Minneapolis College of Art and Design vs Fashion Institute of Technology

Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD) and Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) stand out as premier institutions for art and design education, each offering unique strengths and opportunities. MCAD, nestled in the vibrant arts community of Minneapolis, boasts a tight-knit campus and a focus on interdisciplinary learning, while FIT, located in the heart of New York City's Garment District, thrives on its industry connections and specialized fashion programs. With acceptance rates of 68% and 48%, respectively, both colleges maintain selective admissions processes. MCAD's student body is predominantly female (70%), while FIT's is more evenly balanced (53% female, 47% male). While MCAD excels in Fine Arts, Illustration, and Photography, FIT shines in Fashion Design, Fashion Merchandising, and Jewelry Design. Both institutions boast impressive graduation rates, with MCAD at 68% and FIT at 75%. Explore the detailed comparison table below to discover

	Fashion Institute of Technology	Minneapolis College of Art and Design
Overview
Location	New York, New York	Minneapolis, Minnesota
Campus setting	City: Large	City: Large
College type	4 year	4 year
Control/business model	Public	Private (Non Profit)
Calendar system	Semester	Semester
Degrees offered	Undergraduate and Graduate	Undergraduate and Graduate
Students retention rate	86.0%	77.0%
Common app member	No	No
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	51.7%	65.5%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $100	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $50
SAT range	N/A	N/A
ACT range	N/A	N/A
Students submitting SAT score
Students submitting ACT score
Total number of applicants	4,706	638
Total number of admissions given out	2,432	418
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,262	163
Yield rate	51.9%	39.0%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Required
Recommendation letters	Not required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	In state: $38,163 Out of state: $48,743	$55,702
Average net price	$8,637	$28,520
Tuition	In state: $5,290 Out of state: $15,870	$41,344
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $21,200 Meal plan: $5,800	Room/dormitory: $5,980 Meal plan: $1,200
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	53.0% Average amount $8,521	100.0% Average amount $25,957
Students receiving federal student loan	29.0% Average amount $5,268	96.0% Average amount $5,416
Students taking out private loans	4.0% Average amount $14,663	20.0% Average amount $15,914

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	7,908 Men 16.7% Women 83.3%	675 Men 31.6% Women 68.4%
Graduate students	242 Men 14.9% Women 85.1%	100 Men 22.0% Women 78.0%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Low
Out-of-state students	41.0%	44.4%
International students	10.9%	4.1%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,200	288
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	New York New Jersey California Florida Pennsylvania	Minnesota Wisconsin Illinois Iowa South Dakota

Academics
Popular study areas	Visual & Performing Arts Business Communication and Journalism Family and Consumer Sciences Communications Technology	Visual & Performing Arts Communications Technology Business Communication and Journalism Precision Production
Students to faculty ratio	17:1	9:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	82.1%	66.2%
Dropout rate	8.5%	18.6%
Transferred out	8.9%	15.2%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $44,667 Year 2: $45,889 Year 3: $53,713 Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,868 Year 2: $42,458 Year 3: $52,154 Marketing (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $43,104 Year 2: $41,689 Year 3: $51,045 Apparel and Textiles (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $42,008 Year 2: $43,638 Year 3: $49,445 Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $40,289 Year 2: $41,076 Year 3: $47,750 Specialized Sales, Merchandising and Marketing Operations (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $25,549 Year 2: $29,374 Year 3: $43,094 Public Relations, Advertising, and Applied Communication (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $19,884 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: $40,670 Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $34,526 Year 3: $38,223 Design and Applied Arts (Associate's Degrees) Year 1: $18,128 Year 2: $17,461 Year 3: $35,215 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $21,754 Year 2: $22,329 Year 3: $33,231	Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $25,967 Year 3: $34,987 Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,412 Year 2: $25,967 Year 3: $34,268 Fine and Studio Arts (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $25,993 Year 2: $28,236 Year 3: $28,847 Graphic Communications (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $20,090 Year 2: $18,771 Year 3: $26,963 Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $23,098 Year 2: $22,192 Year 3: $25,223 Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,078 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A

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Fashion Institute of Technology

FIDM-Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising-Los Angeles