School of the Art Institute of Chicago vs Fashion Institute of Technology

When it comes to art and design education, two prominent institutions that often come to mind are the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) and the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). While both schools offer a wide range of programs in creative fields, there are some key differences that set them apart. SAIC, with an acceptance rate of 48%, is more selective than FIT, which has an acceptance rate of 60%. SAIC is known for its strong fine arts programs, while FIT is renowned for its fashion and design offerings. Additionally, SAIC has a larger student body, with over 3,000 undergraduate students compared to FIT's approximately 2,500. To help you make an informed decision about your education, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison table that delves into these differences in greater detail, covering aspects such as popular majors, student body demographics, and graduation rates.

	Fashion Institute of Technology	School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Overview
Location	New York, New York	Chicago, Illinois
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%	83.0%
Common app member	No	Yes
Religious affiliation

Admission
Acceptance rate	51.7%	81.0%
Application fees	Undergraduate: $50 Graduate: $100	Undergraduate: $65 Graduate: $45
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	5,835
Total number of admissions given out	2,432	4,725
Admitted students who chose to enroll	1,262	669
Yield rate	51.9%	14.2%
Test scores (SAT/ACT)	N/A	N/A
High school GPA	Required	Not 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	$67,380
Average net price	$8,637	$50,214
Tuition	In state: $5,290 Out of state: $15,870	$52,200
Room & board	Room/dormitory: $21,200 Meal plan: $5,800	Room/dormitory: $13,500 Meal plan: $2,480
Available payment plans	Tuition payment plan	Tuition payment plan

Financial Aid
Students receiving financial aid (Grants & scholarships)	53.0% Average amount $8,521	93.0% Average amount $20,194
Students receiving federal student loan	29.0% Average amount $5,268	45.0% Average amount $5,504
Students taking out private loans	4.0% Average amount $14,663	8.0% Average amount $32,788

Students and Campus
Undergraduate students	7,908 Men 16.7% Women 83.3%	2,795 Men 24.8% Women 75.2%
Graduate students	242 Men 14.9% Women 85.1%	764 Men 25.8% Women 74.2%
Racial/ethnic diversity	Moderate	Moderate
Out-of-state students	41.0%	N/A
International students	10.9%	30.4%
Campus local/setting	City: Large	City: Large
Dormitory capacity	2,200	990
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	N/A

Academics
Popular study areas	Visual & Performing Arts Business Communication and Journalism Family and Consumer Sciences Communications Technology	Visual & Performing Arts English Language and Literature Health Professions Education Architecture
Students to faculty ratio	17:1	10:1
Institutional accreditation	Middle States Commission on Higher Education	Higher Learning Commission

Outcome
Graduation rate	82.1%	65.0%
Dropout rate	8.5%	7.5%
Transferred out	8.9%	25.6%
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	Fine and Studio Arts (Bachelor's Degrees) Year 1: $24,981 Year 2: $22,192 Year 3: $28,893 Fine and Studio Arts (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $26,095 Year 2: $22,055 Year 3: $27,442 Architecture (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $49,707 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $38,461 Year 2: $35,600 Year 3: N/A Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $27,550 Year 2: N/A Year 3: N/A Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions (Master's Degrees) Year 1: $42,246 Year 2: $38,829 Year 3: N/A

Compare Similar Colleges

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Fashion Institute of Technology

FIDM-Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising-Los Angeles