College · Private nonprofit · New York, NY · City
Manhattan School of Music
New York, NY
Admit rate41%
6-yr median pay$19k
Net price / yr$52k
Undergrad size539
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $52k/yr for a shot at a $19k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 41% means this is selective — grades, essays, and testing matter.
If you get in
539 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 $78k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $52k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$311k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$207k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$104k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback11.0x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $57.0k
- Room & board
- $18.1k
- Books & supplies
- $1,500
How students pay for it.
Pell grants12%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans33%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$27k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $9k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention93%
Very high — students stay.
Graduation · 6 yr78%
Majority finish.
6-yr median pay$19k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$27k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out5%
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
- 539
- Location
- New York, NY
- Region
- Mid East (DE, DC, MD, NJ, NY, PA)
- Carnegie class
- Associate's Colleges: Mixed Transfer/Career · High Nontraditional
- Size & setting
- Four-year · very small · highly residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, more selective, lower transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White37%
- International34%
- Hispanic11%
- Asian8%
- Two or more races5%
- Black4%
- Unknown1%
Part-time0%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$87k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 2
What you can study.