Steven Papageorge
Hair Academy
For-profit College in Chicago, IL. Median 10-year earnings $29,592.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
The federal six-year graduation rate is not published here — typically because the entering cohort this measure follows is too small or too atypical to report. Treat completion as unknown rather than assuming either direction. Retention is strong at 100%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. A 17:1 ratio is unremarkable; expect a mix of lecture halls and seminars. 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. At 68 undergraduates, expect a small, closely-held student body.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 68 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
At $10,721 a year on average after grant aid, cost is low here relative to most undergraduate institutions. The gap between the $0–30k and $75–110k bands is narrow ($12,534 versus $10,721), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. 50% of students receive grant aid, averaging $5,531 — common but not automatic. Federal borrowing reaches 31% 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 · 5 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 | $12,534 |
| $30–48k | $12,534 |
| $48–75k | — |
| $75–110k | $10,721 |
| $110k+ | — |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 21 of these 68 students, totalling $107,181 — an average of $5,104 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Cook 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)