Manhattan School
of Music
Private College in New York, NY. Six-year graduation rate 78%. Median 10-year earnings $26,878.
Median earnings ten years after entry come to $26,878, below what most undergraduate institutions return — the central fact to weigh against cost here. The six-year graduation rate of 78% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Graduates carry a median of $26,994 in debt — in line with the national norm.
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
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 1.00 — elevated (above 0.60)
Admissions
Selectivity is real here: only 41% of applicants are offered a place. Only 1,405 students applied, so treat these rates as directional — small pools swing sharply between cycles. 25% of those admitted enroll, which is unremarkable in either direction.
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 Manhattan School of Music →Academics
Six-year completion runs to 78% — students who start here overwhelmingly finish here. First-year retention of 93% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. Retention and completion are close, which places the gap between entering and finishing almost entirely in year one. The 6:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. 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 535 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay $51,767 a year on average after aid, a premium price that the earnings data has to justify. Aid is steeply need-based: families in the $0–30k band pay $31,392 while those at $110k+ pay $56,540. Most students get help: 85% receive grants worth $25,529 on average. About 34% 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 · 142 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 | $31,392 |
| $30–48k | $38,143 |
| $48–75k | $46,638 |
| $75–110k | $48,042 |
| $110k+ | $56,540 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 180 of these 535 students, totalling $1,180,921 — an average of $6,561 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)