California College of the Arts vs. CalArts vs. Art Center College of Design vs. Art Center College of Design

California College of the Arts vs. California Institute of the Arts vs. Art Center College of Design vs. Art Center College of Design comparison

	California College of the Arts	California Institute of the Arts	Art Center College of Design	Art Center College of Design
	Remove	Remove	Remove	Remove
Overview	California College of the Arts	CalArts	Art Center College of Design	Art Center College of Design
Location	Oakland, CA	Valencia, CA	Pasadena, CA	Pasadena, CA
Setting	Large City	Midsize Suburban	Midsize City	Midsize City
Enrollment	1,333	1,353	2,382	2,382
Type	Private 4 Year	Private 4 Year	Private 4 Year	Private 4 Year
National Ranking
Religious Affiliation	-	-	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	cca.edu	calarts.edu	artcenter.edu	artcenter.edu
Team Colors

Costs	California College of the Arts	CalArts	Art Center College of Design	Art Center College of Design
Tuition (In State)	$57,096	$56,074	$50,606	$50,606
Tuition (Out of State)	$57,096	$56,074	$50,606	$50,606
Room & Board	$21,165	$12,820	$17,272	$17,272
Avg Net Price	$49,945	$57,288	$53,306	$53,306
Avg Grant Aid	$29,175	$22,071	$18,219	$18,219
% Receiving Grant Aid	85%	88%	66%	66%

Admission	California College of the Arts	CalArts	Art Center College of Design	Art Center College of Design
Applied	3,661	2,023	1,339	1,339
Admitted	2,687	525	1,004	1,004
Acceptance Rate	73.4%	26%	75%	75%
Enrolled %	6.9%	33.7%	32.1%	32.1%
Avg High School GPA	3.34	-	-	-
Typical High School Grades	B+	-	-	-
Admissions Standards	Unavailable	Unavailable	Unavailable	Unavailable
Applicant Competition	Low	High
ACT Range
SAT Range
Submit Test Scores	Not considered for admission, even if submitted (Test Blind)	Not considered for admission, even if submitted (Test Blind)	Not considered for admission, even if submitted (Test Blind)	Not considered for admission, even if submitted (Test Blind)
Application Deadline		Jan 5, 2026

Academics	California College of the Arts	CalArts	Art Center College of Design	Art Center College of Design
Student to Faculty Ratio	7:1	7:1	8:1	8:1
Popular Majors	Visual and Performing Arts (77%) Architecture (11%) Communications Technology (4%) Communication (4%) English and Literature (2%)	Visual and Performing Arts (100%)	Visual and Performing Arts (87%) Communication (5%) Communications Technology (5%) Architecture (3%)	Visual and Performing Arts (87%) Communication (5%) Communications Technology (5%) Architecture (3%)
Outcomes	California College of the Arts	CalArts	Art Center College of Design	Art Center College of Design
Graduation Rate	49%	65%	54%	54%
Median Earnings (After 10 years)	$43,500	$50,400	$58,300	$58,300
Making Student Loan Payments	62%	64%	73%	73%
Median Student Loan Debt	$28,000	$28,500	$31,250	$31,250
Median Loan Payment	$289	$294	$323	$323

Diversity	California College of the Arts	CalArts	Art Center College of Design	Art Center College of Design
% Men	7%	12%	6%	6%
% Women	17%	20%	7%	7%
Racial Diversity	Very High	Very High	Very High	Very High
HBCU	No	No	No	No
% White	27%	42%	18%	18%
% Black	4%	7%	1%	1%
% Hispanic	14%	15%	12%	12%
% Native American	0%	1%	0%	0%
% Pacific Islander	1%	1%	0%	0%
% Two or More Races	0%	6%	4%	4%
% International	31%	7%	27%	27%
% Unknown Race	7%	8%	1%	1%

Students	California College of the Arts	CalArts	Art Center College of Design	Art Center College of Design
% In-State	42%	32%	45%	45%
% Out-of-State	20%	38%	8%	8%
Campus	California College of the Arts	CalArts	Art Center College of Design	Art Center College of Design
Campus Housing	Yes	Yes	No	No
Freshman Dorm Required	No	No	No	No
Meal Plan	No	Yes	No	No
Weekend/Evening Classes	No	No	No	No
Daycare Facility	No	No	No	No
Learn More	Details	Details	Details	Details

Comparable Facts

• California Institute of the Arts is larger than than California College of the Arts based on total student enrollment (1,353 students vs. 1,333 students)

California College of the Arts vs. CalArts Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, California College of the Arts or CalArts?

• California College of the Arts is 1.8% more expensive to attend than CalArts for in-state tuition ($57,096.00 vs. $56,074.00)
• Out of state tuition is 1.8% higher at California College of the Arts than California Institute of the Arts ($57,096.00 vs. $56,074.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at California College of the Arts than CalArts ($49,945 vs. $57,288)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at California Institute of the Arts are 65.1% lower than costs at California College of the Arts ($12,820 vs. $21,165)
• More students receive financial grant aid at California Institute of the Arts than California College of the Arts (88% vs. 85%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by California College of the Arts students is 32.2% larger than aid received California Institute of the Arts ($29,175 vs. $22,071)

California College of the Arts vs. CalArts Admissions Difficulty Comparison

Which college is harder to get into, California College of the Arts or CalArts? Average SAT and ACT scores plus acceptance rates offer good insight into the difficulty of admission between CalArts or California College of the Arts .

• California College of the Arts has a higher acceptance rate (73.4%) than CalArts (26%)

California College of the Arts vs. CalArts Graduation Outcomes Comparison

Which is better, California College of the Arts or CalArts? Graduation rate, salary and amount of student loan debt are indicators of a college which offers better outcomes for its graduates. Compare the following outcomes facts between CalArts and California College of the Arts.

• The graduation rate at CalArts is higher than California College of the Arts (65% vs. 49%)
• Graduates from California Institute of the Arts earn on average $6,900 more per year than California College of the Arts graduates after ten years. ($50,400 vs. $43,500)
• California College of the Arts students graduate with a $500 lower median federal student loan debt than CalArts graduates. ($28,000 vs. $28,500)
• California College of the Arts graduates are paying $5 less per month on federal student loans than CalArts graduates. ($289 vs. $294)
• More CalArts graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former California College of the Arts students, three years after graduation. (64% vs. 62%)

Sources: U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov IPEDS and College Scorecard https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/