What Kind of School It Is—and What Kind It Is Not
Let’s start with something that may sound technical but changes how you should read everything else: this school is not classified in the Carnegie system 2021, the catalog the government uses to assign categories to the nation’s colleges and universities. That does not mean it is bad. It means Carnegie did not assign it a category. Before paying for the first semester, ask admissions what accreditation the school has and the exact name of the credential it awards, and look up that name yourself on the Department of Education’s website. There is no Carnegie category that will save you that call.
California College of Barbering and Cosmetology is in Stockton, California, within San Joaquin County, in the Stockton-Lodi metropolitan area. Its census code places it in a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more, but that does not tell you how to get to campus or what living options are nearby. If your child plans to live at home, drive the route yourself on a weekday at the exact time your child’s classes will be held. The actual travel time is almost never what the map says.
It is a private, for-profit school, and its programs last less than two years. The highest level it reports offering is a postsecondary credential, certificate, or diploma requiring at least one but less than two academic years. It is not a school that awards bachelor’s, master’s, or associate degrees. That does not describe every specific program: before signing anything, ask in writing for the exact name of the credential your child will receive upon completion, and ask whether those credits can later be used at a four-year college.
It is also worth saying what it is not. It is not classified as a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 colleges and universities in this national directory, 138 have at least one of those three designations; this school is not among them. That does not tell you which students it serves, how many Latino students attend, or how your child will feel there. Ask directly which cultural centers and student organizations exist today—and better yet, speak with someone who is already studying there.
A Small School and Who Makes Up Its Student Body
In fall 2023, California College of Barbering and Cosmetology had 272 students enrolled in the official count. It is a small school: it falls within the group enrolling fewer than 1,000 students. Compared with the 362 private schools with programs lasting less than two years that reported this information in the same national census, it is on the larger side of that group: between one and three out of every ten have more students. All 272 are undergraduates; there is no graduate enrollment because this school does not offer graduate programs. IPEDS also reports 51 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking undergraduate students, a group that does not include everyone entering that year.
Being small does not make the school better or worse. It does change one practical question: whether the courses in your child’s program are offered every semester or only once a year. That affects how long it takes to finish.
And who is in those classrooms? Here is a figure worth pausing to read: 53 out of every 100 undergraduate students identified as Hispanic or Latino in fall 2023. That is half or more. Compared with the 362 private short-program schools in this census that reported the information, it ranks in the top quarter: three out of every four schools in that group reported an equal or lower share. If your child is worried about being the only one, the numbers here do not show that.
But a high percentage of Latino students is not the same as support for Latino students. This figure counts how many there are. It does not say whether there is a Spanish-speaking counselor, whether tutoring is available, or whether those students finish their programs. And it is the figure for the entire school, not for the specific program that interests your child.
Women are a clear majority: 86 out of every 100 undergraduate students. And 32 out of every 100 are between the ages of 25 and 64, meaning that nearly one-third of the student body consists not of teenagers just out of high school, but of adults who returned to school. IPEDS does not report where new students came from—what state or country—for this school in this reporting cycle. That information simply is not available.
How Academics Work
The academic calendar here varies by program; there is no single academic year in which everyone starts in August. Students begin when their program opens. In its most recent report, the school indicated that it does not award special credit upon entry for life experience or AP exams, and that it does not enroll high school students in college-credit courses. That question also did not measure dual credit or other transfer policies; confirm those policies in writing directly with the school.
Pay attention to one important point about price: the government asks schools of this type to report the cost of the entire program, not the cost per academic year as at a traditional college. Ask in writing for the total cost of your child’s program and its start date. A program cost cannot be compared directly with another school’s annual tuition.
In the latest report of credentials awarded, no bachelor’s degrees appear as having been awarded by this institution, which is consistent with the 364 private short-program schools in this same census: none awarded bachelor’s degrees that year. This is a count from a single academic year, so a new program might not appear yet. Ask admissions, in writing, for the list of degrees and certificates the school awards today.
Regarding class size, the school reports 17 students per instructional staff member, measured in full-time-equivalent terms. Compared with similar schools in the same census, that figure is in the middle, neither among the lowest nor among the highest. This number does not tell you the actual size of a classroom or the exact method used to calculate it; it is only an overall ratio.
The school does report one specific structured opportunity: an entire program that can be completed solely during evenings or weekends, which may be useful if your child works during the day.
How Admission Works
The admissions policy here is open to all or most first-time undergraduate students, and the published application fee is $0. But open admission is not the same as a guaranteed place in every program: applicants still must meet the applicable eligibility conditions, and a specific program may have its own requirements that IPEDS does not detail here.
Precisely because the school reports open admission, several figures you would see at other colleges do not apply here: there is no selectivity rate showing how many applicants were admitted, no post-admission enrollment rate, and no reported policy on the use of the SAT or ACT. These are not gaps in the school’s transparency; under open admission, the federal system simply does not require these data. If your child needs to know whether an exam is used for placement or scholarships in a specific program, ask the school directly.
Regarding transfers, in the fall 2023 count, the school did not report any students who had transferred from another higher education institution. The count was zero. That describes a single fall, not a policy. Zero does not mean the school does not accept transfer students; it means no one entered through that route that year. If your child’s plan involves transferring into or out of this school, ask admissions directly which credits would be recognized.
What It Costs and What Students Actually Pay
At California College of Barbering and Cosmetology, among 31 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $15,141. Among 5 students from the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $15,295; among 3 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $18,792. For dependent students, the income band combines their parents’ income with their own.
There is a difference of $3,651 between the average for the lowest-income band, which included 31 students, and the average for the highest-income band, which included 3 students. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $15,675.
$15,141 was the average net price for the lowest-income families for the largest program, whose reported duration was 5 months. That does not mean it is what your family will pay. It helps you decide whether it is worth requesting the financial aid letter.
None of these figures is a price quote for your child. The income-band figures in this profile describe first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; at public institutions, they use the in-state or in-district rate. When shown, the overall average with grant aid describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships. The figure that matters is the financial aid letter sent to you. In the meantime, use the net price calculator on the school’s website.
How Students Pay: Grants, Pell, and Loans
Most students at this school receive aid that does not have to be repaid: 67 out of every 100 degree- or certificate-seeking students received it, with an annual average of $5,131 among recipients. The same 67 out of every 100 specifically received a Pell Grant, the federal aid for students with demonstrated financial need. Applying for income-based aid here is neither unusual nor limited to a small number of students: half or more of the group receives it. Do not hesitate to ask which documents are required and when they are due.
Now for the other side of the coin, and I want to be direct with you because this is where the consequences can hurt most: 65 out of every 100 undergraduate students at this school received a federal student loan in the 2022-23 academic year. That is a majority. And compared with the 364 private short-program schools in this census, it ranks on the high side: seven out of every ten schools in that group, or more, had an equal or lower share of students with loans. Among those who borrowed, each received an average of $5,963 that year.
Financing the year with debt is very common here. A loan is not a grant. It must be repaid, with interest. Take out a pencil and multiply that $5,963 by the number of years your child expects to remain in the program. And keep in mind that this is an average for a single year and includes only federal loans in the student’s name: it does not include PLUS loans signed by parents, debt owed to banks, credit card debt, or the total debt carried upon completion.
The fact that borrowing is common here does not determine whether your child will need a loan. That depends on your child’s own financial aid letter and the difference between the net price and what your family can pay. If debt appears in that letter, ask for the estimated monthly payment before accepting anything. The school does report an installment tuition payment plan as an additional option for managing the cost.
Campus Life: What Is Available and What Is Not
This is where it helps to set expectations clearly. California College of Barbering and Cosmetology does not offer its own housing, either residence halls or apartments under its control. It also does not report meal plans. That does not remove estimates for off-campus housing and food from the official cost-of-attendance budget; ask for the specific budget that financial aid would use for your child.
There is no ROTC—neither the general category nor any of its branches—and this is not unique to this school: of the 383 short-program schools in this guide, none reported ROTC in this cycle. If that path interests your child, you will need to look at another type of institution.
The intercollegiate athletics section is marked not applicable, rather than left blank. If athletics matter, ask the school directly.
There is also no distance education: not a single course, at either the undergraduate or graduate level. Zero students were taking classes entirely through distance education in the latest count. If your child works or cares for someone at home, the schedule must accommodate in-person attendance. This information is from a specific year; ask whether it remains the same before your child enrolls.
The federal libraries component is marked not applicable for this school, so there is no official description of library collections or staff. The school does report having physical facilities, an organized collection of printed materials, and access to digital resources. If this matters, ask directly where your child can study and whether the school lends computers.
As for formal support, the school reports combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students, placement services for those who complete the program, and a web address for disability services published in the federal system.
Do Students Stay? Do They Finish?
Here is an encouraging figure, stated carefully. Of a cohort of 43 first-time, full-time students who entered between August and October of 2022, 35 met the official retention criterion: 81 out of every 100 were either still enrolled there or had already completed their program. Compared with the 334 private short-program schools in this census, it ranks a little above the midpoint of the group: neither among the best nor among the worst, but in the middle. IPEDS counts together those who remain enrolled and those who have already finished, so this figure does not separate those two outcomes. For the 8 who were not included in that count, the source does not disclose what happened to them.
As for graduation, the data are solid: among the first-time, full-time cohort that entered in 2020, 71 out of every 100 completed a program at this institution within 150% of normal time. This is a historical cohort, not a prediction for your child. It does not represent students who transfer in or those who begin part-time; if your child falls into another group, ask for the rate corresponding to that specific group.
The eight-year Outcome Measures component is marked not applicable for this school in the most recent cycle. That does not mean the institution refused to respond, nor does it allow any inference about anyone’s outcome. And even if it were available, it is important to understand what it measures: only credentials awarded by this school. Someone who transfers and earns a credential elsewhere is not counted here as having completed one, and the timeframe is eight years, not four.
Putting the Pieces Together
You now know one of the three pieces you need in order to decide: who California College of Barbering and Cosmetology is, what it costs, how students pay, and what outcomes it reports. It is a small, open-admission school with a majority of Latino students and women, no housing or distance education, where borrowing is more common than at most peer institutions, and where seven out of every ten students in a recent cohort completed their program.
No article has the other two pieces: what your child wants, what your child has built so far, and what your family can and is willing to pay. Those pieces belong to you. If your child already knows this is the path they want, sit down together with this information and with the financial aid letter when it arrives. If your child is still unsure, these figures are a good starting point for asking the right questions. A real plan comes from that combination, not from any single piece.
Source note: The information in this article comes from data reported by California College of Barbering and Cosmetology to the U.S. Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), covering different cycles and components as indicated in each section. Best College Aid does not represent California College of Barbering and Cosmetology or any government agency; this article is independent informational material.