Massachusetts College
of Art and Design
Public College in Boston, MA. Six-year graduation rate 69%. Median 10-year earnings $43,582.
Students who entered Massachusetts College of Art and Design land at a median of $43,582 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. The six-year graduation rate of 69% is well above average and the clearest sign this school holds onto its students. Debt at graduation runs to a median of $25,755, 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
Admissions
An acceptance rate of 76% puts Massachusetts College of Art and Design on the accessible end — a realistic target for a broad range of applicants. 2,756 applications came in, enough to make the rates below reasonably stable year to year. Only 17% 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 Massachusetts College of Art and Design →Academics
A 69% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. 89% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. The 9:1 student-faculty ratio is small enough that seminar-sized classes are the norm. Judge these figures against other institutions of the same type — sector explains more of the variation in completion than any single campus factor.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,812 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $24,864 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $16,351 at the $0–30k band to $31,882 at $110k+. About 79% get grants averaging $10,346, so plan on the possibility of paying closer to full price. 53% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
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 · 431 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 | $16,351 |
| $30–48k | $17,636 |
| $48–75k | $18,513 |
| $75–110k | $26,265 |
| $110k+ | $31,882 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 960 of these 1,812 students, totalling $5,969,276 — an average of $6,218 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Suffolk 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)