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Most Popular Cosmetology Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

2023 Most Popular Cosmetology Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region

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Finding the Best Cosmetology Basic Certificate School for You

Cosmetology is the most popular major in the United States with 14,178 degrees and certificates handed out in 2021-2022.

Today's trade school students have lots of options to pick from when considering higher education opportunities. You can choose a traditional brick and mortar school, or with the growth of online education, you can attend a school half-way across the country without even leaving your house.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Trade College Search has developed this Most Popular Cosmetology Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Our analysis looked at 114 schools in the Middle Atlantic Region to see which basic certificate programs were the most popular for trade school students. To create this ranking we looked at how many students graduated from the Cosmetology program at each school on the list.

The colleges and universities below are the most popular for cosmetology majors pursuing a basic certificate.

Our analysis found Christine Valmy International School for Esthetics, Skin Care & Makeup to be the most popular school for cosmetology students who want to pursue a basic certificate in the Middle Atlantic Region . Located in the large city of New York, Christine Valmy International School is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

Women make up 99% of the cosmetology majors at the school.

Read full report on Cosmetology at Christine Valmy International School for Esthetics, Skin Care & Makeup

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend South Hills Beauty Academy Inc. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Most Popular Cosmetology Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. Located in the large suburb of Pittsburgh, South Hills Beauty Academy Inc is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

About 99% of the students majoring in cosmetology at the school are women while 1% are male.

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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Long Island Nail Skin & Hair Institute. It ranked #3 on our 2023 Most Popular Cosmetology Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. Long Island Nail Skin & Hair Institute is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the suburb of Levittown.

Women make up 98% of the cosmetology majors at the school.

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A rank of #4 on this year’s list means Atelier Esthetique Institute of Esthetics is a great place for cosmetology students working on their basic certificate. Located in the large city of New York, Atelier Esthetique Institute of Esthetics is a private for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

About 98% of the students majoring in cosmetology at the school are women while 2% are male.

Full Cosmetology at Atelier Esthetique Institute of Esthetics Report

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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means Continental School of Beauty Culture, Rochester is a great place for cosmetology students working on their basic certificate. Located in the large suburb of Rochester, Continental School of Beauty Culture, Rochester is a private for-profit college with a small student population.

About 89% of the students majoring in cosmetology at the school are women while 11% are male.

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With a ranking of #6, New York Institute of Beauty did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for cosmetology students working on their basic certificate. Located in the large suburb of Islandia, New York Institute of Beauty is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

About 99% of the students majoring in cosmetology at the school are women while 1% are male.

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Christine Valmy International School of Esthetics & Cosmetology landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular basic certificate cosmetology programs. Christine Valmy International School is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the suburb of Pine Brook.

Women make up 99% of the cosmetology majors at the school.

Read full report on Cosmetology at Christine Valmy International School of Esthetics & Cosmetology

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Cortiva Institute-Baltimore landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular basic certificate cosmetology programs. Cortiva Institute-Baltimore is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the large suburb of Linthicum.

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#9

Total Image Beauty Academy

Union City, NJ

Total Image Beauty Academy landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the most popular basic certificate cosmetology programs. Located in the suburb of Union City, Total Image Beauty Academy is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

Full Cosmetology at Total Image Beauty Academy Report

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Aesthetic Science Institute came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Cosmetology Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Located in the large suburb of Latham, Aesthetic Science Institute is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

Women make up 98% of the cosmetology majors at the school.

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#11

Jean Madeline Aveda Institute

Philadelphia, PA

Jean Madeline Aveda Institute did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for cosmetology students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #11 on the list. Jean Madeline Education Center of Cosmetology is a small private for-profit school located in the large city of Philadelphia.

About 97% of the students majoring in cosmetology at the school are women while 3% are male.

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Capri Cosmetology Learning Centers ranked #11 on this year’s Most Popular Cosmetology Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. Located in the suburb of Nanuet, Capri Cosmetology Learning Centers is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

Of the 168 students majoring in cosmetology at Capri Cosmetology Learning Centers, 2% are male and 98% are female.

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With a ranking of #13, Shear Ego International School of Hair Design did quite well on this year’s most popular schools for cosmetology students working on their basic certificate. Shear Ego International School of Hair Design is a small private for-profit school located in the suburb of Rochester.

Women make up 89% of the cosmetology majors at the school.

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Rizzieri Aveda School for Beauty and Wellness came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Most Popular Cosmetology Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region ranking. Rizzieri Aveda School for Beauty and Wellness is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the large suburb of Voorhees.

About 99% of the students majoring in cosmetology at the school are women while 1% are male.

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New York School of Esthetics & Day Spa ranked #15 on this year’s Most Popular Cosmetology Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. New York School of Esthetics & Day Spa is a small private for-profit school located in the small city of white plains.

Women make up 99% of the cosmetology majors at the school.

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#15

Parisian Beauty School

Hackensack, NJ

Parisian Beauty School did quite well in this year’s ranking of the most popular places for cosmetology students to get a basic certificate. It came in at #15 on the list. Parisian Beauty Academy is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the large suburb of Hackensack.

About 97% of the students majoring in cosmetology at the school are women while 3% are male.

Full Cosmetology at Parisian Beauty School Report

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#17

Berkowits School of Electrolysis

Forest Hills, NY

Berkowits School of Electrolysis ranked #17 on this year’s Most Popular Cosmetology Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region list. Located in the city of Forest Hills, Berkowits School of Electrolysis is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

Full Cosmetology at Berkowits School of Electrolysis Report

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Honorable Mentions

Here are some additional popular schools for Cosmetology students in the Middle Atlantic Region that almost earned our Most Popular Cosmetology Basic Certificate Trade Schools in the Middle Atlantic Region award.

Rank College Location
18 Continental School of Beauty Culture, Mattydale Mattydale, NY
19 Aveda Institute - Maryland Bel Air, MD
20 Aveda Institute - New York New York, NY
21 Metro Beauty Academy Allentown, PA
22 Lancaster School of Cosmetology & Therapeutic Bodywork Lancaster, PA

Best Cosmetology Colleges by State

Explore the best cosmetology schools for a specific state in the Middle Atlantic region.

State Degrees Awarded
New York 5,055
Pennsylvania 3,378
New Jersey 2,419
Maryland 1,103
Delaware 343
District of Columbia 160

One of 4 majors within the trade school area of study, cosmetology has other similar majors worth exploring.

Cosmetology Focus Areas

Major Annual Graduates
General Cosmetology/Cosmetologist 50,210
Aesthetician/Esthetician & Skin Care Specialist 40,040
Nail Technician/Specialist & Manicurist 13,960
Barbering/Barber 9,893
Facial Treatment Specialist/Facialist 2,907
Other Cosmetology and Related Personal Grooming Arts 2,184
Master Aesthetician/Esthetician 1,729
Hair Styling/Stylist & Hair Design 1,238
Cosmetology, Barber/Styling, & Nail Instructor 1,230
Make-Up Artist/Specialist 440
Electrolysis/Electrology & Electrolysis Technician 354
Salon/Beauty Salon Management/Manager 336
Permanent Cosmetics/Makeup & Tattooing 90

Related Major Annual Graduates
Culinary Arts 22,075
Funeral & Mortuary Science 2,186
Casino Operations and Services 385
Other Personal & Culinary Services 95

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.

  • The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
  • Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
  • Credit for the banner image above goes to Tiffany Bumgardner.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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