If you live in Compton, Carson, Long Beach, Paramount, or the surrounding cities, the cosmetology school decision often comes down to Compton College or a private school like Beyond. Here's how the two programs compare — pass rate, hours, schedule, and cost.
Beyond posted a significantly higher 2025 California State Board cosmetology pass rate than Compton College — 80% versus 51% — and gets students licensed in roughly a third of the time. Compton's tuition is significantly lower at sticker price.
Source: California Board of Barbering and Cosmetology quarterly school pass-rate reports.
That 29-point gap is the largest in our community college comparisons and the single most important number on this page. Pass rate tells you what percentage of a school's graduates actually leave with a license they can use.
We don't share Compton's 2025 number to dismiss the school. We share it because if your goal is a license, the pass rate is an important data point to consider among many.
Compton still teaches the older 1,600-hour curriculum even though California's state minimum dropped to 1,000 hours in 2022. That means a Compton student is committing to 60% more clock hours than the state requires for licensure, spread over 2 or more years.
Beyond cosmetology: $17,560 total — tuition, registration, kit, books, and state STRF fee. We publish the full number on our cosmetology program page.
Compton College cosmetology: California resident tuition is $46 per unit. Total tuition for the program runs roughly $1,400 to $2,500, plus kit and books in the $500 to $1,500 range. Total out-of-pocket: typically $2,000 to $4,500.
The sticker cost gap is real — roughly $13,000 to $15,000. Both schools participate in federal financial aid, so Pell Grants (up to $7,395 for 2025–26) and federal student loans can be applied at either. Beyond's FAFSA school code is 041482. More on financial aid at Beyond.
Where the math gets harder is the time. The time to license is significantly longer with Compton.
Compton's program is cosmetology only. They've previously planned to add an esthetician program, but at the time of writing it isn't an active option for new students. They don't offer a manicurist program either.
Beyond runs three full California beauty licensure programs:
If you're considering anything other than cosmetology, Compton isn't currently a comparable option.
Compton's cosmetology program runs on the community college academic calendar with cohort start dates. Beyond's cosmetology runs monthly start dates on a daytime schedule — Tuesday through Saturday 8:30 AM to 3 PM for full time or Tuesday through Saturday 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM for part time.
Compton's cosmetology certificate sequence starts with COSM 101 or COSM 104 — introductory cosmetology courses — before you can take the Level I, II, III sequence that builds to the 1,600 hours required for State Board. Those intro courses don't count toward your licensing hours, so they're additional time on top of the 2+ year program length. At Beyond, you start the 1,000-hour curriculum on Day 1 — every hour you put in counts toward your State Board eligibility.
Compton College is at 1111 East Artesia Boulevard in Compton. Beyond is at 13640 Imperial Highway in Santa Fe Springs — about 10 miles east, easily reachable from Compton, Carson, Long Beach, Paramount, Lakewood, Bellflower, and Downey via the 91, 105, or 605 freeways.
Compton College may be the better fit if:
Beyond may be the better fit if:
One note on accuracy: schools update tuition, program hours, and start dates throughout the year. The Compton College information in this post is based on public sources at the time of writing. Confirm anything decision-critical — current tuition, start dates, prerequisites, program offerings — directly with Compton College's cosmetology department before enrolling.
Beyond is 10 miles east of Compton College off the 91, 105, or 605. Call (562) 404-6193 or schedule a tour. Want to test the State Board content before committing? Our cosmetology practice exam is free and online.
For the bigger picture across all the LA + OC community college beauty programs, see our main comparison of community college vs. private cosmetology school in LA + OC.
