PAFA School vs American Conservatory Theater

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) and American Conservatory Theater (ACT) are two esteemed institutions offering specialized education in the arts. PAFA, located in the heart of Philadelphia, is the oldest art school in the United States, renowned for its rigorous fine arts programs. ACT, situated in San Francisco, is a leading drama school, nurturing aspiring actors, directors, and theater artists. While both institutions share a commitment to artistic excellence, they differ in several key aspects, including acceptance rates, popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates. Explore our comprehensive comparison table to discover which institution aligns best with your artistic aspirations and academic goals.

	American Conservatory Theater	Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Overview
Location	San Francisco, California	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Campus setting	City: 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		84.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	N/A	83.6%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $90 Graduate: $90	Undergraduate: $60 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		122
Total number of admissions given out		102
Admitted students who chose to enroll		10
Yield rate		9.8%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Not required	Required
Recommendation letters	Required	Required
High school transcript	Not required	Not required
English proficiency test (e.g. TOEFL)	Not required	Required

Tuition and Fees
Sticker price	$51,676	$66,804
Average net price		$29,925
Tuition	$30,235	$38,926
Room & board
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)		100.0% Average amount $29,528
Students receiving federal student loan		61.0% Average amount $5,864
Students taking out private loans		0.0% Average amount $0

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	11 Men 45.5% Women 54.5%	121 Men 24.0% Women 76.0%
Graduate students	13 Men 46.2% Women 53.8%	57 Men 21.1% Women 78.9%
Racial/ethnic diversity	N/A	Low
Out-of-state students	N/A	N/A
International students	N/A	6.7%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	N/A	37
First year students are required to live on campus?	N/A	No
Top 5 states where most U.S. students come from	N/A	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Visual & Performing Arts	Visual & Performing Arts
Students to faculty ratio	6:1	4:1
Institutional accreditation	N/A	Middle States Commission on Higher Education

Outcome
Graduation rate	100.0%	47.2%
Dropout rate	N/A	33.3%
Transferred out	N/A	16.7%
Alumni salary by major (Top 10)	Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft (Master's Degrees) Year 1: N/A Year 2: $18,087 Year 3: $27,588	Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $28,722 Year 2: $19,749 Year 3: $28,395 Fine and Studio Arts (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $27,413 Year 2: $22,764 Year 3: $26,502

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.

PAFA School vs American Conservatory Theater

American Conservatory Theater

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts

Overview

Admission

Tuition and Fees

Financial Aid

Students and Campus

Academics

Outcome

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