Bellus Academy-Poway
For-profit College in Poway, CA. Six-year graduation rate 73%. Median 10-year earnings $25,223.
Ten-year median earnings of $25,223 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. The six-year graduation rate of 73% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Graduates leave owing a median of $7,917 — modest by four-year standards.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.31 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
73% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. 87% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. A 15:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. Being a for-profit two-year institution is the single most useful context for these numbers — the sector's spread is wide enough that the school-level figures matter more than usual.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 608 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price — what students actually pay after grant aid — is $32,767 a year, at the high end of undergraduate cost. The gap between the $0–30k and $48–75k bands is narrow ($32,827 versus $32,349), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. About 58% get grants averaging $5,499, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 46% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 34 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $32,827 |
| $30–48k | — |
| $48–75k | $32,349 |
| $75–110k | — |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 282 of these 608 students, totalling $2,006,012 — an average of $7,114 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (San Diego County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)