Columbia College vs Art Center College of Design

Columbia College Chicago and Art Center College of Design, two esteemed institutions in the heart of Chicago, offer distinct educational experiences for aspiring artists, designers, and media professionals. Columbia, known for its liberal arts foundation, boasts a diverse student body and a wide range of programs, including film, music, and theater. Art Center, on the other hand, focuses exclusively on art and design, providing specialized instruction in areas like illustration, photography, and advertising. While both schools share a commitment to creative excellence, their acceptance rates, popular majors, student demographics, and graduation rates vary significantly. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to discover which institution aligns best with your academic aspirations and career goals.

	Art Center College of Design	Columbia College Chicago
Overview
Location	Pasadena, California	Chicago, Illinois
Campus setting	City: Midsize	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Private (Non Profit)	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	85.0%	62.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	75.6%	95.6%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $60
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	982	7,218
Total number of admissions given out	742	6,903
Admitted students who chose to enroll	269	1,696
Yield rate	36.3%	24.6%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Not required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Not required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$72,066	$48,698
Average net price	$50,420	$25,262
Tuition	$47,334	$26,610
Room & board		$16,456
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	64.0% Average amount $17,667	99.0% Average amount $20,992
Students receiving federal student loan	39.0% Average amount $5,367	94.0% Average amount $6,068
Students taking out private loans	2.0% Average amount $38,675	6.0% Average amount $19,315

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	2,028 Men 41.7% Women 58.3%	6,493 Men 40.0% Women 60.0%
Graduate students	291 Men 42.6% Women 57.4%	243 Men 38.7% Women 61.3%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	46.1%
International students	45.4%	4.0%
Campus local/setting	City: Midsize	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	N/A	2,158
First year students are required to live on campus?	N/A	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Illinois Indiana Michigan Minnesota Ohio

Academics
Popular study areas	Visual & Performing Arts Engineering Technologies Communications Technology Architecture Computer and Information Science	Visual & Performing Arts Communications Technology Communication and Journalism English Language and Literature Business
Students to faculty ratio	8:1	14:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	75.9%	50.9%
Dropout rate	9.8%	48.5%
Transferred out	8.6%	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,017 Year 2: $50,856 Year 3: $57,513 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,536 Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: $27,282 Architectural Sciences and Technology (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $53,380 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Graphic Communications (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $63,126 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: N/A Mechanical Engineering Related Technologies/Technicians (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $60,973 Year 2: $81,702 Year 3: N/A Engineering-Related Fields (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $58,061 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $21,685 Year 2: $20,824 Year 3: N/A Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $11,851 Year 3: N/A Fine and Studio Arts (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $17,249 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A	Arts, Entertainment,and Media Management (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $37,418 Year 2: $38,289 Year 3: $48,304 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $34,500 Year 2: $36,124 Year 3: $46,919 Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $32,614 Year 2: $41,789 Year 3: $41,739 Movement and Mind-Body Therapies and Education (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $42,521 Year 2: $41,565 Year 3: $41,719 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $36,175 Year 2: $40,355 Year 3: $41,194 Graphic Communications (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,857 Year 2: $33,993 Year 3: $40,498 American Sign Language (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,692 Year 2: $35,330 Year 3: $38,260 Journalism (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $30,841 Year 2: $30,635 Year 3: $37,241 Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $38,669 Year 2: $31,133 Year 3: $37,111 Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $29,065 Year 2: $29,737 Year 3: $36,271

Compare Similar Colleges

The list of suggested college comparisons provided below is generated automatically by our system, utilizing statistics gathered from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and various online sources. If you don't find the colleges you wish to compare, please visit our comparison page. There, you can search for the specific colleges and initiate your comparison.

Art Center College of Design

American Conservatory Theater