California Institute of the Arts

California Institute of the Arts is a private, nonprofit school located in the suburban setting of Valencia, CA, less than an hour from Los Angeles.

Founded in 1961, California Institute of the Arts currently enrolls around 1,520 students a year, including 1,021 undergrads. The institution runs on a semester academic calendar.

As of 2020, the total market value of the school endowment was $101,628,728. For each full-time student, California Institute of the Arts spends about $20,789.

Admissions Facts About California Institute of the Arts

Acceptance rate: 25%

Early Decision or Early Action: /

2022 Regular Decision Deadline: January 5

2022 Regular Decision Notification Date: April 1

California Institute of the Arts Acceptance Rate

It is very difficult to get into California Institute of the Arts. Around 25 percent of all applicants to California Institute of the Arts are accepted each year.

In 2021, 61 applicants were waitlisted and 22 waitlisted students got accepted.

Is California Institute of the Arts a good school?

The definition of a "good school" is different for different people. Acceptance rate and average GPA are good indicators of how competitive an institution is, but they don't say much about the quality of the education or the student experience. There are a few statistics that can give you a good idea of how satisfied students are and how well a school supports its students.

Retention, graduation, and job placement statistics all give valuable information about the quality of the student experience, before and after graduation.

Retention and graduation rates

About 86 percent of students who start at California Institute of the Arts come back the next year. Out of the 171 students who started at California Institute of the Arts as first-time freshman, 92 graduate within four years.

Around 61 percent of students who started at California Institute of the Arts earn their Bachelor's degrees within six years. The average six-year graduation rate for U.S. colleges and universities is 61 percent for public schools, and 67 percent for private, non-profit schools.

Job outcomes and student debt

Job placement rates after graduation, average starting salaries, and the debt students graduate with can all give important clues about the value of a degree from a specific school. The average student debt for graduates in the class of 2021 was around $31,293 per student, not including those with no debt. For context, compare this number with the average national debt, which is around $36,000 per borrower.

Based on this information, how does California Institute of the Arts sound? Remember, a school that is perfect for one person may not be the right school for another! So the real question to ask yourself: is California Institute of the Arts a good school for YOU?

Interested in applying to California Institute of the Arts?

Click the heart icon to save California Institute of the Arts to your own personal list of schools where you want to apply!

January 1 is the final deadline to submit an application for next Fall. All applicants will be notified by April 1.

Read on to find out more about the admissions requirements and deadlines, student life, academics and majors and more. You can also see what others are saying about California Institute of the Arts in the College Confidential forums and get personalized recommendations for more schools that might be a good fit for you.