College · Private nonprofit · Valencia, CA · Suburb
California Institute of the Arts
Valencia, CA
Admit rate32%
6-yr median pay$28k
Net price / yr$46k
Undergrad size860
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $46k/yr for a shot at a $28k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 32% means this is selective — grades, essays, and testing matter.
If you get in
860 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
Suburban — a short drive to the nearest city, greener but still connected.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $78k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $46k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$310k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$184k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$126k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback6.6x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $59.0k
- Room & board
- $14.1k
- Books & supplies
- $1,062
How students pay for it.
Pell grants24%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans36%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$25k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $12k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
Graduation · 6 yr67%
Majority finish.
6-yr median pay$28k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$41k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out17%
Share of full-time students who transfer to another school.
§ IV · Campus & identity
Setting, size, and who this school is.
- Setting
- Suburb
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 860
- Location
- Valencia, CA
- Region
- Far West (AK, CA, HI, NV, OR, WA)
- Carnegie class
- Master's Colleges & Universities: Medium Programs
- Size & setting
- Four-year · small · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, more selective, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission
- Also known as
- CalArts
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White32%
- International26%
- Hispanic17%
- Asian9%
- Two or more races7%
- Black5%
- Unknown3%
First-gen students16%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time1%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$55k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 10
What you can study.