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Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Basic Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania

2023 Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Basic Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania

Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices

41 Colleges
$12,934 Avg Tuition & Fees*

Finding the Best Personal & Culinary Services Basic Certificate School for You

In 2021-2022, personal & culinary services students earned 3,899 degrees and certificates from a Pennsylvania school, making the subject the 2nd in the state.

When it comes to higher education, there are a lot of options for trade school students. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience.

To help you arm yourself with the information you need to make your decision, Trade College Search has developed this Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Basic Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania ranking. Our analysis looked at 41 schools in Pennsylvania to see which basic certificate programs offered the best value experiences for personal & culinary services students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.

This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.

For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.

2023 Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Basic Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania

The following schools top our list of the Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Basic Certificate Colleges.

Top 10 Best Personal & Culinary Services Basic Certificate Schools

#1

Laurel Business Institute

Uniontown, PA

Our 2023 rankings named Laurel Business Institute the best value school in Pennsylvania for personal & culinary services students working on their basic certificate. LBI is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the small suburb of Uniontown.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at LBI are $11,470 a year.

Full Personal & Culinary Services at Laurel Business Institute Report

The excellent basic certificate programs at Penn Commercial Business/Technical School helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best value personal & culinary services schools in Pennsylvania. Penn Commercial is a fairly small private for-profit school located in the suburb of Washington.

Penn Commercial undergraduate students pay an average of $12,116 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Full Personal & Culinary Services at Penn Commercial Business/Technical School Report

#3

Laurel Technical Institute

MEADVILLE, PA

Out of the 41 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Laurel Technical Institute landed the # 3 spot on the list. Located in the rural area of MEADVILLE, LTI - Meadville is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at LTI - Meadville are $11,470 a year.

Read full report on Personal & Culinary Services at Laurel Technical Institute

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Community College of Philadelphia. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Basic Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list. Located in the city of Philadelphia, Community College of Philadelphia is a public school with a large student population.

In-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Community College of Philadelphia are $8,688 per year.

Read More…

#5

Laurel Technical Institute

Hermitage, PA

Out of the 41 schools in Pennsylvania that were part of this year’s ranking, Laurel Technical Institute landed the # 5 spot on the list. Located in the rural area of Hermitage, LTI Sharon is a private for-profit school with a small student population.

LTI Sharon undergraduate students pay an average of $11,470 in in-state tuition and fees each year.

Read full report on Personal & Culinary Services at Laurel Technical Institute

#6

Douglas Education Center

Monessen, PA

Douglas Education Center landed the #6 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate personal & culinary services programs. Located in the suburb of Monessen, Douglas Education Center is a private for-profit school with a fairly small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Douglas Education Center are $18,350 a year.

Read More…

Pittsburgh Technical College landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate personal & culinary services programs. Located in the rural area of Oakdale, Pittsburgh Technical College is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.

The average tuition and fees for an in-state undergraduate at Pittsburgh Technical College are $16,974 a year.

Read More…

#8

Butler Beauty Academy

Butler, PA

With a ranking of #8, Butler Beauty Academy did quite well on this year’s best value schools for personal & culinary services students working on their basic certificate. Located in the fringe town of Butler, Butler Beauty Academy is a private for-profit college with a fairly small student population.

Read full report on Personal & Culinary Services at Butler Beauty Academy

Empire Beauty School-Harrisburg landed the #8 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value basic certificate personal & culinary services programs. Empire Beauty School-Harrisburg is a small private for-profit school located in the large suburb of Harrisburg.

Full Personal & Culinary Services at Empire Beauty School-Harrisburg Report

#8

Bella Capelli Academy

Monroeville, PA

Bella Capelli Academy ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Basic Certificate Schools in Pennsylvania list. Bella Capelli Academy a Paul Mitchell partner school is a small private for-profit school located in the suburb of Monroeville.

Full Personal & Culinary Services at Bella Capelli Academy Report

Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Colleges in the Middle Atlantic Region

Explore all the Best Value Personal & Culinary Services Schools in the Middle Atlantic Area or other specific states within that region.

State Degrees Awarded
New Jersey 2,643
Maryland 1,280
Delaware 373
New York 6,710
District of Columbia 166

Personal & Culinary Services Majors to Study

Major Annual Graduates
Cosmetology 124,611
Culinary Arts 22,075
Funeral & Mortuary Science 2,186
Casino Operations and Services 385
Other Personal & Culinary Services 95

Related Major Annual Graduates
Mechanic & Repair Technologies 105,741
Precision Production 55,411
Construction Trades 40,802
Transportation & Materials Moving 33,306

Notes and References

*These averages are for the top 41 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 U.S. Army Europe Images.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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