Cosmetology at Intellitec College-Grand Junction

Intellitec's cosmetology program operates in an unusual space: it beats the national average by 10% but trails Colorado's median by 15%. That gap matters because students here are competing for jobs in Colorado's beauty industry, where graduates from schools like Elevate Salon Institute and Aveda Institute-Denver are earning $27,000 to $26,600 within a year—roughly 40% more than Intellitec's $18,804 median.

The debt picture offers some relief. At $13,541, borrowers here take on about 35% more debt than the state median, but the 0.72 debt-to-earnings ratio means graduates can theoretically repay their loans within a year if they dedicate full earnings to it. The 13% earnings growth to year four is modest but real, suggesting graduates find stable footing rather than cycling through unstable positions.

For families considering this program, the central question is whether the lower cost of attendance justifies starting $5,000 behind the state median in earnings. Given that cosmetology licensing creates a relatively level playing field across schools, graduates who build strong client relationships can overcome early earnings differences. But if your child can access one of Colorado's higher-performing programs without substantially more debt, that's the better path—those extra few thousand dollars in year-one earnings compound significantly over a career.