College · Private nonprofit · Laguna Beach, CA · Rural
Laguna College of Art and Design
Laguna Beach, CA
Admit rate94%
6-yr median pay$32k
Net price / yr$43k
Undergrad size746
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $43k/yr for a shot at a $32k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 94% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid.
If you get in
746 undergrads. Tiny. Every professor will know your name.
Where you live
Rural — true campus bubble, nature on the doorstep, plan for a car.
§ II · Cost & aid
Sticker vs. real.
Sticker cost of attendance is $58k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $43k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$232k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$170k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$62k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback5.3x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $37.5k
- Room & board
- $19.6k
- Books & supplies
- $2,324
How students pay for it.
Pell grants30%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans43%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$27k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $11k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
Graduation · 6 yr52%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$32k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$48k
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
- Rural
- Control
- Private nonprofit
- Undergrad size
- 746
- Location
- Laguna Beach, CA
- Region
- Far West (AK, CA, HI, NV, OR, WA)
- Carnegie class
- Associate's Colleges: Mixed Transfer/Career · High Nontraditional
- Size & setting
- Four-year · very small · primarily nonresidential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission
- Also known as
- LCAD
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White40%
- Hispanic24%
- Asian19%
- Two or more races9%
- International5%
- Black2%
- Unknown1%
- American Indian / Alaska Native1%
- Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander1%
First-gen students22%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time7%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$57k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 4
What you can study.