Undergraduate certificate · Madison, Wisconsin

Is Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services at Madison Area Technical 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 12.7 years.

Earnings 1 year after graduating: Not enough graduates to report; Treasury AY2020-21, AY2021-22 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Earnings 4 years after graduating: $41,914; Treasury AY2017-2018, AY2018-2019 pooled earnings cohort measured in CY2022, CY2023, inflation adjusted to 2024 dollars
Typical federal debt at graduation: $14,250; NSLDS pooled AY2022-23, AY2023-24 cohort
Net cost to graduate, all families: $15k (likely $13k – $18k); AcadYr 2024-25, reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26
Earnings bump, year 4: $1k a year vs high-school graduates aged 25–34 in WI; 2023 ACS 5-year pooled, adjusted to 2024 dollars
Payback: 12.7 years (likely 3.7–20+); Bump vs net cost plus loan interest
10-year net return: −$57k (likely −$112k – $7k); Today's dollars
20-year net return: −$27k (likely −$145k – $112k); Today's dollars
Odds of finishing (school-wide): 41%; Fall 2019 or AcadYr 2019-20 cohort (differs by institutional calendar), reported in IPEDS DCY2025-26