College · Private nonprofit · Pasadena, CA · City
Art Center College of Design
Pasadena, CA
Admit rate75%
6-yr median pay$54k
Net price / yr$49k
Undergrad size2,017
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $49k/yr for a shot at a $54k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 75% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid.
If you get in
2,017 undergrads. Small. You will know your cohort.
Where you live
City campus — public transit, off-campus food, weekends happen nearby.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $76k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $49k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$303k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$195k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$108k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback3.6x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $54.2k
- Books & supplies
- $4,000
How students pay for it.
Pell grants22%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans33%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$31k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $13k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
Graduation · 6 yr79%
Majority finish.
6-yr median pay$54k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$72k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out0%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- City
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 2,017
- Location
- Pasadena, CA
- Region
- Far West (AK, CA, HI, NV, OR, WA)
- Carnegie class
- Master's Colleges & Universities: Smaller Programs
- Size & setting
- Four-year · small · primarily nonresidential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, selective, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- International44%
- Asian30%
- White10%
- Hispanic9%
- Two or more races5%
- Black1%
First-gen students24%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time11%
Mixed full-time and part-time.
Median family income$30k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 8
What you can study.