The Hair Academy
For-profit College in Bismarck, ND. Six-year graduation rate 95%. Median 10-year earnings $31,370.
Students who entered The Hair Academy reach a median of $31,370 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. 96% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $11,630.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Graduation rate 95% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Academics
96% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. First-year retention is 60% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. The student-faculty ratio is 16:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major. 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. This is a small school — 78 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 78 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $14,667 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($12,829 versus $20,224), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. About 50% get grants averaging $7,901, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 50% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
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 · 17 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 | $12,829 |
| $30–48k | $14,296 |
| $48–75k | $18,579 |
| $75–110k | $17,579 |
| $110k+ | $20,224 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 39 of these 78 students, totalling $387,633 — an average of $9,939 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Burleigh 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)