Cosmetology at Nuvani Institute

With 94% of students on Pell grants, Nuvani Institute clearly serves San Antonio's working-class families, but the earnings numbers here fall short of what most cosmetology graduates achieve. At $15,416 in the first year, graduates earn about $2,000 less than the typical Texas cosmetology graduate and lag the national average by nearly $1,700. Even four years out, earnings barely budge to $16,307—while top Texas programs like Paul Mitchell the School-Austin see their graduates earning over $26,000.

The debt load is remarkably low at $4,450, which is less than half the Texas median and puts this program in the 95th percentile nationally for affordability. That means graduates can likely pay off their loans within a year even at these modest earnings levels. The small sample size (under 30 graduates) does raise questions about data reliability, but the pattern is concerning: this ranks only in the 40th percentile among Texas cosmetology programs.

For a family considering this program, the math works because of the minimal debt—you're looking at about three months of earnings to pay off the loans. But your child will likely be starting their career earning $10,000+ less annually than peers at stronger Texas programs. If location flexibility exists, the data suggests looking at other cosmetology schools in the state.