Head-to-head comparison
Advance Beauty College vs Los Angeles College of Music: which has better ROI?
Option A Garden Grove, CA
Advance Beauty College
- Net price / year
- $10,358
- Earnings, 10 years
- $11,575
- Payback
- No payback
Option B Pasadena, CA
Los Angeles College of Music
- Net price / year
- $43,590
- Earnings, 10 years
- $31,758
- Payback
- No payback
Neither clears its cost on institution-wide earnings, but Los Angeles College of Music comes closer — median earnings $31,758 against a $174,360 total, vs $11,575 at Advance Beauty College. (Scorecard, 2026 · our math.)
| Measure | Advance Beauty College | Los Angeles College of Music |
|---|---|---|
| Net price / yr | $10,358 | $43,590 |
| Total net cost | $41,432 | $174,360 |
| Median earnings, 10 yrs | $11,575 | $31,758 |
| Median debt | — | $27,938 |
| Payback | — | — |
| 20-year net return | -$777,132 | -$506,400 |
College Scorecard (2026), institution-level · payback and returns are our math. Figures blend all majors.
The short answer
Which is cheaper, Advance Beauty College or Los Angeles College of Music?
Advance Beauty College, at $10,358 a year after aid versus $43,590 — a gap of $33,232 a year, or $132,928 across the full degree. These are net prices after grants and scholarships, not sticker prices, so they reflect what an aided student pays.
The short answer
Do Advance Beauty College or Los Angeles College of Music graduates earn more?
Los Angeles College of Music graduates report a median $31,758 ten years after entry, $20,183 more than the $11,575 at Advance Beauty College. Both are institution-wide medians from federal tax records, so a high-paying major at the lower school can beat the average at the higher one.
The short answer
Which graduates more of its students?
67% of students finish at Advance Beauty College, against 41% at Los Angeles College of Music. Completion matters to the ROI arithmetic because a degree that is never finished still carries its cost and its debt, but earns none of the graduate premium above the $48,360 high-school baseline.