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For-profit College

Culinary Institute Inc

For-profit College in Houston, TX. Six-year graduation rate 100%. Median 10-year earnings $32,195.

Verdict Mixed outcomes
Culinary Institute Inc · Campus
Median earnings · 10 yr
$32,195
Median debt at grad
$16,004
Graduation rate
100%
Federal loan default
0%

Ten-year median earnings of $32,195 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. The six-year graduation rate of 100% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Median debt at graduation is $16,004, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.

Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.

Green Flags
  • Graduation rate 100% — well above the national average
  • 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Red Flags

Academics

Full-time retention
33%
Transfer-out rate
0%
Student:faculty
17:1

Six-year completion runs to 100% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. Just 33% of first-years come back — most of the completion gap opens in year one. A 17:1 ratio is unremarkable; expect a mix of lecture halls and seminars. This is a for-profit four-year institution. That is not disqualifying, but it does mean verifying accreditation, transferability of credits, and job-placement claims directly rather than trusting the category. At 344 undergraduates, expect a small, closely-held student body.

Financial Aid

Average net price
$30,428
Full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state rate who were awarded grant or scholarship aid
% receiving grants
66%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
% receiving federal loans
55%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 343 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

Students pay $30,428 a year on average after aid, a premium price that the earnings data has to justify. Net price varies modestly by income — $30,428 at $0–30k against $29,019 at $30–48k — so the average is a fair guide for most families. 66% of students receive grant aid, averaging $8,562 — common but not automatic. 55% of students borrow federally, so debt is the norm rather than the exception.

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.

% receiving grants
100%
Average grant
$2,465

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 3 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 $30,428
$30–48k $29,019
$48–75k
$75–110k
$110k+

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Federal student loans went to 188 of these 343 students, totalling $2,175,008 — an average of $11,569 each.

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Local housing costs

Typical rents near campus (Harris County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.

Studio
$1,280/mo
1 bedroom
$1,323/mo
2 bedroom (whole unit)
$1,573/mo

HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026

Veterans & GI Bill

VA caution flag

A Settlement Agreement Has Been Reached with the United States Government

GI Bill students
83
Yellow Ribbon
No
Principles of Excellence
No

VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)

Compare Culinary Institute Inc with peer institutions

How we evaluate Culinary Institute Inc

IPEDS
US Department of Education
College Scorecard
Post-grad earnings
Census PSEO
Earnings by major
Opportunity Insights
Mobility by institution
Read our full methodology →