KaiStar is a private, for-profit school located in Federal Way, Washington, in King County. Its programs last less than two years. It is not a four-year college, it does not award bachelor’s degrees, and it is among the smallest schools you will find in any national comparison. None of that makes it good or bad. It makes it something very specific, and specific things deserve a close look before you sign anything.
This article will not tell you whether KaiStar is the right school for your child. That depends on what he wants to study, what your family can afford, and what you and he are willing to build together. What I can do is show you, using the official data the United States government collects about this institution, what kind of school KaiStar is on the inside. With that information in hand, you can decide what questions to ask next.
What kind of school it is, and what a missing label does not tell you
Let’s start with something that can be confusing if I do not explain it clearly. In the 2021 Carnegie Classification—a catalog that groups the nation’s colleges by type—KaiStar simply does not appear. It is outside that classified universe, and the data do not explain why.
Here is what matters: that classification describes what type of school an institution is, not how good it is. The fact that KaiStar does not have that label does not mean it is worse than the schools that do. It means Carnegie did not give this category a name. Before paying for the first term, the question worth asking admissions is different: what accreditation the school has and exactly what credential it awards. You should also verify that name yourself on the Department of Education’s website. No Carnegie label saves you from making that call.
What we do know precisely is the type of institution KaiStar is according to the federal record: it is a private, for-profit school, and its programs last less than two years. IPEDS—the government system that collects these data from nearly all of the nation’s colleges—records the highest credential this institution reports offering as a postsecondary certificate or diploma requiring at least one but less than two years. That is an institutional data point, not a list of programs: it does not tell you which specific credential your child would receive in his exact program. You need to request that in writing before signing anything, along with the answer to a question that could change the entire plan: whether those credits can later be used at a four-year college.
KaiStar does not appear with any of the three special designations in the federal system: it is not a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 colleges in this national directory, 138 have at least one of those three designations. They represent three different histories, not three names for the same thing, and KaiStar’s lack of any of them says nothing about which students it serves or how your child will feel there. You find that out by asking what organizations and cultural centers exist today and by speaking with someone who already studies there.
Where it is, and what driving there means
KaiStar is in Federal Way, within the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metropolitan area. That does not mean the campus is in the heart of Seattle: the census code places it in a suburb, within the urbanized area but outside the principal city. The only way to know what it is really like there is to visit.
If your child plans to live at home while studying, you have a very practical and decidedly unromantic task: drive the route on a weekday at the exact time his classes would take place. The actual travel time is almost never what the map says.
A small community, and what its numbers do and do not show
This is where KaiStar begins to reveal its true shape, and where it is worth pausing.
Among KaiStar undergraduates, 19 out of every 100 students were reported as Hispanic or Latino in fall 2023. They are not the majority, but they are not uncommon at this school either. Compared with the 362 private schools with programs lasting less than two years in this same census that reported this information, KaiStar ranks above the group’s midpoint but below its highest quartile. It is a clear presence, neither minimal nor dominant.
There is an important limitation to that comparison: it is constructed by school type and control, not by state. It does not account for where in the country a school is located, which matters in Washington’s case. It also does not extend to the program level: all these percentages describe the entire school, not a specific program.
Out of every 100 undergraduate students, 28 are between 25 and 64 years old. This is not a school made up entirely of teenagers just out of high school: there is a real mix of ages. And one figure stands out sharply: 93 out of every 100 undergraduate students are women. That is practically the entire student body.
IPEDS does not have information on where entering students came from—which states or countries—for this school in the 2023 cycle. That information is unavailable and cannot be estimated. Do not invent or assume it.
Size: KaiStar is officially very small
KaiStar had a total enrollment of 151 students last fall. This figure needs to be stated with its full force: 151 people across the entire institution. Its official category in the federal system is fewer than 1,000 students, and within that category, KaiStar is clearly at the small end.
Among the 362 private schools with programs lasting less than two years that report this information in the same census, KaiStar’s size is among the most common: it ranks near the middle, neither among the largest nor among the smallest schools in its own group. That matters: KaiStar is small in absolute terms, but it is not unusual for the type of school it is.
The official count for that fall shows no graduate enrollment; all 151 students are undergraduates. That describes enrollment at that time, not necessarily everything the school may eventually offer. For that same enrollment, IPEDS estimates a full-time-equivalent enrollment of 151—meaning that practically everyone studies full time—and reports 78 first-time, full-time, credential-seeking undergraduate students. That group of 78 is not the entire entering class for that year; it is a specific subset used in other calculations you will see later.
What does being this small mean? It is neither better nor worse on its own. What you do need to ask is something very practical: whether the courses in the program that interests your child are offered every term or only once a year. The answer determines how long completing the program will actually take.
How it works academically
In its 2023 report, KaiStar reported using a continuous calendar. That means something different from what most families know: there is no single “August” when everyone begins together. IPEDS uses this category for schools that enroll students at any time of year, without one fixed start date for everyone.
In the section asking about special credit upon entry—credit for life experience or AP exams—KaiStar selected “none of the above.” That same question did not measure whether dual credit with a high school is available, and separately, the institution responded that it does not enroll high school students in college courses for credit. Taken together, this tells you that there are no reported pathways of this kind, but it does not close the door: confirm any credit-transfer policy in writing before assuming anything.
There is a financial point that intersects with this and is invaluable to know before comparing prices: IPEDS asks schools of this type to report the cost of the entire program, not the cost per academic year. If you are going to compare KaiStar’s price with another college’s, first ask for the full cost of your child’s program and the exact date his cohort begins. A program cost is not the same as an annual cost.
As for the degrees it actually awards: KaiStar does not appear with any completed bachelor’s degrees in that year’s federal completions report. This is not an anomaly unique to this school: of the 364 private schools with programs lasting less than two years covered by this same census, all 364 are in the same position. None awarded bachelor’s degrees that year because, by definition, that is not the type of credential they offer. This is the count for a single academic year, so a new program might not yet be reflected. If your child plans to pursue a bachelor’s degree later, ask admissions for a written list of the exact credentials the school awards today and any existing transfer agreements.
Regarding class size, KaiStar reports a ratio of 15 full-time-equivalent students for every full-time-equivalent instructional staff member. Compared with the 362 similar schools in this census, that ratio falls below the midpoint—meaning it is lower than at half of those schools, without reaching the lowest group. It is a middle-range figure. Here is the warning that really matters: this number does not indicate the actual size of a classroom. It is an institution-wide ratio of full-time-equivalent students to staff; the file does not state which method the school used to calculate it or the actual size of first-year classes.
How admission works: open admission, and what that really means
In 2023, KaiStar reported an open-admission policy for all or most of its first-time undergraduate students. The published application fee is $0.
It is important to be precise here because “open” can sound like “no screening,” which is not exactly correct. This classification describes the institution’s general policy. It does not guarantee that every individual applicant will be admitted or that a specific program within the school will not have its own eligibility requirements. IPEDS does not provide details here about those specific conditions or the outcome of each individual application. Verify the admission requirements directly with the program that interests your child.
As a direct consequence of that open-admission policy, several measures that other colleges use to show how “selective” a school is simply do not apply here. That is not a lack of transparency on KaiStar’s part; it is how the system works for this type of policy.
- Observed selectivity: not applicable. The IPEDS admissions component does not ask an open-admission school to report applicant and admission counts.
- Enrollment after admission: listed as not applicable, not as missing data. Under open admission, IPEDS does not request this rate.
- Use of the SAT or ACT: also not applicable here for the same reason. The fact that this component does not request the information does not prove that the exam is never used for placement, scholarships, or a specific program; ask the school directly.
As for transfers, in the fall 2023 count, KaiStar did not report any degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduate students who were enrolling for the first time after studying at another institution. The count is zero. But a zero here describes a single fall, not a policy. It does not indicate whether the school accepts transfer students or what would happen to your child’s credits if he transferred in. If that is the plan, ask admissions directly whether he can transfer and which credits they would recognize.
The price: what is published and what is actually paid
At KaiStar, among 32 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 $6,795. Among 13 students from the same population whose EFC family income was between $48,001 and $75,000, it was $10,244; among 11 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $14,759. For dependent students, the band combines their parents’ income with their own.
The difference between the average for the lowest-income band (32 students) and the highest-income band (11 students) is $7,964. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $10,040.
The advertised price is not the same as the price paid. Here, for students with low income, the average net price was $6,795 for the largest program, whose reported duration was 14 months.
None of these figures is a price quote for your child. The income bands 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. The overall average for students with grants, when shown, describes first-time, full-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships. The figure that matters is the aid offer you receive. In the meantime, use the net price calculator on the school’s website.
The aid received, and the debt assumed
Here is one of the most important figures in this article, so let’s take it slowly.
At KaiStar, 68 out of every 100 degree- or certificate-seeking students received aid that does not have to be repaid—grants and scholarships, in the simplest sense of the terms. That is more than half the group, but not everyone. Among those who received it, the annual average was $7,888. These are two different calculations: the percentage indicates how many received it, while the average indicates how much those recipients received, and the two should not be multiplied to produce a total.
In addition, 44 out of every 100 degree- or certificate-seeking students received Pell Grants, the federal aid for undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need. When your own aid offer arrives, separate it by hand into three piles: what does not have to be repaid, what must be repaid with interest, and what must be earned through work. Many aid offers mix all of that into a single column, which is where families become confused.
And now the figure that carries the most weight in this entire article. In the 2022-23 academic year, 46 out of every 100 KaiStar undergraduate students received a federal student loan. That is more than four out of ten, nearly half. This calculation includes all undergraduates, not only those seeking a credential.
Among those who received that loan, the average for the year was $7,365. That is only the average for those borrowers, not for the entire student body, and it represents just one year of debt—not the total debt someone would have upon completing the program. That total is not included in this report, and calculating it would require multiplying by the number of years your child expects to remain there.
Compared with the 364 private schools with programs lasting less than two years in this census, KaiStar ranks on the low side: seven out of ten of those schools, or more, had a higher share of students with loans. That does not make KaiStar’s figure small. Financing the year with federal debt is very common here, and a loan is not a grant: it must be repaid, with interest. This average also does not include Parent PLUS loans that parents sometimes take out or debt from banks or credit cards.
This percentage describes other families who have already been there, not yours. The amount your child would need to borrow comes from his own financial aid offer. Wait for that offer before ruling out the school and before committing to it.
As for paying what remains, KaiStar reports that it offers an installment tuition payment plan as an institutional mechanism for managing the cost.
Campus life: what is available and what clearly is not
KaiStar has a very defined profile here, and it is best stated plainly.
It does not have its own housing: it offers neither dormitories nor apartments under its control, either on or off campus. It also does not report meal plans; the data do not indicate whether a dining hall or cafeteria exists or how food would be paid for. This does not remove off-campus housing and food estimates from the official financial aid budget: confirm with the school the exact budget financial aid would use for your child if he lives away from home.
It offers no ROTC opportunities: neither the general category nor any of the three military branches. This is not unique to KaiStar: of the 383 schools with programs lasting less than two years in this same guide, none reported ROTC in this cycle. If that path interests your child, this information does not identify an alternative; you must look directly for institutions that offer it.
Regarding athletics, the federal record marks the entire section as not applicable to KaiStar. There is nothing to interpret either positively or negatively; if athletics matters, ask the school directly.
KaiStar does not offer distance education: not a single course, at either the undergraduate or graduate level. In the fall count, zero out of every 100 students took all their classes remotely. If your child works or cares for someone at home, his schedule would have to accommodate fully in-person attendance. This information is from a single year; the absence of distance options today does not mean the situation will remain the same when your child enrolls. Ask before deciding.
The federal libraries component is listed as not applicable to KaiStar for this cycle, so the source does not describe library collections, staff, or expenditures. What the institution does report is that it has an organized collection of printed materials and access to digital or electronic resources. If this matters to your child, ask directly where he can study, how he can obtain books and articles, and whether computers are available to borrow.
Finally, KaiStar reports offering a combined academic and career counseling service, employment services for current students, placement services for program completers, and a published web address for services for people with disabilities. The fact that these services are reported does not indicate how accessible or effective they are in practice; you learn that by speaking with someone who already uses them.
Those who stay and those who finish
Let’s turn to the part that most closely resembles the question really on a parent’s mind: if my child enrolls here, will he stay? Will he finish?
Of a cohort of 90 first-time, full-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students who entered between August and October 2022, 76 met the official retention criterion: 84 out of every 100 were still enrolled at the school or had already completed their program. That is a clear majority. Compared with the 334 private schools with programs lasting less than two years in this census that report the information, KaiStar ranks slightly above the group’s midpoint: neither among the best nor among the worst.
There is something important the source does not separate: those 76 people include both students who were still studying and those who had already completed their programs. Because these are short programs—lasting less than two years—finishing within that period is not the same as “remaining enrolled,” but IPEDS counts both together under the same retention criterion. The source does not reveal what happened to the 14 people excluded from that count.
IPEDS does publish a graduation rate for KaiStar: following the cohort that entered in 2020 as first-time, full-time, degree- or certificate-seeking students, 46 out of every 100 completed a program at this institution within 150% of their program’s normal completion time.
This is a historical cohort, not a prediction for your child. The figure follows only those who entered for the first time and studied full time; it does not represent transfer students or those who began part time. If your child belonged to one of those other groups, the applicable rate would be different and would need to be requested directly.
Finally, the component called Outcome Measures—which at other colleges provides a broader picture over eight years—is marked as not applicable to KaiStar for the 2023-24 cycle. That is the source’s official status; it does not mean the institution failed to respond, and it does not permit any inference about the actual outcome of any cohort. Also keep in mind that this type of measure counts only credentials awarded by the school itself: someone who transfers to another college and earns a credential there is not shown here as a graduate.
What this article cannot tell you
This article is based entirely on official Department of Education data, and those data have a clear limitation that I want to make very explicit: they say nothing about what happens after someone finishes—not about earnings, employment, or exactly how much debt remains upon graduation. That would require another source, and this article does not invent one.
What you now know, and what comes next
You now understand one piece of the puzzle precisely: what kind of school KaiStar is, how small it really is, how students enter, how much it costs on paper and how much students ultimately pay based on income, how many leave carrying a loan, and how likely students have been, so far, to stay and finish.
That is not the same as having the complete answer. What is missing is what your child wants to study and where he wants that credential to take him. And something else is missing that no federal report can provide: sitting down with your child, reviewing these figures together, and deciding whether this specific school—small, open-admission, without housing or distance classes, and with nearly half its students borrowing—is the place where he wants to build his next step.
No data point decides that part of the journey. You decide it together.
Source note: the information in this article comes from IPEDS (the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) and United States Department of Education reports, primarily corresponding to the 2022-23 and 2023-24 cycles. Best College Aid does not represent KaiStar or any government agency; this article is an independent explanation of public data.