American Academy
of Dramatic Arts-Los Angeles
Private College in Los Angeles, CA. Six-year graduation rate 78%. Median 10-year earnings $27,019.
Ten-year median earnings of $27,019 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. 78% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Graduates leave owing a median of $12,000 — modest by four-year standards.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Graduation rate 78% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Admissions
American Academy of Dramatic Arts-Los Angeles accepts 83% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. Only 93 students applied, so treat these rates as directional — small pools swing sharply between cycles. Only 18% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at American Academy of Dramatic Arts-Los Angeles →Academics
A 78% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. 73% of full-time first-years come back for year two, so about one in four are gone before sophomore year. The 12:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. As a private nonprofit two-year college, the relevant comparison is other two-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions. This is a small school — 169 undergraduates — so cohorts are tight and the program list is necessarily short.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 169 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price averages $41,890 annually, so cost is the first thing to weigh here. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($37,743 versus $43,496), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. 95% of students get grant aid averaging $11,548, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. Federal borrowing reaches 49% of students.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 55 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $37,743 |
| $30–48k | $35,494 |
| $48–75k | $40,587 |
| $75–110k | $42,907 |
| $110k+ | $43,496 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 82 of these 169 students, totalling $546,596 — an average of $6,666 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Los Angeles County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026