College · Private nonprofit · San Francisco, CA · City
California College of the Arts
San Francisco, CA
Admit rate91%
6-yr median pay$38k
Net price / yr$54k
Undergrad size990
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $54k/yr for a shot at a $38k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 91% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid.
If you get in
990 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
City campus — public transit, off-campus food, weekends happen nearby.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $80k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $54k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$319k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$216k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$103k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback5.6x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $60.2k
- Room & board
- $22.1k
- Books & supplies
- $1,500
How students pay for it.
Pell grants25%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans48%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$27k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $10k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
Graduation · 6 yr61%
Majority finish.
6-yr median pay$38k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$49k
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
- 990
- Location
- San Francisco, CA
- Region
- Far West (AK, CA, HI, NV, OR, WA)
- Carnegie class
- Associate's Colleges: Mixed Transfer/Career · High Nontraditional
- Size & setting
- Four-year · small · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- International32%
- White21%
- Hispanic16%
- Asian16%
- Two or more races7%
- Black4%
- Unknown4%
First-gen students24%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time3%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$39k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 11
What you can study.