Private nonprofit · Institute
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois · Large city
- 77.5%
- Admit rate
- $49,790
- Avg net price
- 67%
- Graduation rate
- $40,151
- Median earnings
School of the Art Institute of Chicago is a private nonprofit bachelor's-granting institution in Chicago, Illinois (large city setting), enrolling 2,805 undergraduates.
About Chicago, Illinois
Chicago is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. The first known permanent settler in Chicago was a trader, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. Du Sable was of African descent, perhaps born in the French colony of Saint-Domingue (Haiti), and he established the settlement in the 1780s. He is commonly known as the "Founder of Chicago". Chicago has the third-largest gross metropolitan product in the United States—about $670.5 billion according to September 2017 estimates. The city has also been rated as having the most balanced economy in the United States, due to its high level of diversification. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Large city
- Highest degree offered
- Graduate
- Nearest big city
- Chicago, IL
- To Great Lakes shore
- 1 mile
- Nearest airport
- 9 miles to Chicago Midway (MDW) · major hub
How School of the Art Institute of Chicago compares
More selective than 49% · #32 most selective of 58 in Illinois
Higher than 73% · #15 of 58 in Illinois
Higher than 73%
Higher than 14% · #64 of 66 in Illinois
Cheaper than 1% · #57 cheapest of 57 in Illinois
Lower than 11%
Lower than 76%
Larger than 67%
Percentiles compare School of the Art Institute of Chicago with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Illinois.
Student body
Undergraduate vs. graduate
- Undergraduate2,80583%
- Graduate58917%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women2,02672%
- Men77928%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White35%
- Black5.7%
- Hispanic13%
- Asian10%
- Other or multiracial36%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 2,805
- Graduate enrollment
- 589
- Student–faculty ratio
- 10 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 19%
- First-generation students
- 21%
- Students over 25
- 6%
- Median family income
- $50,784
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $104,652
- Endowment
- $416,852,000
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Admissions
- Admission rate
- 77.5%
- Test scores
- Not considered
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- —
- SAT average
- —
- SAT reading
- —
- SAT math
- —
- ACT composite
- —
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $56,420
- Room & board
- $16,550
- Books & supplies
- $2,380
- Total cost of attendance
- $75,625
- Average net price
- $49,790
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)
- 67%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 37%
- First-year retention
- 84%
- Transferred to another college
- 23%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $26,742
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $40,151
- Median debt at graduation
- $27,000
- Students with federal loans
- 37%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 55%
About 30% 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)
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
- 1,032
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 37%
- Housing charge (year)
- $14,300
- Meal plan (year)
- $1,800
- Application fee
- $65
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
- A
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 0.5 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 3
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 2
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (3,394 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.
By offense type, per year
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.
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.
$46,708/year × about 4.7 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.
A meaningful share of freshmen — 96% — get grant money from School of the Art Institute of Chicago itself, averaging $17,348, 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 647 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)
- $40,151
- Typical debt at graduation
- $27,000
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 67%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 46%
Typical debt would take roughly 6.7 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
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 out-earn men by $546 (1%) 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
- 81°F
- Winter low
- 20°F
- Annual rain
- 34.4″
- Annual snow
- 38.8″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Chicago Northerly IS, IL US station (1.9 mi from campus).
What School of the Art Institute of Chicago graduates study — and earn
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 School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare School of the Art Institute of Chicago side by side →
Ringling College of Art and Design
Sarasota, Florida · Small city · 2 mi to Sarasota
- Students
- 1,662
- Admission
- 70%
- Net price
- $58k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $43k
Maryland Institute College of Art
Baltimore, Maryland · Large city · 1 mi to Baltimore
- Students
- 1,189
- Admission
- 77%
- Net price
- $43k
- SAT
- 1258
- GPA
- 3.5
- Earnings
- $45k
Lynn University
Boca Raton, Florida · Small city · 23 mi to West Palm Beach
- Students
- 2,859
- Admission
- 73%
- Net price
- $44k
- SAT
- 1134
- GPA
- 3.3
- Earnings
- $49k
Clark Atlanta University
Atlanta, Georgia · Large city · 1 mi to Atlanta
- Students
- 3,603
- Admission
- 64%
- Net price
- $38k
- SAT
- —
- GPA
- —
- Earnings
- $43k
Johnson & Wales University-Providence
Providence, Rhode Island · Midsize city · < 1 mi to Providence
- Students
- 3,868
- Admission
- 88%
- Net price
- $31k
- SAT
- 1050
- GPA
- 3.0
- Earnings
- $43k
Marymount Manhattan College
New York, New York · Large city · 5 mi to New York
- Students
- 1,577
- Admission
- 83%
- Net price
- $37k
- SAT
- 1214
- GPA
- 3.5
- Earnings
- $49k
Colleges near School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Taylor Business Institute
Chicago, IL · Private for-profit · Associate · 98 students
National Louis University
Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 4,406 students
MDT College of Health Sciences
Chicago, IL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 575 students
Illinois Media School-Chicago Campus
Chicago, IL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 66 students
Adler University
Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 9 students
Soma Institute-The National School of Clinical Massage Therapy
Chicago, IL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 233 students
DePaul University
Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 14,090 students
Meadville Theological School of Lombard College
Chicago, IL · Private nonprofit · Graduate
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.











