Columbus College of Art & Design
Columbus, Ohio · Private Nonprofit · 67.7% acceptance rate
ROI Score: 19/100 · Below Benchmark
Data: 2024-25 College Scorecard release
Columbus College of Art & Design (CCAD) lands at an ROI score of 19 out of 100, placing it firmly in the Below Benchmark tier. The math is unsentimental: $40,825 in sticker tuition, a net price of $29,439, and roughly $117,756 in projected 4-year cost run headlong into an average 6-year earnings figure of just $30,300 and median 10-year earnings of $40,664. The payback period stretches to 45.5 years, which is not a typo so much as a structural feature of arts-conservatory pricing meeting visual-arts labor-market realities. The 55.6% completion rate is moderate, the repayment rate of 66.9% is mediocre, and the debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.891 means a typical graduate is carrying debt roughly equal to a year of pre-tax pay. CCAD is a specialized art school, and what looks bad on a generic ROI scoreboard is partly the visual-arts wage curve, but the cost stack still requires students to be clear-eyed: a credentialed pathway into design, illustration, or animation should not be financed primarily through loans at this price point.
How Columbus College of Art & Design scores under our methodology
These are the College Scorecard measures that pull this school's CampusROI score down. They describe the published figures, not the quality of the education, and they are our reading of the data. Check them against your own aid offer and intended major.
- ROI Score19/100 - Below Benchmark tier of our scale (below 45). For context, 38% of the schools we score reach 60 or higher.
- Payback period45.5 years - The median payback across the schools we score is about 12 years.
Columbus College of Art & Design
Quick Numbers
| In-state tuition + fees | $40,825/yr |
| Out-of-state tuition + fees | $40,825/yr |
| Average net price | $29,439/yr |
| Total 4-year cost (net) | $117,756 |
| Median earnings (10yr post-entry) | $40,664 |
| Average earnings (6yr post-entry) | $30,300 |
| Median debt at graduation | $27,000 |
| Estimated monthly loan payment | $286 |
| Estimated payback period | 45.5 years |
| 6-year graduation rate | 55.6% |
| Undergraduate enrollment | 882 |
Data as of 2024-2025. Source: College Scorecard API (U.S. Department of Education).
The Full Financial Picture
The first number you'll see is the sticker price: $40,825/year, which covers tuition and fees only. After grants, scholarships, and aid, the average student here pays a net price of $29,439/year, or roughly $117,756 over four years. That's the number to plan around.
What you actually pay depends a lot on what your family earns. Families making under $30,000/year pay an average of $24,204/year here, while families earning over $110,000 pay $33,114/year.
Among graduates who borrowed, the median federal loan debt from this school is $27,000, which works out to about $286 a month on the standard 10-year repayment plan. Our debt-to-earnings ratio divides that debt by average earnings six years after entry ($30,300) and comes to 0.89, under 1.0, meaning median debt is less than a full year of those earnings.
Net Price by Family Income
What families actually pay after grants and scholarships, by income bracket.
| Family Income | Avg Net Price/Year |
|---|---|
| $0 - $30,000 | $24,204 |
| $30,001 - $48,000 | $27,218 |
| $48,001 - $75,000 | $27,534 |
| $75,001 - $110,000 | $29,717 |
| $110,001+ | $33,114 |
Cost by Income Bracket Explained
Lower-income families (under $30K)
Families earning under $30,000 face a net price of $24,204, the lowest bracket. That is genuine aid relative to sticker, but it still means $96,800 over four years for a household with little capacity to absorb cost. Pell and state grants help, but the math only works if the student avoids private loans and graduates on time into a design role rather than a fine-arts role.
Middle-income families ($30K-$110K)
Households in the $48,001-$75,000 band pay $27,534, and $75,001-$110,000 families pay $29,717. The aid curve flattens quickly above $30K, so middle-income families effectively pay close to full net price. Layered against $30,300 average 6-year earnings, this is the bracket where CCAD's value proposition is weakest and federal loan caps will not cover the gap.
Higher-income families ($110K+)
Families above $110,000 pay $33,114 net, just $7,711 below the $40,825 sticker. CCAD assumes high-income families can self-fund. For households that can write the check, debt is optional and the ROI conversation shifts to career fit; for those who cannot, parent PLUS borrowing at this price against arts-sector earnings is a structurally risky bet.
Earnings by Major
Top 4 most popular majors at Columbus College of Art & Design with available earnings data.
| Major | Median Earnings | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Design and Applied Arts | $48,204 | D |
| Graphic Communications | $33,389 | F |
| Fine and Studio Arts | $32,061 | F |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts | $43,661 | D |
Earnings reflect median 4-year post-completion (or 1-year where 4-year unavailable). Grades based on debt-to-earnings ratio.
Program Analysis
Why these programs deliver their earnings outcomes.
Design and Applied Arts
The flagship program with 132 graduates, Design and Applied Arts posts $27,970 in 1-year earnings rising to $48,204 at 4 years. That trajectory is the strongest at CCAD and points toward graphic design, UX, and industrial-design roles where post-graduation experience compounds. The 0.965 debt-to-earnings ratio earns a D grade because $27,000 of debt is still roughly equal to year-one income. Students who graduate, build a portfolio, and land agency or in-house design roles can make this work; those who freelance or take adjacent retail roles will struggle.
Graphic Communications
With 52 graduates and a 1.343 debt-to-earnings ratio, Graphic Communications is the weakest program at CCAD by the numbers, earning an F grade. First-year earnings of $20,110 are subsistence-level against $27,000 of debt, and even 4-year earnings of $33,389 leave little room for loan service plus living expenses. The CIP designation suggests print-production and prepress pathways that the labor market has been compressing for two decades.
Film/Video and Photographic Arts
Film and Photography graduates earn $28,994 at year one and $43,661 at year four, with a 0.931 debt-to-earnings ratio and a D grade. The 15-graduate cohort is small, so the sample is noisy, but the curve is consistent with freelance and contract video work scaling into staff editor or DP roles. Students should pressure-test whether they want the freelance economics inherent to this field before borrowing.
Fine and Studio Arts
Fine and Studio Arts is the most cautionary program: 16 graduates, $25,751 in 1-year earnings, $32,061 at year four, and a 1.049 debt-to-earnings ratio that earns an F. Debt slightly exceeds first-year pay, and the 4-year ceiling barely covers cost of living in most metros. The fine-arts career path is largely portfolio and gallery-driven, not salary-driven, and Scorecard's earnings figures do not capture eventual exhibition or teaching income that may arrive later.
How Graduates Do
Earnings
Loan Repayment
| Metric | This School | Median of schools we score |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year repayment | 62.0% | 68.8% |
| 3-year repayment | 66.9% | 73.6% |
| 5-year repayment | 65.5% | 67.7% |
| 7-year repayment | 68.7% | 72.8% |
Completion Rate
Trends Over Time
How Columbus College of Art & Design’s cost and outcomes have moved across College Scorecard releases (2009-2024).
Average Net Price
Completion Rate
Median Earnings, 10 Years After Entry (as reported)
Earnings reflect borrowers measured 10 years after entry and publish on an irregular cadence with a multi-year reporting lag, so this series shows only the years the Department of Education reported - the data is never interpolated.
Source: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, release years shown. Net price and completion are reported annually.
Admissions Snapshot
| Acceptance rate | 67.7% |
| Enrollment | 882 |
| Pell Grant recipients | 39.2% |
| Avg faculty salary (monthly) | $5,663 |
CCAD admits 67.7% of applicants, which signals a portfolio-driven, moderately open-access posture rather than a true selectivity filter. SAT and ACT mid-ranges are not reported in current Scorecard data, consistent with art-school admissions that weight portfolios over standardized tests. The 55.6% completion rate suggests that getting in is meaningfully easier than finishing, and prepared students with strong studio habits will fare best.
Compared to Similar Schools
Peer institutions matched by type, size, and selectivity.
| School | ROI | Net Price | 10yr Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbus College of Art & Design (this school) | 19 | $29,439 | $40,664 |
| Minneapolis College of Art and Design | 19 | $29,926 | $40,873 |
| Kansas City Art Institute | 18 | $27,650 | $37,032 |
| Moore College of Art and Design | 18 | $43,086 | $37,839 |
| Pennsylvania College of Art and Design | 18 | $30,083 | $33,301 |
| Maine College of Art & Design | 17 | $38,338 | $40,778 |
Who Thrives Here
With 882 students, the studio-based community is intimate, and a 39.2% Pell rate signals real socioeconomic diversity. The fit weakens sharply for students who are unsure about an arts career or who would need to borrow heavily; the earnings ceiling for graphic communications grads ($33,389 at 4 years) cannot service $27,000 of debt comfortably. Strong fits are students with employer-ready portfolios and minimal borrowing.
The Verdict: Below Benchmark Under Our Scoring
Under our methodology, Columbus College of Art & Design scores 19/100, which falls in the Below Benchmark tier (below 45). At a net price of $29,439 per year, with typical graduate earnings of $40,664 ten years after entry, we estimate the payback period at about 45.5 years. In our view that makes the financial case a hard one to make on the numbers alone, but those numbers are averages: your major, your aid package and what you want from a degree all change the picture, so run your own numbers before you commit.
What to keep an eye on: weak earnings relative to cost, a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.89 (median across the schools we score: 0.61), a three-year loan repayment rate of 66.9% (median across the schools we score: 73.6%), a long payback period.
Median debt of $27,000 among graduates who borrowed, against average earnings of $30,300 six years after entry, gives a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.89. That is under 1.0 (a full year of those earnings); the median across the schools we score is about 0.61. Your major - and how much you borrow - really matters.
Columbus College of Art & Design: Common Questions
Is Columbus College of Art & Design worth it?
In our view, the financial case is a hard one to make on the numbers alone. Columbus College of Art & Design scores 19/100 on our ROI scale, in the Below Benchmark tier (below 45). At $29,439 a year after aid against $40,664 in typical earnings ten years out, we estimate the payback period at about 45.5 years. Your major and aid package can change the picture, so run your own numbers.
How much does Columbus College of Art & Design cost after financial aid?
The average net price - the cost of attendance (tuition, fees, books, supplies and average living costs) minus grants and scholarships, for full-time, first-time students receiving federal aid - is about $29,439 a year, or roughly $117,756 over four years. Because it counts living costs, it can run above tuition alone. That is the number to plan around. Actual cost varies by family income, per the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard.
What do Columbus College of Art & Design graduates earn?
The typical graduate earns about $40,664 ten years after enrolling, at or below the $41,800 median for high-school graduates (NCES, 2022). With little earnings gap to cover the cost, the financial return is hard to make.
How long does it take to pay off Columbus College of Art & Design?
We estimate the payback period - the time it takes for the earnings bump over a high-school graduate to cover what you spent - at about 45.5 years for Columbus College of Art & Design. The median across the schools we track is about 12 years.
How much debt do Columbus College of Art & Design graduates take on?
Among graduates who borrowed, median federal loan debt from this school is about $27,000, against average earnings of $30,300 six years after entry - a debt-to-earnings ratio of 0.89. That is under 1.0 (a full year of those earnings); the median across the schools we score is about 0.61. How much you borrow really matters.
What is the graduation rate at Columbus College of Art & Design?
The six-year graduation rate is 55.6%. The national average for four-year schools is 64% (NCES, 2022). Completion is 15% of our ROI score, since a degree you don't finish rarely pays back.
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Data: College Scorecard API (U.S. Department of Education)
Vintage: 2024-2025 · Last updated: 2026-03-25
Earnings reflect median outcomes for all federal financial aid recipients. Individual results vary by major, effort, and career path.