College · Private nonprofit · Lancaster, PA · City
Pennsylvania College of Art and Design
Lancaster, PA
Admit rate99%
6-yr median pay$24k
Net price / yr$30k
Undergrad size400
§ I · The real read
What it's actually like.
The bet
Net price of $30k/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 99% means this is workable if your grades and essays are solid.
If you get in
400 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 $44k/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$175k
Before any aid.
Net · 4 yrs$120k
What the average student pays.
Typical aid$55k
Difference over 4 years — higher for lower-income households.
Payback5.1x
4-yr net price ÷ first-5-year salary. Lower is better.
Where the money goes · annual sticker.
- Tuition · in-state
- $32.1k
- Room & board
- $17.2k
- Books & supplies
- $1,650
How students pay for it.
Pell grants47%
Share of undergrads on federal Pell grants.
Federal loans69%
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?
Graduation · 6 yr69%
Majority finish.
6-yr median pay$24k
Cross-major. Your major's number can be very different.
10-yr median pay$33k
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
- 400
- Location
- Lancaster, 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 residential
- Undergrad program
- Four-year · full-time, more selective, lower transfer-in
- Accreditor
- National Association of Schools of Arts and Design
§ · Who studies here
The student body at a glance.
- White62%
- Black15%
- Unknown9%
- Asian5%
- Two or more races5%
- Hispanic3%
- Native Hawaiian / Pacific Islander2%
- American Indian / Alaska Native1%
Part-time4%
Mostly a full-time student body.
Median family income$57k
Of enrolled students' households — useful for aid context.
§ V · Majors offered here · 3
What you can study.