Study: Cosmetology Schools Yield Poor Student Outcomes
Meghan Brink
July 15,2022
A new study from the Century Foundation released Thursday found that graduates from cosmetology schools are making near poverty-level wages, and that almost half of the colleges in the industry—42 percent—would fail under the Education Department’s proposed gainful-employment rule.
The study found that cosmetologists earn an average of $16,600 annually, $9,000 less than the average annual income of workers with only a high school diploma. Cosmetologists hold an average of $10,000 in student loan debt.
In 2016, the Education Department announced that Marinello Schools of Beauty had lost the ability the participate in federal student aid programs after a stream of predatory behavior. In April this year, the department discharged $238 million in student loans to former students of the cosmetology schools. The findings in the study suggest that the predatory practices and poor graduate outcomes found at Marinello reflect a much larger issue across the industry.
A disproportionately large number of students at cosmetology schools are low income or come from a minority background. With more than a majority of students at cosmetology schools receiving Pell Grants, the industry received more than $1 billion in federal student loans and grants in the 2019–20 academic year alone.
