Instituto Educativo Premier Cosmetology (Certificate): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Certificate in Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Services
- Private for-profit school
- Ponce, PR
- About 347 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Instituto Educativo Premier cosmetology graduates earn less than graduates of most cosmetology programs nationally, $10,432 in their first year. Where this program stands out is debt. The typical graduate leaves with $3,500 in federal loans, less than at 99% of cosmetology programs in the country. Strong value, but not one of the highest-paying cosmetology programs in Puerto Rico.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Puerto Rico and national columns are the medians across all cosmetology certificate programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Instituto Educativo Premier graduates earn less than the national figure but about $5,415 more than the Puerto Rico median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Puerto Rico cosmetology program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Puerto Rico medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 90% between the first and fifth year. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Puerto Rico earn a median of $22,090 across all experience levels, which shows how much room there is to grow after the first few years.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate. BLS figures cover hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists at every experience level.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $37 a month, or 4.3% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
46% of graduates (86 of 185) were working in Puerto Rico one year after graduating.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to cosmetology, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
Hairdressers, Hairstylists, and Cosmetologists
$22,090Median pay in Puerto Rico. 960 people work in this job in Puerto Rico. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 8% from 2025 to 2035, with about 73,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.
Manicurists and Pedicurists
$22,900Median pay in Puerto Rico. 190 people work in this job in Puerto Rico. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 21,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.
First-Line Supervisors of Personal Service Workers
$31,100Median pay in Puerto Rico. 380 people work in this job in Puerto Rico. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 12,000 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Skincare Specialists
$23,440Median pay in Puerto Rico. 330 people work in this job in Puerto Rico. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: postsecondary nondegree award.
About Instituto Educativo Premier
Cosmetology is the only certificate program at Instituto Educativo Premier that reports first-year earnings.
Other cosmetology certificate programs near Ponce
Common questions
The median graduate earns $10,432 one year after graduating and $19,862 five years after. Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists in Puerto Rico earn a median of $22,090 across all experience levels.
The median federal loan balance is $3,500, which ranks 4th lowest of 7 cosmetology certificate programs in Puerto Rico. That works out to about $37 a month over 10 years.
On the numbers, yes for most students. Debt equals 34% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 55%.
Many leave. 46% (86 of 185) were working in Puerto Rico one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Puerto Rico comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the cosmetology program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024