California Institute
of the Arts
Private College in Valencia, CA. Six-year graduation rate 67%. Median 10-year earnings $41,198.
Students who entered California Institute of the Arts reach a median of $41,198 a decade later, a figure that trails the typical four-year outcome. The six-year graduation rate of 67% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $25,000, neither a bargain nor a burden.
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
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 0.61 — elevated (above 0.60)
- ! Mobility score 0.9 — limited economic uplift documented
Admissions
At 32%, the acceptance rate makes California Institute of the Arts a school worth applying to with alternatives in hand. 2,004 applications came in, enough to make the rates below reasonably stable year to year. Yield sits at 28% — 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 California Institute of the Arts →Academics
67% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. First-year retention of 82% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. 17% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. A 7:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 901 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price averages $56,239 annually, so cost is the first thing to weigh here. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $26,686 while those at $110k+ pay $58,873. Most students get help: 93% receive grants worth $28,432 on average. About 37% borrow federally, roughly the national pattern.
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 · 176 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 | $26,686 |
| $30–48k | $40,899 |
| $48–75k | $51,847 |
| $75–110k | $38,627 |
| $110k+ | $58,873 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 331 of these 901 students, totalling $2,227,582 — an average of $6,730 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
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)