Students over 25
- 49%
- Median family income
- $10,182
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
- $10,794
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
- 84%
- First-year retention
- 87%
- Transferred to another college
- 0%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $21,701
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $18,519
- Median debt at graduation
- —
- Students with federal loans
- 0%
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%.
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?
Sierra College of Beauty 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)
- $18,519
- Typical debt at graduation
- —
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- —
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 7%
The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.
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.
Campus climate
- Summer high
- 95°F
- Winter low
- 36°F
- Annual rain
- 12.5″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Merced, CA US station (1.7 mi from campus).
What Sierra College of Beauty 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 Sierra College of Beauty
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Sierra College of Beauty side by side →
CRU Institute of Cosmetology and Barbering
Garden Grove, California · Large suburb · 22 mi to Los Angeles
- Students
- 91
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $20k
International School of Beauty Inc
Palm Desert, California · Small city · 58 mi to Riverside
- Students
- 132
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $20k
Salon Success Academy-Riverside
Riverside, California · Large city · 3 mi to Riverside
- Students
- 164
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $22k
Bridges Beauty College
Victorville, California · Large suburb · 38 mi to Riverside
- Students
- 98
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $17k
Salon Success Academy-Corona
Corona, California · Midsize city · 13 mi to Riverside
- Students
- 196
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $22k
California Beauty College
Modesto, California · Midsize city · 27 mi to Stockton
- Students
- 122
- Tuition
- —
- Transfer
- 0%
- Earnings
- $22k
Colleges near Sierra College of Beauty
Milan Institute-Merced
Merced, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 359 students
Merced College
Merced, CA · Public · Certificate · 10,001 students
University of California-Merced
Merced, CA · Public · Bachelor's · 8,372 students
California State University-Stanislaus
Turlock, CA · Public · Bachelor's · 8,385 students
California Beauty College
Modesto, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 122 students
Modesto Junior College
Modesto, CA · Public · Associate · 15,109 students
North Adrian's College of Beauty Inc
Modesto, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 207 students
Paul Mitchell the School-Modesto
Modesto, CA · Private for-profit · Certificate · 218 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.