Palomar Institute
of Cosmetology
For-profit College in San Marcos, CA. Median 10-year earnings $23,451.
Students who entered Palomar Institute of Cosmetology reach a median of $23,451 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. Median debt at graduation is $6,333, 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 0.27 — 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. First-year retention of 97% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. The 24:1 student-faculty ratio is high, so large classes and limited faculty contact should be the expectation. This is a for-profit short-program school. That is not disqualifying, but it does mean verifying accreditation, transferability of credits, and job-placement claims directly rather than trusting the category. The undergraduate body is just 362, 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 362 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $18,153 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($25,526 versus $32,292), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Grant aid is limited — 34% of students receive any. About 43% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
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 · 149 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 | $25,526 |
| $30–48k | $26,696 |
| $48–75k | $25,947 |
| $75–110k | $32,292 |
| $110k+ | $32,292 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 156 of these 362 students, totalling $747,987 — an average of $4,795 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)