College · Private nonprofit · Portland, OR · City
Pacific Northwest College of Art
Portland, OR
Admit rate75%
6-yr median pay$24k
Net price / yr$36k
Undergrad size420
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $36k/yr for a shot at a $24k first-5-year salary. Math out whether that works for you — it does for some people, not for others.
Getting in
Admit rate of 75% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid.
If you get in
420 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 $70k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $36k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$282k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$143k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$138k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback5.9x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $49.0k
- Room & board
- $19.8k
- Books & supplies
- $1,480
How students pay for it.
Pell grants41%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans52%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$25k
What the median student owes at graduation. Non-completers: $7k.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention67%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr29%
A meaningful chunk do not finish — ask why.
6-yr median pay$24k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$35k
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
- 420
- Location
- Portland, OR
- Region
- Far West (AK, CA, HI, NV, OR, WA)
- Also known as
- PNCA
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White59%
- Hispanic18%
- Two or more races9%
- Black5%
- Unknown5%
- Asian3%
- International1%
First-gen students18%
Share whose parents didn't complete college.
Part-time2%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$47k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 6
What you can study.