That does not make it lesser. Nor does it automatically make it the right choice. It makes it different, and different schools require you to read the data differently. Here I explain all of it, just as the institution reported it to the federal government, so you can incorporate it into your own family plan without having to learn the language of IPEDS yourself.
What kind of school it is and where it is located
Milan Institute of Cosmetology-Vacaville is in Vacaville, California, within Solano County, in the Vallejo metropolitan area. Its census code places it in a suburb: within the urbanized area but outside the principal city’s center. That is a map classification, not a description of what being there feels like. If your child plans to live at home while studying, my recommendation is simple: drive the route yourself on a weekday, at the exact time of your child’s classes. The actual travel time is almost never what Google Maps promises.
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—a certificate or diploma lasting between one and two years—not a college degree. IPEDS classifies it among institutions that do not award academic degrees. That is general institutional information: it does not tell you which specific credential your child receives in a particular program. Before signing anything, ask for the exact name of that credential in writing and ask whether those credits could ever count at a four-year college.
One more note about institutional identity: in the 2021 Carnegie Classification, the most widely used system for describing what type of institution a school is, Milan Institute of Cosmetology-Vacaville simply does not appear. The data do not explain why. It is not a judgment of quality; it is a label Carnegie did not assign to the school. The school also has none of the special designations tracked by the government—it is not a historically Black college or university, a tribal college or university, or a land-grant institution. The count of colleges in this national directory is 3,012, and the count with at least one of those three designations is 138. Milan’s lack of such a designation says nothing about whom it serves or how your child will feel there. You can learn that only by asking questions and visiting.
A small, predominantly female community with a strong Latino presence
Here is one number worth examining closely: among undergraduate students, the share who are Hispanic or Latino is 36 out of every 100. That is more than one in four. Compared with the 362 private short-program schools included in this same census, Milan ranks in the top quartile: three out of four similar schools reported an equal or lower share. If you are a Latino family, being Latino on this campus would not be the exception.
But a high percentage of Latino students is not the same as support designed for Latino students. The data count how many there are, not whether there is a Spanish-speaking counselor or tutoring, or whether those students complete the program. And it is the percentage for the entire school, not for the specific program that interests your child.
Two other numbers help define the school: among students, the share between the ages of 25 and 64 is 43 out of every 100—this is a school with a substantial adult presence, not just recent high school graduates—and among undergraduate students, the share who are women is 94 out of every 100. It is, essentially, a space for women. As for where newly enrolled students came from, IPEDS does not provide that information for this school for the 2023 reporting cycle. It is not there, and it should not be invented.
As for size: Milan’s official fall enrollment count was 234, all in undergraduate programs—there are no graduate programs. It is a small school, within the enrollment band below 1,000. Compared with its 362 peers of the same type, its size is among the most common: neither one of the largest nor one of the smallest. Almost all its students are enrolled full time. Being small does not make it better or worse. I do suggest asking one very specific question: are courses in the program that interests your child offered every semester, or only once a year? The answer determines how long it will actually take your child to finish.
How academics work
This is where the school differs most from what we think of as “college.” There is no uniform calendar for everyone: the calendar varies from program to program. There is no single “August” when everyone starts together; students enter when the specific program begins. In its 2023 report, the school indicated that it does not award credit for life experience or AP examinations and does not enroll high school students in college-credit courses. It does report accepting credit for military training.
This has a practical consequence for price: IPEDS asks schools of this type to report the cost of the full program, not the cost per academic year. So when you compare Milan’s price with another college’s price, you are not comparing the same thing unless you confirm how much of the program that amount covers and when your child’s cycle begins.
As for the credentials it awards: in the most recent federal awards report, Milan does not appear as having awarded any bachelor’s degrees. This is not unusual for this school type: the count of private short-program schools covered by this census is 364, and the count in the same situation is 364. None award bachelor’s degrees. That is consistent with what they are: certificate schools, not four-year degree schools. Because this is a count from a single year, a new program might not yet be reflected; ask admissions for a written list of the credentials the school currently awards.
One figure that often provides reassurance is the student-to-instructional-staff ratio: 13 full-time-equivalent students for each full-time-equivalent member of the instructional staff. Compared with its 362 peers, that ratio falls below the middle of the distribution—it is relatively low. But be careful about drawing an automatic conclusion: this figure does not tell you the actual size of a classroom. It is an aggregate institutional ratio, not a count of desks.
As for structured academic pathways, the school reports a full program that can be completed entirely during evenings or weekends. If your child works or has family responsibilities during the day, that is a possibility worth exploring closely with admissions.
How admission works
Admission here is open: the school reported an open-admissions policy for all or most of its first-time undergraduate students. That does not automatically guarantee that every applicant will be admitted to every program; eligibility conditions and program-specific requirements still need to be confirmed directly. The published undergraduate application fee is $0.
Because admission is open, several data points that you would see at a selective college simply do not apply here: there is no acceptance rate to calculate, no post-admission enrollment rate, and no reported policy on the use of the SAT or ACT. The school did not leave those fields blank because of a lack of transparency. IPEDS does not ask for them because admission is open.
As for transfers: in the fall 2023 count, Milan reported no students enrolling for the first time after studying at another institution. The count is zero. That zero describes a single fall; it does not say whether the school generally accepts transfers or what would happen in your child’s case. If transferring is part of the plan, ask admissions directly and also ask which credits the school would recognize.
What it costs and what is actually paid
At Milan Institute of Cosmetology-Vacaville, within a group whose count was 35 and whose members were full-time, first-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 $24,394. Within the same population, the group with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000 had a count of 8 and an average of $26,208; the group with EFC family income above $110,000 had a count of 3 and an average of $29,628. For dependent students, the band combines their parents’ income with their own.
Between the average for the lowest-income band, whose student count was 35, and the average for the highest-income band, whose student count was 3, the difference is $5,234. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship aid, the average was $25,074.
Even after grants and scholarships were deducted, the average net price for the lowest-income families was $24,394 for the largest program, with 9 as its reported duration in months. If that number does not fit your budget, it is better to see it today than in August.
An average does not show how different the cases within that band were; these data do not support saying that some families were far below or above the published figure. The income bands on this profile describe full-time, first-time, credential-seeking students who received federal Title IV aid; public institutions use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average with grant or scholarship aid, when shown, describes full-time, first-time, credential-seeking students who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships.
How students pay: grants, Pell, and loans
Aid that does not have to be repaid—grants and scholarships—reached a share of 63 out of every 100 among degree- or certificate-seeking students. That is more than half, but not everyone. Among those who received it, the average for the year was $3,897. That same share, 63 out of every 100, also applies to those who received Pell, the federal grant for students with demonstrated financial need. Receiving need-based aid here is not unusual: half the group or more receives it.
Now, the other side of the coin: among undergraduate students, the share receiving a federal student loan during the 2022-23 academic year was 62 out of every 100. Among borrowers, the average amount received by each was $5,757. Compared with its 364 peer schools of the same type, this share is in the middle of the distribution: neither among the schools with the most students carrying debt nor among those with the fewest.
Financing school with debt is very common here. A loan is not a grant: it must be repaid, with interest. It is worth taking out a pencil and multiplying that $5,757 by the number of years your child plans to remain in the program. And remember that this average covers only federal loans in the student’s name during one year: it does not include PLUS loans taken out by parents, bank debt, credit cards, or the total debt carried upon graduation.
When your child’s financial aid letter 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 letters mix them together in one column, and that is where families get confused. The school does report one additional mechanism: an installment tuition payment plan, if that helps organize the family budget.
Campus life, instructional format, and available support
Milan does not offer its own housing—neither dormitories nor apartments under its control—or meal plans. This does not mean that the official financial aid budget ignores those expenses: IPEDS does collect estimates for off-campus housing and food when calculating the total cost of attendance. Ask for the specific budget that financial aid would use in your child’s case.
There is no ROTC program, and this is not unique to this school: among the 383 schools lasting less than two years in this guide, none reported one during this cycle. If that is an important path for your child, this is not the school, nor is practically any other school of its type.
The intercollegiate athletics section is marked not applicable—there is nothing to interpret there, positively or negatively. The school also does not offer distance education: the most recent count showed zero students taking all their classes online. If your child works or cares for someone at home, the schedule must work in person, with no option to connect from another location. The library component is also marked not applicable for this institution; if study resources matter, ask about them directly: where students can study, how they obtain books, and whether computers are available to borrow.
On the positive side, the school does report several specific forms of support: combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students, placement services for those who complete the program, a dedicated contact for veterans and military service members, and a web address for disability services. Their being reported does not guarantee their quality or effectiveness; it does indicate that they exist and that you can ask about each one specifically.
Who stays and who finishes
For the full-time, first-time cohort that entered between August and October of 2022—a group with 146 people—120 met the official retention criterion: the share still enrolled or already having completed their program was 82 out of every 100. Compared with 334 peer schools, this figure ranks slightly above the midpoint: neither among the best nor among the worst. For the remainder—a group with 26 people—the source does not reveal their outcomes. IPEDS counts together those who remain enrolled and those who have already completed their programs, so this figure does not allow you to separate one group from the other.
As for graduation: among the full-time, first-time cohort that entered in 2020, the share completing a program at this institution within 150% of the expected normal time was 44 out of every 100. It is a historical figure for a specific group, not a prediction about your child. It does not include students who transferred in or those who started part time.
As for eight-year outcomes—what IPEDS calls Outcome Measures—that component is marked not applicable for this institution in the most recent cycle. That does not mean the school failed to respond, nor does it permit any inference about how any cohort fared. That figure simply is not available.
What these data cannot tell you
Nothing you have just read comes from the Department of Labor or describes what happens after someone graduates: there are no data here on employment, earnings, or debt at the time of completion. That information exists in other sources, but not in the report underlying this article, and we will not invent it.
How to combine this information with your decision
You now understand one piece of the puzzle in depth: what Milan Institute of Cosmetology-Vacaville is according to its own official data. You know that it is a small, predominantly female school with a strong Latino presence, open admission, no housing or distance education, a high net price even for low-income families, and a graduation rate of 44 out of every 100 in its most recent cohort.
You have now seen the school’s part: what it offers, how it charges, and how it admits students. Your child’s part is different: whether this career is what your child wants to pursue, whether the evening or weekend schedule works, and whether your child is willing to drive to Vacaville every day classes are held. Your part is also different: understanding the actual money behind the published price, obtaining the financial aid letter before committing to anything, and confirming in writing the exact credential your child would receive upon completion.
None of these three pieces replaces the other two. Put them together, and from them you can build a plan that you and your child can sustain together.
Source note: the information in this article comes from IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) and reports submitted by Milan Institute of Cosmetology-Vacaville to the United States Department of Education, primarily corresponding to the 2022-23 and 2023-24 reporting cycles. Best College Aid does not represent Milan Institute of Cosmetology-Vacaville or any government agency; this article organizes and explains existing public data.