Colleges / Minneapolis College of Art and Design
College · Private nonprofit · Minneapolis, MN · City
MCA

Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Minneapolis, MN

Address2501 Stevens Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55404
Websitemcad.edu
Price calculatorRun your numbers →
Admit rate48%
6-yr median pay$35k
Net price / yr$30k
Undergrad size705
§ I · The real read

What it's actually like.

The bet

Net price of $30k/yr for a shot at a $35k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.

Getting in

Admit rate of 48% means this is selective — grades, essays, and testing matter. Admitted students average SAT 1161.

If you get in

705 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 $60k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $30k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.

Sticker · 4 yrs$240k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$120k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$120k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback3.4x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.

Where the money goes · annual sticker.

Tuition · in-state
$45.5k
Room & board
$13.4k
Books & supplies
$3,800

How students pay for it.

Pell grants42%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans75%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$27k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $8k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes

Do people finish? Do they land?

1-yr retention78%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr51%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$35k
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 out28%
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
705
Location
Minneapolis, MN
Region
Plains (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD)
Carnegie class
Associate's Colleges: Mixed Transfer/Career · High Nontraditional
Size & setting
Four-year · very small · primarily residential
Undergrad program
Four-year · full-time, more selective, higher transfer-in
Accreditor
Higher Learning Commission
Also known as
MCAD
§ · Who studies here

The student body at a glance.

  • White64%
  • Hispanic12%
  • Two or more races7%
  • Asian6%
  • Black6%
  • Unknown2%
  • International2%
  • American Indian / Alaska Native1%
First-gen students21%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time0%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$52k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 7

What you can study.

Colleges / Minneapolis College of Art and Design
College · Private nonprofit · Minneapolis, MN · City
MCA

Minneapolis College of Art and Design

Minneapolis, MN

Address2501 Stevens Ave, Minneapolis, MN 55404
Websitemcad.edu
Price calculatorRun your numbers →
Admit rate48%
6-yr median pay$35k
Net price / yr$30k
Undergrad size705
§ I · The real read

What it's actually like.

The bet

Net price of $30k/yr for a shot at a $35k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.

Getting in

Admit rate of 48% means this is selective — grades, essays, and testing matter. Admitted students average SAT 1161.

If you get in

705 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 $60k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $30k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.

Sticker · 4 yrs$240k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$120k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$120k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback3.4x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.

Where the money goes · annual sticker.

Tuition · in-state
$45.5k
Room & board
$13.4k
Books & supplies
$3,800

How students pay for it.

Pell grants42%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans75%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$27k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $8k.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes

Do people finish? Do they land?

1-yr retention78%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr51%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$35k
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 out28%
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
705
Location
Minneapolis, MN
Region
Plains (IA, KS, MN, MO, NE, ND, SD)
Carnegie class
Associate's Colleges: Mixed Transfer/Career · High Nontraditional
Size & setting
Four-year · very small · primarily residential
Undergrad program
Four-year · full-time, more selective, higher transfer-in
Accreditor
Higher Learning Commission
Also known as
MCAD
§ · Who studies here

The student body at a glance.

  • White64%
  • Hispanic12%
  • Two or more races7%
  • Asian6%
  • Black6%
  • Unknown2%
  • International2%
  • American Indian / Alaska Native1%
First-gen students21%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time0%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$52k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 7

What you can study.