Private nonprofit · College

Ringling College of Art and Design

Sarasota, Florida · Small city

69.7%
Admit rate
$57,742
Avg net price
72%
Graduation rate
$43,325
Median earnings

Ringling College of Art and Design is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Sarasota, Florida (small city setting), enrolling 1,662 undergraduates.

Private nonprofitSmall · 1,662 undergradsSmall cityAccessible · 70% admitMild wintersNear the coast

About Sarasota, Florida

Sarasota is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. Around 1883 to 1885, The Florida Mortgage and Investment Company of Edinburgh bought 60,000 acres (240 km2) for development in what is now Sarasota. Many Scottish people began to arrive in Sarasota in December 1885. Sarasota is home to Mote Marine Laboratory, a marine rescue, research facility, an aquarium, the Marie Selby Botanical Gardens, the Sarasota Jungle Gardens and the Big Cat Habitat & Gulf Coast Sanctuary. (Wikipedia)

Setting
Small city
Highest degree offered
Bachelor's
Nearest big city
2 miles to Sarasota, FL
To the ocean
1 mile
Nearest airport
2 miles to Sarasota Bradenton (SRQ) · major hub

How Ringling College of Art and Design compares

Selectivity69.7%

More selective than 64% · #28 most selective of 49 in Florida

Graduation rate72%

Higher than 81% · #14 of 62 in Florida

First-year retention86%

Higher than 79%

Earnings, 10 years after entry$43,325

Higher than 20% · #40 of 60 in Florida

Average net price$57,742

Cheaper than 1% · #62 cheapest of 62 in Florida

Median debt at graduation$27,000

Lower than 11%

Student–faculty ratio11 : 1

Lower than 68%

Undergraduate enrollment1,662

Larger than 52%

Percentiles compare Ringling College of Art and Design with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Florida.

Student body

Undergraduates by gender

1,662undergrads
  • Women1,13668%
  • Men52632%

Undergraduates by race / ethnicity

  • White42%
  • Black3.9%
  • Hispanic17%
  • Asian9.4%
  • Other or multiracial28%

Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.

By the numbers

Undergraduate enrollment
1,662
Student–faculty ratio
11 : 1
Pell Grant recipients
21%
First-generation students
17%
Students over 25
4%
Median family income
$51,310
Avg faculty salary (academic year)
$88,821
Endowment
$70,500,683

Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.

Admissions

Admission rate
69.7%
Test scores
Not considered
SAT range (25th–75th %)
SAT average
SAT reading
SAT math
ACT composite

Cost

In-state tuition
$57,900
Room & board
$19,100
Books & supplies
$2,700
Total cost of attendance
$80,276
Average net price
$57,742

Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.

Outcomes

Graduated (within 6 years)
72%
Graduated on time (4 years)
58%
First-year retention
86%
Transferred to another college
0%
Median earnings, 6 years after entry
$39,650
Median earnings, 10 years after entry
$43,325
Median debt at graduation
$27,000
Students with federal loans
38%
Paying down their loans (1 year in)
63%

About 14% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.

Graduating on time

By student background (4 years)

All students
58%
Low-income (Pell)
70%
First-generation
70%

When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.

Campus life & athletics

On-campus housing
Yes
Dorm capacity
1,280
Dorm capacity vs undergrads
77%
Housing charge (year)
$9,940
Meal plan (year)
$7,410
Application fee
$70

Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.

Campus safety

Safety grade
C
Reported offenses per 1,000 students
2.2 / year
Violent offenses (2022–2024)
7
Property offenses (2022–2024)
4

On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (1,666 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.

Reported offenses in an average year

The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.

3.7reported offenses a year
2.3 violent a year1.3 property a year

By offense type, per year

Rape
1.0
Fondling
1.0
Motor vehicle theft
1.0
Aggravated assault
0.3
Burglary
0.3

Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.

What you'll actually pay, by family income

Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.

< $30k
$47,261
$30–48k
$48,213
$48–75k
$55,121
$75–110k
$59,265
$110k+
$62,609

College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.

Four-year (or more) true cost

Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.

Est. total to a degree
$236,912

$55,121/year × about 4.3 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.

Does the school pay you to attend?

Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.

98%
of first-years get a grant from the school
$14,098
average award, among those who get one

A meaningful share of freshmen — 98% — get grant money from Ringling College of Art and Design itself, averaging $14,098, which softens the sticker price.

Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 415 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.

Is it worth it?

A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.

Median earnings (10 years)
$43,325
Typical debt at graduation
$27,000
Debt vs. one year's pay
62%
Out-earn a HS grad
53%

Typical debt would take roughly 6.2 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.

Weigh it value

The payoff is less clear-cut here — weigh the debt against the earnings and your intended field before borrowing heavily.

Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.

The pay gap here

Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.

Women
$42,147
Men
$45,185

Men out-earn women by $3,038 (7%) a decade out.

Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.

Campus climate

Summer high
92°F
Winter low
52°F
Annual rain
49″

Average temperature

HighLow
40°70°100°JFMAMJJASOND

Average precipitation (inches)

0.04.59.1JFMAMJJASOND

NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Sarasota Bradenton AP, FL US station (2.9 mi from campus).

Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.

Colleges similar to Ringling College of Art and Design

Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare Ringling College of Art and Design side by side →

Colleges near Ringling College of Art and Design

Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.