California Institute of the Arts vs Vanderbilt

California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) and Vanderbilt University stand as two distinct beacons of higher education, each offering a unique blend of academic excellence and vibrant campus life. CalArts, renowned for its exceptional arts programs, boasts an acceptance rate of 33%, while Vanderbilt, known for its rigorous academics, maintains a highly selective acceptance rate of 10%. While both institutions attract talented students from diverse backgrounds, CalArts' student body leans towards the arts, with popular majors including Film/Video, Dance, and Music, while Vanderbilt's student body excels in a wider range of disciplines, with popular majors spanning Engineering, Economics, and Human & Organizational Development. With graduation rates of 75% and 93% respectively, both universities equip their graduates with the skills and knowledge to thrive in their chosen fields. Explore the comprehensive comparison table below to delve deeper into the distinctive characteristics of these two esteemed institutions and discover which one aligns best with your academic aspirations and personal preferences.

	California Institute of the Arts	Vanderbilt University
Overview
Location	Valencia, California	Nashville, Tennessee
Campus setting	Suburb: Large	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	94.0%	97.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	29.0%	7.1%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $70 Graduate: $70	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $95
SAT range	N/A	1480 - 1570
ACT range	N/A	34 - 35
Students submitting SAT score		25.0%
Students submitting ACT score		32.0%
Total number of applicants	2,364	47,152
Total number of admissions given out	685	3,368
Admitted students who chose to enroll	203	1,626
Yield rate	29.6%	48.3%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Not required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$79,792	$79,538
Average net price	$53,916	$27,553
Tuition	$52,850	$54,840
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $7,040 Meal plan: $5,095	Room/dormitory: $12,000 Meal plan: $6,376
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	99.0% Average amount $18,119	64.0% Average amount $49,730
Students receiving federal student loan	26.0% Average amount $5,615	10.0% Average amount $4,979
Students taking out private loans	1.0% Average amount $12,000	2.0% Average amount $27,798

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	965 Men 41.6% Women 58.4%	7,111 Men 48.9% Women 51.1%
Graduate students	479 Men 37.2% Women 62.8%	6,685 Men 39.5% Women 60.5%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	N/A	89.5%
International students	29.0%	11.7%
Campus local/setting	Suburb: Large	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	441	5,598
First year students are required to live on campus?	No	Yes
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	Tennessee California New York Florida Texas

Academics
Popular study areas	Visual & Performing Arts Communications Technology English Language and Literature Computer and Information Science Multidisciplinary Studies	Health Professions Education Engineering Business Legal Profession
Students to faculty ratio	7:1	8:1
Institutional accreditation	Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior Colleges and University Commission	Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges

Outcome
Graduation rate	71.9%	93.4%
Dropout rate	28.1%	6.4%
Transferred out	N/A	N/A
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $24,469 Year 2: $32,563 Year 3: $36,735 Fine and Studio Arts (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $14,239 Year 2: $23,456 Year 3: $29,527 Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: N/A Year 3: $29,030 Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,555 Year 2: $22,420 Year 3: $28,984 Music (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $17,629 Year 2: N/A Year 3: $28,791 Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,992 Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: $22,579 Music (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $15,918 Year 2: $20,140 Year 3: $21,662 Film/Video and Photographic Arts (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $26,425 Year 2: $25,194 Year 3: $21,635 Dance (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $22,773 Year 2: $15,182 Year 3: N/A Design and Applied Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $49,840 Year 3: N/A	Medical Clinical Sciences/Graduate Medical Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $101,041 Year 2: $122,038 Year 3: $169,145 Health and Medical Administrative Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $129,825 Year 2: $130,517 Year 3: $144,008 Finance and Financial Management Services (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $131,102 Year 2: $117,572 Year 3: $133,025 Business Administration, Management and Operations (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $128,494 Year 2: $127,087 Year 3: $132,454 Law (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $132,293 Year 2: $114,324 Year 3: $130,516 Marketing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $108,764 Year 2: $111,620 Year 3: $121,754 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (First Professional Degrees) Year 1: $126,876 Year 2: $119,805 Year 3: $112,193 Educational Administration and Supervision (Doctoral Degrees) Year 1: $91,224 Year 2: $104,192 Year 3: $108,525 Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $99,979 Year 2: $93,249 Year 3: $101,010 Mathematics (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $76,609 Year 2: $80,309 Year 3: $95,754

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California Institute of the Arts

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