Empire Beauty School-Richmond
For-profit College in Richmond, VA. Median 10-year earnings $23,921.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $23,921, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $10,667.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
This institution reports no six-year graduation rate. The federal measure only follows first-time, full-time students, so schools built around part-time or transfer enrollment often fall outside it entirely. Retention is weak: only 56% of full-time first-years return, so roughly two in five leave after one year. A 19:1 ratio is unremarkable; expect a mix of lecture halls and seminars. As a for-profit short-program school, outcomes here deserve a harder look than the sector average suggests: for-profit institutions vary enormously, and the sector's aggregate numbers hide both strong and very weak performers. The undergraduate body is just 124, which shapes everything from class size to how often a required course is offered.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 124 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $23,184 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Income makes less difference than usual: $22,257 at $0–30k, $28,179 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 59% of students at an average of $5,561. Most students borrow — 60% take federal loans to cover the gap.
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 · 75 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 | $22,257 |
| $30–48k | $21,533 |
| $48–75k | $26,777 |
| $75–110k | $28,064 |
| $110k+ | $28,179 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 74 of these 124 students, totalling $569,767 — an average of $7,700 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Henrico 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)