Payback
EarningsPlus
Economic score
California College of the Arts is a private located in San Francisco, California. California College of the Arts is very inclusive in their admissions.
Return on educational investment at California College of the Arts is in the bottom 50% of all ranked schools. The median student earns $50,388 10 years after enrolling, 75th in California, and in the top 50% nationally. When adjusted for earning differences by major, California College of the Arts bachelor students earn 23% more than the national average. California College of the Arts is ranked 70th in California.
California College of the Arts’s median net annual cost of $33,122 and average years to graduate of 4.5 are reported only at the school level. We assume these same costs and graduation time for all programs.
The top 1 programs at California College of the Arts sorted by number of graduates - Design & Applied Arts - are shown below.
Annual net cost
$33,122
Average years to graduate
4.5
EarningPlus compares the three-year post graduate earnings to the median earnings of the same graduating class, with the same graduate degree. These 2 metrics, debt-to-earnings and EarningsPlus, are combined into an economic score. The lower the economic score the better.
The most popular 4 graduate programs at California College of the Arts - Fine & Studio Arts, Business Administration, Design & Applied Arts, Rhetoric & Composition - are shown below.
The average full-time graduate completes their degree in 4.5 years. 71% of all students graduate within 8 years including part-time students. The graduation rate at California College of the Arts is 4% higher than the state average, and 6% above the average for all special focus four-year: arts, music & design schools in the country.
At California College of the Arts, Pell Grant recipients represent 23% of the measured graduating class, 12% lower than the national average of 35%. The average Pell Grant recipient at California College of the Arts graduates within 4.4 years.
California College of the Arts is in the bottom 50% of schools for graduating Pell recipients.
We calculate this performance by adjusting the graduation rate of Pell students by their percentage of the student body. This adjustment is made to prevent schools with large numbers of Pell students from underperforming in comparison to schools with few Pell students but high graduation rates.
California College of the Arts’s economic mobility score of 7.47 is calculated by adjusting the 5.19 economic score of lower-income students by the 23% pell grant recipients within the student body. California College of the Arts’s EMS of 7.47 ranks in the bottom 25% nationally.false
Economic Mobility
To calculate economic mobility of low-income (household earnings below $30,000) students, we adjust each institution’s economic score by their percentage of Pell Grant students. The logic of this Pell-adjusted calculation is derived from Third Way’s Economic Mobility Index (EMI).
Bottom 25%
The average Title IV recipient at California College of the Arts pays $33,122 a year, $41,558 less than the $74,680 advertised. See below the cost breakdown for students who receive Title IV grants, broken down by income level.
Average net price
The average net price shown by income level for all students that receive Title IV aid. Calculated by deducting the average grant and scholarship aid from tuition, fees, books, and room and board. Limited to first-time, full-time students. Public institution figures are calculated using in-state tuition figures.
Median net price $33,122
Much of the gap between net price and sticker price is filled by institutional and government grants. At California College of the Arts, 84% of students receive some grants and scholarships, compared to the national average of 87% for all colleges and universities. The average amount of federal, state, and institutional grants that students receive is shown on the right.
This leaves a total of $33,122 on average to be covered by the student – be it through loans or out of pocket. In total, 23% of students take out loans, federal or private, at an average amount of $7,532. This is 31% less than the national average.
Federal grants
$5,627
Pell grants
$4,897
State grants
$4,480
Institutional grants
$26,546
California College of the Arts's very inclusive admissions are indicated by their 78% acceptance rate. In 2021, the school had 2,847 applicants, of which 2,210 were admitted and 209 enrolled. California College of the Arts has a rolling admissions policy, which means applications are reviewed as they arrive until all spaces are filled.
California College of the Arts does not consider standardized testing in their admissions process.
Full time
99%
83%
Female
62%
59%
First time
55%
59%
In-state
40%
68%
1st generation
24%
35%
White
17%
52%
Black
5%
14%
Hispanic
15%
15%
Asian
18%
5%
American Indian
1%
1.6%
Pacific Islander
N/A
0.3%
Other
44%
12%