What it is, where it is, and what label it does not have
Let’s start with something that may be confusing: in the Carnegie 2021 classification, which organizes the nation’s colleges and universities by type, Schilling-Douglas does not appear. It falls outside that classified universe. And we need to be precise about what that means: that classification describes what type of school it is, not how good it is. Not having a label does not make it worse. It only means Carnegie did not classify it. Before paying for the first term, ask admissions what accreditation the school has and what exact credential it awards, and verify that name yourself on the Department of Education website. No Carnegie label saves you that call.
The school is in Newark, Delaware, New Castle County, within the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metropolitan area. The census code places it in a suburb: within the urbanized area, but outside the heart of the principal city. What life there is really like can only be known by going to see it. If your child plans to live at home while studying, drive the route on a weekday at the exact time their classes would meet. Actual travel time is almost never what the map promises.
Institutionally, it is a private, for-profit school offering programs of less than two years. IPEDS —the federal system that collects these data— records it as an institution that does not award college degrees: it grants certificates or diplomas lasting at least one and less than two years. That is a general institutional fact; it does not tell you what specific credential your child receives in their program. So before signing anything, request in writing the exact name of the credential they will receive upon completion, and ask whether those credits can later be used at a four-year college.
It is also worth clarifying what it is not. Schilling-Douglas has none of three special designations: it is not a historically Black college or university, it is not a tribal college or university, and it is not a land-grant institution. Of the 3,012 colleges and universities in this national directory, 138 do carry one of those three labels; this school is not one of them. That says nothing about which communities it serves today, how many Latino students attend, or how your child will feel there. You ask that directly, by seeing what student organizations exist and speaking with someone already enrolled in the program.
A small, mostly female community with more adults than you might imagine
In fall 2023, 16 out of every 100 Schilling-Douglas undergraduate students reported being Hispanic or Latino. They are not a majority, but they are not unusual at the school either. Compared with the 362 private short-program schools that report this figure in this census, it falls below the middle of the group without falling into the lowest quarter.
Now, a fact that changes the picture of what people imagine a “typical student” to be: 40 out of every 100 undergraduate students are between 25 and 64 years old. And out of every 100 undergraduate students, 95 are women. It is, almost entirely, a classroom of adult women alongside people who have just graduated from high school. If your child is entering right after graduating from high school, it is worth asking what weekday schedules are like and how active student life is for someone younger. The data tell you the ages; they do not tell you what it is like to interact there, and that has to be seen in person.
As for where incoming students came from, IPEDS simply does not provide that line for this school in 2023. It is not being hidden: it is not there.
In terms of size, we are talking about a truly small school: 166 students enrolled across the entire campus last fall, within the official band of fewer than 1,000. Compared with its 362 peers of the same institutional type, its size is among the most common: neither among the largest nor the smallest. All 166 are undergraduates; no graduate enrollment was reported that fall. IPEDS also calculates a full-time equivalent of 119 students —an estimate that combines full-time students with a fraction of part-time students, not an exact measure of actual workload— and reports 52 first-time, full-time students. That last number is not the entire entering class, only part of it.
With so many part-time students in the mix, total enrollment does not tell you how many people are in a classroom at the same time. Ask directly what times courses in the program that interests your child are offered before assuming a traditional schedule.
How it works academically: no fixed entry date, no bachelor’s degrees
There is no “August” when everyone starts together. Schilling-Douglas reported a continuous calendar to IPEDS: students enter when the program opens, not on a common date for the entire school. In its 2023 report on special credit at entry, it marked “none of the above” —it did not indicate credit for life experience or AP exams— and it also answered that it does not enroll high school students in courses carrying college credit. That question did not measure dual credit or other transfer policies, so confirm those policies directly in writing before assuming anything.
And here is a money point that can confuse anyone: for this type of school, IPEDS requests the cost for the entire program, not tuition per academic year. If you are comparing Schilling-Douglas’s price with that of a traditional university, you are not comparing the same thing unless you confirm exactly how much of the program that amount covers.
As for degrees: as a private school offering programs of less than two years, in the federal report on degrees awarded that year, Schilling-Douglas awarded no bachelor’s degrees. This is not an isolated case or a warning sign about this school in particular: of the 364 private short-program schools covered by this census, 364 are exactly the same —none awarded bachelor’s degrees that year. That is what is expected for this type of institution. Even so, it is a count from a single academic year; a new program may not yet appear in the data. Ask admissions, in writing, for the list of credentials it awards today, and if your child’s goal is eventually a bachelor’s degree, request any transfer agreement in writing.
The student-to-instructional-staff ratio is 14 to 1: fourteen full-time equivalent students for every full-time equivalent member of instructional staff. Compared with its 362 peers, it falls below the middle —it is a low ratio. But be careful: by itself, this aggregate figure does not prove that more staff are available per student, and it also does not tell you the actual size of a classroom. IPEDS does not explain the exact method the institution used to arrive at that number.
How admissions work: open admission, and what that does and does not mean
Schilling-Douglas reported to IPEDS an open-admission policy for all or most of its first-time undergraduate students. The application fee is $0. This is practically good news, but it must be stated precisely: having an open general policy does not automatically guarantee admission for every applicant or entry into every specific program. A person must still meet whichever eligibility conditions apply, and a particular program may have its own requirements. Verify those conditions directly with the school.
Precisely because it reports open admission, several lines one would expect to see at other colleges do not apply here, and that is not a lack of transparency by the institution: it is how the federal system works for this type of policy. There is no selectivity rate to interpret, because that component does not require the school to count applicants or admissions. There is no post-admission enrollment rate —nor is it a missing figure or a zero rate; IPEDS simply does not request it under this framework. And there is no reported SAT or ACT use policy for the same reason. None of these blanks should be read as the school hiding something; they are the structure of the form when admission is open.
Regarding transfers: in the fall 2023 count, Schilling-Douglas reported no undergraduate student seeking a degree or certificate who had arrived there 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 say whether the school accepts transfers or what would happen with your child. If transferring is part of the plan, ask that question —and which credits it would recognize— directly in admissions.
The price: what is published and what families actually pay
At Schilling-Douglas School of Hair Design, among 29 first-time, full-time students seeking a credential who received federal Title IV aid and whose EFC records showed family income below $30,000, the average net price was $14,369. Among 5 students in the same population with EFC family income from $48,001 to $75,000, it was $16,280; among 6 students with EFC family income above $110,000, it was $18,166. For dependent students, the band combines their parents’ income and their own.
Between the average for the lower-income band (29 students) and that for the higher-income band (6 students), there is a difference of $3,797. Among first-year students who received any grant or scholarship, the average was $15,260.
$14,369 was the average net price for lower-income families in the largest program, whose reported duration was 12 months. That does not mean it is what your family will pay. It helps you know whether it is worth requesting the aid letter.
None of these figures is a quote for your child. The income bands in this profile describe first-time, full-time students seeking a credential who received federal Title IV aid; public institutions use the in-state or in-district rate. The overall average with grants, when it appears, describes first-time, full-time students seeking a credential who received federal, state, local, or institutional grants or scholarships. The figure that governs is the aid letter you receive. In the meantime, use the net price calculator on the school’s website.
Aid and loans: financing with debt is common here
Out of every 100 students seeking a degree or certificate at Schilling-Douglas, 49 received some grant or aid that does not need to be repaid. The other 51 received none of that. Among those who did receive it, the average was $4,028 for the year —a modest amount. Out of every 100, 48 received Pell, the federal aid for students with demonstrated financial need. More than half of students did not receive a grant. That does not predict what they will offer you, but it does say something real: at this school, you have to actively seek aid; it does not arrive on its own.
And here is one of the most important facts in this entire article. In academic year 2022–23, 57 out of every 100 Schilling-Douglas undergraduate students received a federal student loan. That is more than half. The loan averaged $4,642 for the year among those who received one. Compared with its 364 peers of the same institutional type, this share of students with loans is among the most common: neither the highest nor the lowest.
Here, financing the year with debt is very normal. And a loan is not a grant: it must be paid back, with interest. Take that number, $4,642, and multiply it by the years your child plans to stay. That average, moreover, is for a single year and covers only federal loans in the student’s name: it does not include Parent PLUS loans that parents sometimes sign, bank debt, or credit-card debt, and it is not the total debt someone has upon graduating —for that, all years would have to be added, and that number does not appear in this report. This percentage describes other families, not yours. What your child would actually need to borrow comes from their own financial-aid letter. Wait for that letter before ruling out the school and before committing to it.
The institution does report one specific mechanism for managing payment: a tuition installment plan.
Campus, format, and supports: what is available and what is not
Schilling-Douglas has no student housing of its own. It offers neither dormitories nor apartments under its control, either on or off campus, and it also reports no meal plans. That does not remove off-campus housing and food estimates from the official cost-of-attendance budget: confirm with financial aid the exact budget they would use to calculate your aid.
It did not mark any ROTC opportunity, neither the general box nor any of its three branches. And this is not particular to this school: of the 383 schools offering programs of less than two years in this guide, none marked ROTC this cycle. If that path interests your child, this fact does not point to an alternative; you need to verify directly which institutions offer it.
The intercollegiate athletics section is marked not applicable —there is nothing to read there, either for or against. If sports matter, ask the school directly.
It does not offer distance education: not a single course, neither at the undergraduate nor graduate level. Zero out of every 100 students took all their classes that way. If your child works or cares for someone at home, their schedule would have to fit entirely in person. This figure is for a single year; the fact that nothing is available remotely today does not guarantee it will remain that way when your child enrolls, so ask before deciding.
The federal library component is marked not applicable for this institution, so the source does not describe collections, staff, or spending. What the school does report is that it offers an organized collection of printed materials and access to digital resources. If this matters, ask directly where your child can study, how they obtain books and articles, and whether computers are available to borrow.
For supports, the institution reports: combined academic and career counseling, employment services for current students, placement services for those who complete the program, and a published web address for disability services. The fact that these services are reported says nothing about their quality or effectiveness; that is learned by speaking with someone who already uses them.
Persistence and graduation: the hardest numbers in this profile
Here we need to be direct, because this is where the data carry the most weight.
Of the cohort of first-time, full-time students who entered between August and October of 2022 —49 people in total— only 20 met the official retention criterion: 41 out of every 100 were still enrolled there or had already completed their program one year later. Interestingly, the part-time cohort had a higher result, 63 out of every 100 among 40 students, although that difference alone does not prove that studying part-time helps students stay enrolled.
Compared with its 334 peers of the same institutional type that report this figure, Schilling-Douglas is among those that retain the fewest students in their first-time student cohort. Nine out of every ten of those comparable schools, or more, retained a larger share. It is an uncomfortable truth, and it must be stated without softening it: here, a substantial share of those who entered did not continue along the expected path. The source does not separate how many left from how many had already completed their short program —both cases count the same in “retained”— so the figure does not distinguish between those two different stories.
As for graduation, IPEDS does publish a rate for this school: following the cohort that entered in 2020, full-time and for the first time, 44 out of every 100 completed a program here within 150% of normal time. This is a historical cohort, not a forecast about your child. The number does not represent those who arrive as transfers or those who begin part-time. If your child enters in another group, request the rate that specifically applies to that group.
Finally, the Outcome Measures component —the one that follows outcomes over eight years at other colleges— is marked not applicable for Schilling-Douglas this cycle. That does not mean the institution refused to respond, and it does not allow any inference about how a specific cohort fared.
How this fits into your family’s decision
You now know one of the three pieces you need to decide: what Schilling-Douglas School of Hair Design really is, according to its own official data. It is a small school with open admission, short programs, and no fixed entry date, where most students are women, where adult students have a real presence, where taking out a federal loan is most common, and where retention of the first-time cohort has been among the lowest among similar schools. None of these facts, by itself, says whether it is the right school for your child.
You still need to combine this with what your child truly wants to do in this trade, what they have already researched or built toward that goal, and what your family can and is willing to pay. If your child already knows they want this specific path: ask in writing for the exact name of the credential, its actual duration, and whether those credits transfer. If money is the main concern: complete the FAFSA before ruling out or committing to the school, and request the aid letter in writing. If the question is what daily life there would be like: visit the campus, ask about actual schedules, and speak with someone already studying there.
No figure in this article changes because you wish it were different. What does change is that now you, the person holding the wheel for this part of the journey, know exactly what questions to ask before signing anything.
Source note: The information in this article comes from IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) and the United States Department of Education, primarily from reporting cycle 2023 and academic year 2022–23, as indicated in each section. Best College Aid does not represent Schilling-Douglas School of Hair Design or the United States government, and this article does not replace the official information the institution provides to you directly.