Protege Academy
For-profit College in Mt. Pleasant, MI. Median 10-year earnings $19,499.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $19,499, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. Median debt at graduation is $9,833, 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.
- ✓ 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 80% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. The 6:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. 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 56, 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 56 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $11,619 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. About 57% get grants averaging $4,961, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. Borrowing is widespread: 57% 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 · 11 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 | $11,619 |
| $30–48k | — |
| $48–75k | — |
| $75–110k | — |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 32 of these 56 students, totalling $271,290 — an average of $8,478 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Isabella County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026