Nova Academy
of Cosmetology
For-profit College in Rochester, MN. Median 10-year earnings $32,156.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $32,156, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $9,424.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.29 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ 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. 83% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. At 19:1, class sizes land in the normal range for an undergraduate institution. Being a for-profit short-program school 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. This is a small school — 349 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 349 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $18,573 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. Net price varies modestly by income — $18,099 at $0–30k against $24,885 at $110k+ — so the average is a fair guide for most families. About 50% get grants averaging $5,681, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Borrowing is widespread: 60% take federal loans.
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 · 167 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 | $18,099 |
| $30–48k | $17,760 |
| $48–75k | $22,496 |
| $75–110k | $23,160 |
| $110k+ | $24,885 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 210 of these 349 students, totalling $1,206,776 — an average of $5,747 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Olmsted 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)