Undergraduate certificate · Saint Paul, Minnesota

Is Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services at Saint Paul College worth it?

Medium confidence Medium confidence: 40–99 graduates behind the earnings figures.

The verdict · all families, in-state, half paid with loans

Pays back slowly: graduates typically recover the cost in about 17.9 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: $35,747; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $41,735; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $5,985; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $19k (likely $19k – $25k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: −$22 a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in MN; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 17.9 years (likely 7.9–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$71k (likely −$108k – −$26k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$38k (likely −$130k – $67k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 38%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26