American Musical
and Dramatic Academy
Private College in New York, NY. Six-year graduation rate 56%. Median 10-year earnings $26,975.
Ten-year median earnings of $26,975 are on the low side, which raises the bar for what this degree needs to cost. The six-year graduation rate is 57%, meaning about two in five students who start do not finish. Borrowing stays contained, with median debt at graduation of $15,250.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Mobility score 0.7 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
An acceptance rate of 24% means admission is the exception — plan accordingly. 6,728 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. Yield sits at 27% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all.
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 Musical and Dramatic Academy →Academics
Completion is middling: 57% finish inside six years. Retention is strong at 83%, and first-year attrition is where most degrees are lost. Retention runs well ahead of completion, which means students are not leaving immediately; they are leaving somewhere between the second year and the finish line. A 5:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. This is a private nonprofit four-year college, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,502 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price averages $48,524 annually, so cost is the first thing to weigh here. The income table below is the number that matters — $25,437 at $0–30k versus $59,423 at $110k+. 90% of students get grant aid averaging $19,776, so the published price is a poor guide to what most pay. Most students borrow — 59% take federal loans to cover the gap.
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 · 387 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 | $25,437 |
| $30–48k | $27,924 |
| $48–75k | $43,968 |
| $75–110k | $51,214 |
| $110k+ | $59,423 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 884 of these 1,502 students, totalling $6,504,035 — an average of $7,358 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (New York County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)