California Institute of the Arts
Valencia, CA · Private (nonprofit) · Suburban
Admission figures
- Acceptance rate
- 32.3%
- SAT (middle 50%)
- Not reported
- ACT (middle 50%)
- Not reported
- Undergraduates
- 860
- In-state tuition
- $61,354
- Out-of-state tuition
- $61,354
- Graduation rate
- 62%
- Yield (admitted students who enrol)
- 34%
- 177 of 525 admitted students enrolled in 2023
Yield is not a quality score. It says how often admitted students pick this college over their other offers — useful for reading how it sits against its rivals, and nothing more. It is also the most gameable number in admissions: a binding Early Decision round turns admits into enrolments by contract, so colleges with large ED intakes post high yields largely by construction. Counts are IPEDS 2023, a different collection from the admission rate above, so the two may describe different years.
California Institute of the Arts doesn't report SAT or ACT ranges in the federal data. Many test-blind institutions — including the entire University of California system — genuinely have none to report. We show that as missing rather than inventing a figure.
Majors at California Institute of the Arts
8 undergraduate programs, from the federal field-of-study data. Choosing one changes your estimate — a capacity-constrained program is admitted far more competitively than the school-wide rate suggests.
Create an account to pick a program and see how it changes your estimate.
California Institute of the Arts does not publish admission rates by major — almost no US university does, and the federal data has no such field. We apply a documented field-level adjustment instead and label it as modelled, rather than inventing a per-major rate.
What it would actually cost
Average net price after grants and scholarships, by family income.
| Family income | Net price / year |
|---|---|
| Under $30,000 | $42,456 |
| $30,000 – $48,000 | $43,913 |
| $48,000 – $75,000 | $48,569 |
| $75,000 – $110,000 | $46,849 |
| Over $110,000 | $57,246 |
- On a Pell grant
- 29%
- Median debt at graduation
- $24,000
- First-generation students
- 16%
Net price is what students actually paid after grants and scholarships — not loans. These are averages across everyone in the band, so your own offer will differ. Run the college's own net price calculator before ruling anywhere in or out.
Who studies here
Enrolled undergraduates, from federal reporting.
- White32%
- International students26%
- Hispanic or Latino17%
- Asian9%
- Two or more races7%
- Black or African American5%
- Not reported3%
- American Indian or Alaska Native0%
This is context about the campus, not an input to your estimate. Since Students for Fair Admissions v. Harvard (2023), US colleges may not consider an applicant's race — so your background does not move the number, and any tool that says otherwise is describing a practice that ended in 2023. How this is calculated.
Essays for 2026–27
Always confirm against the school's own page before you write.California Institute of the Arts is not on the Common App's member list (checked 2026-10-18), so the Common App essay does not apply here. It takes applications through its own site or another system; its own essays, below, are what count.
California Institute of the Arts supplemental essays
We don't have California Institute of the Arts's supplemental prompts on file yet. Rather than show you something that might be last year's wording, here's where to read the current ones:
California Institute of the Arts admissions site ↗Once you find them you can start a draft from any prompt and get feedback on it.
Your chances
See your own estimate for California Institute of the Arts
Add your GPA, test scores and activities once, and we'll estimate your chances here and at every other college — with the full breakdown of what moved the number.
Figures from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Northstar is not affiliated with or endorsed by California Institute of the Arts. Confirm all requirements and deadlines directly with the institution.