Institute of
Culinary Education
For-profit College in Pasadena, CA. Six-year graduation rate 77%. Median 10-year earnings $47,865.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $47,865 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. Completion is a strength: 77% of students finish within six years. Median debt at graduation is $6,439, a light load against those earnings.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.13 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 77% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
77% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. First-year retention of 82% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. At 16:1, class sizes land in the normal range for an undergraduate institution. This is a for-profit two-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. This is a small school — 793 undergraduates — so cohorts are tight and the program list is necessarily short.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 793 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
One gap to flag: this institution does not report an average net price, so the figures here describe who receives aid rather than what a year actually costs. Use the school's own net price calculator before comparing it against anywhere else. Grant aid is limited — 30% of students receive any. Federal borrowing reaches 45% of students.
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 · 50 students
Federal student loans went to 353 of these 793 students, totalling $1,742,116 — an average of $4,935 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Los Angeles 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)