College · Private nonprofit · Philadelphia, PA · City
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Philadelphia, PA
Admit rate—
6-yr median pay$24k
Net price / yr$42k
Undergrad size23
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $42k/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 unspecified means this is admit rate not reported for this school.
If you get in
23 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 $66k/yr. After need-based aid, the average student pays $42k/yr. Merit aid varies. Run your EFC calculator before you rule anything out.
Sticker · 4 yrs$264k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$170k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$95k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback7.0x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $44.6k
- Books & supplies
- $1,768
How students pay for it.
Pell grants35%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans65%
Share taking out federal student loans.
Median debt · grads$22k
What the median student owes at graduation.
3-yr default0%
Low — grads tend to pay on time.
§ III · Outcomes
Do people finish? Do they land?
1-yr retention42%
Watch this number.
Graduation · 6 yr58%
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$30k
Ten years out — where grads tend to land career-wise.
Transfer out42%
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
- 23
- Location
- Philadelphia, PA
- 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 · primarily nonresidential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, inclusive, higher transfer-in
- Accreditor
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education
- Also known as
- PAFA
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White57%
- Hispanic13%
- Two or more races13%
- International9%
- Black4%
- Asian4%
Part-time13%
Mixed full-time and part-time.
Median family income$46k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 3
What you can study.