Great LakesUrbanPrivate4-yearVisual & Performing

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Accessible admissions with broad enrollment.

Chicago, IL2,805 students
Acceptance Rate
77%
less selective
Median SAT
1,225
Net Price After Aid
$55.5k
Sticker $57.2k
Graduation Rate
64%
6-year, full-time

School of the Art Institute of Chicago is a private institution in Chicago, IL with an acceptance rate of 77% and 2,805 students. The average net price after financial aid is $55,485 per year.

About School of the Art Institute of Chicago

A private 4-year urban university in Chicago, IL.

School of the Art Institute of Chicago campus
Campus · Chicago

School of the Art Institute of Chicago is a college in Chicago, IL. It enrolls roughly 2,805 students. The most recent acceptance rate is 77%.

Great LakesUrbanPrivate4-yearVisual & Performing
Acceptance Rate
77%
Less Selective
Total Enrollment
2,805
Medium
Retention
84%
First-years returning
Graduation Rate
64%
6-year, full-time

Your chances at this school

What admitted students look like here. Sign in to see how your own profile compares.

Acceptance Rate
77%
77 of every 100 applicants admitted
Your Chances
Sign in to see your personalized chances.
Admitted Student GPA
—

Accessible admissions with broad enrollment.

What strengthens an application here

  1. Depth in one or two activities
    Sustained commitment, a leadership role, or a result in a few activities says more than a long list of memberships.

Your chances estimate is based on your academic profile and activities — it is a guide, not a guarantee of admission. Decisions weigh essays, recommendations, and fit factors that aren't in the data.

Admissions

What it actually takes to get into School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Test scores, GPA, application requirements, and deadlines.

Admitted student profile

Range shown is the middle 50%.

SAT
composite, 1600 scale
1,225
average
ACT
composite, 36 scale
2430
27
average
GPA
weighted, 4.5 max
—

This school doesn't require test scores, so these ranges reflect only students who chose to submit — applicants who submit tend to have higher scores. The real admitted range likely runs lower. Don't rule yourself out on scores alone.

Application requirements

  • Personal essay required
  • Portfolio (SlideRoom)
  • Counselor rec required
  • Mid-year report
  • Tests sometimes required
  • $65 application fee
  • Accepts fee waiver

Deadlines (2026-27)

Early Action
Nov 15, 2026
Regular Decision
Jan 15, 2027

Source: Common App 2026-27 requirements grid (verified Aug 2026). Always confirm on the college's own site.

Cost & financial aid

Published costs can be misleading. Here's what families actually pay at School of the Art Institute of Chicago after grants and scholarships.

Sticker price
—
Tuition $57,240
Average net price after aid
$55,485
After grants and scholarships

Net price by family income

Average amount paid out of pocket — tuition, fees, and room & board minus all grant aid.

$0 – $30,000
$43,080
$30,001 – $48,000
$45,357
$48,001 – $75,000
$48,571
$75,001 – $110,000
N/A
$110,001 +
$55,898

Net price represents the average cost after grants and scholarships for students receiving federal financial aid.

Pell Grant Recipients
19%
Need-based federal grant
Take Federal Loans
37%
Avg loan $19,000 / year
Avg Grant Aid
—
Per receiving student / year

Academics & majors

Where students at School of the Art Institute of Chicago concentrate, and how the classroom experience scales.

Student : Faculty
10:1
Class-size proxy
Primary Focus
Visual & Performing
99% of degrees awarded
Retention
84%
First-years returning
A breakdown of the top majors by share of degrees awarded ships once we finish backfilling per-school program data.

Student body

Who attends School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Enrollment, diversity, and where students come from.

Race & ethnicity

  • White36%
  • Asian10%
  • Hispanic13%
  • Black6%
  • Two or more races5%
  • International29%

Gender

  • Female77%
  • Male23%
International
28%
Of total enrollment
Live on Campus
—
Undergraduate residential rate
Total Enrollment
2,805

Outcomes after graduation

What School of the Art Institute of Chicago graduates do next — and what they earn.

Median Earnings
$40.2k
10 years after enrollment
Employed at 2 yrs
—
Working or in grad school
Pursue Grad School
—
Within 5 years
Graduation Rate
64%
6-year, full-time

Is it worth it?

Earnings, debt, and price side by side — context for the cost-vs-payoff question, not a ranking.

Median earnings
$40.2k
10 yrs after entry
Typical debt
$19.0k
median, borrowers only
Avg. net price
$55.5k/yr
after aid
  • These numbers reflect who enrolls, not the value the school adds. A college's earnings can look high simply because it admits wealthier, higher-scoring students — not because of what happens there.
  • Earnings vary far more by major and career path than by school. A school-wide median blends engineers and artists into one number that may match no real student.
  • Federal earnings and debt figures cover only students who received federal aid, so they leave out full-pay students and can skew the picture.
  • Net price is an average across aided students and debt is the median for borrowers only — many students borrow nothing. Your actual cost depends on your own aid package.

What this means

$40k is below the national bachelor's-graduate median at the 10-year mark, and a 64% graduation rate is below the national average.

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