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Best College Rankings

Private nonprofit · Urban campus · verified rankings · federal data

California College of the Arts

Students comparing California College of the Arts on federal cost, completion, and earnings data who will layer in fit, location, and program strength separately.

CompareOfficial site
San Francisco, California990 undergraduatesMean consensus percentile 75Private nonprofitSmall enrollmentUrban campus

The short answer

California College of the Arts: Washington Monthly ranks it #1442 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); Niche ranks it #1434 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 2 stars. It enrolls 990 undergraduates, admits 91.1% of applicants, and posts a 61.2% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $60,226; aid recipients pay $53,909 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $49,414.

The six numbers that matter most

Acceptance rate
91.1%

Above the dataset median of 76%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported entering class, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Average net price
$53,909

35% below the $82,325 published price

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardAverage for full-time first-time aid recipients, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Median earnings, 10 yrs
$49,414

Below the dataset median of $54,053

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMedian earnings 10 years after entry, working and not enrolled, College Scorecard June 2026 release

6-year graduation rate
61.2%

Above the dataset median of 56%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent six-year cohort, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Median debt at graduation
$27,000

Below the dataset median of $23,250

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMedian federal loan debt of completers, College Scorecard June 2026 release

SAT middle 50%
Not reportedCalifornia College of the Arts reports that it neither requires nor recommends admissions test scores, and does not report a score range to the Department of Education.

U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard

Where California College ranks, and why the answers differ

Each publisher's position, the list it belongs to, and how many institutions it was drawn from.

SourceListRank
US News2026National universities, liberal arts, regional and specialty listsNot ranked by this source
Forbes2026America's Top CollegesNot ranked by this source
Washington Monthly2026Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars#1442of 1,504Tuition & tax value (WM)
WSJ2026Best Colleges in the U.S.Not ranked by this source
Niche2026Best Colleges (Overall)#1434of 2,605Overall (Niche)
Money2026Best Value Colleges2 starsListedBest value (Money)
Princeton Review2026Best Colleges (Overall)Not ranked by this source
QS2026World University RankingsNot ranked by this source

Methodology sensitivity: California College's position moves 41 percentile points depending on which published list you read. That is a wide spread, so which list you consult substantially changes the impression you get. How we compute this

Ranking positions are the editorial property of their publishers and are reproduced here with attribution for comparison and commentary. Follow each source link for its full list and methodology.

About California College

California College of the Arts is a private nonprofit institution in San Francisco, California. Federal data show 86.7% first-year retention and a 7:1 student-faculty ratio. Figures on this page come from College Scorecard and IPEDS; publisher rankings shown here are transcribed from named sources and checked in our dataset.

Strengths and honest considerations

Strengths

  • Cost and outcome metrics on this profile come directly from federal collections, not self-reported marketing sheets.
  • Net price $53,909 reflects what aid recipients actually paid in the most recent federal reporting year.

Considerations

  • This school may not appear on every publisher list we track; an empty rankings table means no tracked publisher ranked it, not missing federal data.
  • Compare $82,325 sticker cost against $53,909 net price before ruling a school in or out on price alone.
  • Publishers we have not loaded yet, or lists that omit this school, show as “not ranked by this source” — that is expected.

Who this school genuinely fits

Students comparing California College of the Arts on federal cost, completion, and earnings data who will layer in fit, location, and program strength separately.

What it costs

Published price, then what families actually pay after grants and scholarships.

Tuition & fees
$60,226

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Undergraduates on Pell grants
25.1%

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardShare of undergraduates, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Room & board
$22,099

U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported academic year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

Published cost of attendance comes to roughly $82,325 a year, but the average family pays $53,909 — a 35% difference. 25.1% of undergraduates receive Pell grants, the federal marker of low family income.

Net price varies enormously by income band, so run California College's net price calculator for your own household before drawing conclusions. Why net price is the only cost number that matters.

Programs and academics

Most popular majors

  1. 1Business
  2. 2Biology
  3. 3Psychology
  4. 4Computer Science
  5. 5Economics

Standout programs

    Student-faculty ratio
    7:1

    IPEDS / National Center for Education StatisticsIPEDS 2023 fall enrollment

    First-year retention
    86.7%

    U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent first-year cohort, College Scorecard June 2026 release

    Undergraduate enrollment
    990

    U.S. Dept. of Education College ScorecardMost recent reported year, College Scorecard June 2026 release

    California College: questions families ask

    Out-of-state tuition is $60,226 and on-campus room and board is $22,099, for a published total of $82,325 before aid. The average net price for first-time full-time students receiving aid is $53,909.

    The most recent federal admissions rate reported to the Department of Education is 91.1%. Test policy as reported in IPEDS: see the admissions section on this page for the institution's own category.

    Similar colleges

    Matched on institutional character, overlapping majors and comparable cross-source standing.

    School of the Art Institute of Chicago

    Chicago, ILPrivate nonprofit

    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    School of the Art Institute of Chicago: Washington Monthly ranks it #1492 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); Niche ranks it #1364 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 2 stars. It enrolls 2,805 undergraduates, admits 77.5% of applicants, and posts a 67.0% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $56,420; aid recipients pay $49,790 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $40,151.

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    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

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    Acceptance rate
    45.2%
    Average net price
    $25,669
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $42,488
    6-yr graduation rate
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    US News · Liberal arts colleges#182 of 210Washington Monthly · Tuition & tax value (WM)#1407 of 1,504Niche · Overall (Niche)#1276 of 2,605+1 more on profile

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    Clark Atlanta University

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    Verified publisher rankings · federal data

    Clark Atlanta University: U.S. News ranks it #329 on National Universities (2026); Washington Monthly ranks it #992 on Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars (2026); WSJ ranks it #489 on Best Colleges in the U.S. (2026); Niche ranks it #1353 on Best Colleges (Overall) (2026); Money lists it on Best Value Colleges (2026) — 2 stars. It enrolls 3,603 undergraduates, admits 64.2% of applicants, and posts a 49.0% six-year graduation rate. Out-of-state tuition is $28,310; aid recipients pay $37,702 on average. Median earnings ten years after entry: $42,712.

    Acceptance rate
    64.2%
    Average net price
    $37,702
    Median earnings (10 yr)
    $42,712
    6-yr graduation rate
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