Private nonprofit

Cornish College of the Arts

Seattle, Washington·Private not-for-profit, 4-year or above·Far West·cornish.edu
6-yr Graduation
56%
-5.0pp vs peer
Total enrollment
505
peer median 640
Avg net price
$39,060
-$3.3k vs peer
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Admissions & acceptance rate

First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.

Applied
1,249
1,249 candidates competed
Admitted
777
62.2% acceptance rate
Enrolled
150
19.3% yield

Graduation rate & outcomes

Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.

Overall completion
56%-5.0pp vs peer
4-year graduation
45%
6-year graduation (bachelor’s)
56%
Full-time retention
69%

Pell equity

9.0pp gap
Pell recipients
60%
Non-Pell
51%

Pell recipients graduate at a higher rate than non-Pell students here — unusual and worth investigating.

Program outcomes

Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.

Of 8 Title IV programs, 3 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 1 fails. 4 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.

Total programs
8
Passing
3
37.5% of portfolio
Failing (GE)
1
12.5% of portfolio
Fail rate
12.5%
+11.9pp vs 0.6% national

Pass / fail distribution

8programs
  • Passing3 · 37.5%
  • No Data4 · 50.0%
  • Failing1 · 12.5%

Severity spectrum

Critical
0
Severe
1
Recoverable
0
At Risk
1
Watch
1
Safe
1
No data
4

Tiers band programs by how far graduate earnings sit above or below the benchmark, from Critical (below −15%) through Safe (above +25%). No data means earnings were privacy-suppressed.

Earnings premium gap

Graduate earnings versus the federal benchmark, worst gaps first.

4
Dance
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
-11.7%
$34,503 vs $39,073
Fine and Studio Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+0.4%
$39,242 vs $39,073
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+11.5%
$43,576 vs $39,073
Design and Applied Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+37.6%
$53,773 vs $39,073

Near the line (±5%)

Programs within five points of the pass line, one cohort year from flipping.

1
Fine and Studio Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
+0.4%
+$169

Debt vs earnings

Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.

4
Fine and Studio Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
69%
$27,000 debt · $39,242 earn
Dance
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
65%
$22,250 debt · $34,503 earn
Drama/Theatre Arts and Stagecraft
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
62%
$27,000 debt · $43,576 earn
Design and Applied Arts
Bachelor Degree · Visual And Performing Arts
50%
$27,000 debt · $53,773 earn

Accreditation status & history

Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.

AccreditedInstitutional accreditor

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Accredited since 1977Next review Apr 2027

Programmatic accreditations · 1

Action history · 6

  1. May 2025Institution Closed
    Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
  2. Jul 2024Removal of Monitoring Status
    Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
  3. Jul 2022Probation or Equivalent or a More Severe Status: Warning
    Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
  4. Jul 2021Renewal of Accreditation
    Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
  5. Apr 2020Renewal of Accreditation
    Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Tuition & cost

What families actually pay, broken down by family income.

Net price by family income

Aid exceeds costFamily pays
$0–30k$28,155
$30–48k$30,948
$48–75k$36,693
$75–110k$40,853
$110k+$44,405

Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.

Avg net price (private)
$39,060
-$3,294vs peer median $42,354
Federal loans
72.9%
In-state tuition
$39,913
Out-of-state
$39,913

Federal aid volume & trends

Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.

In AY 2024–25, 195 students received $1.1M in Pell grants, alongside $5.2M in federal Direct Loans.

Pell recipients
195
AY 2024–25
Pell disbursed
$1.1M
$1,079,809 total
Direct Loans
$5.2M
607 loan awards

Pell recipients · 5-year trend

0k
20
0k
21
0k
22
0k
23
0k
24

Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25

Subsidized$954K
238 loan awards
Unsubsidized · UG$867K
266 loan awards
Parent PLUS$3.4M
103 loan awards

Loan awards count each loan type a student holds, not unique borrowers; one student may carry several (e.g. subsidized and unsubsidized), so the per-type figures are the reliable detail.

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Student loan default rate

The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.

Of 201 borrowers who entered repayment, 0 (0.0%) defaulted within three years below the 2.3% national rate.

Default rate
0.0%
-2.3pp vs 2.3% national
Borrowers in repayment
201
Defaulted
0
Measurement window
3 years
Federal CDR standard

Default rate vs national, by cohort

2015
2.5%
2016
2.9%
2017
3.2%
2018
0.9%
2019
0.0%
This institutionNational rate

Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

Academic programs at Cornish College of the Arts

Top program areas ranked by completions.

Distinct CIP programs14
UndergraduateOffered
GraduateOffered

Top program families by completions

83 total completions
01Visual/Performing Arts
8197.6%
02Comm. Technologies
22.4%
03Architecture
00.0%

Enrollment trends & demographics

Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.

Fall total
505
12-mo unduplicated
519
Undergraduate
519
Graduate
0

Gender split

Men
31%159
Women
69%360

Race / ethnicity composition

White
66.3%
Unknown
12.5%
Two or more
7.7%
Black
4.8%
Asian
4.8%
Non-resident
2.1%
American Indian / Alaska Native
1.3%
Hispanic
0.6%

Campus safety & crime statistics

Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.

Criminal offenses · per 1,000 students
0.00
0 offenses · 443 students

3-year trend

10.372 yrs ago13.191 yr ago0.00Latest
Offenses · 3-yr
11
Last three years
VAWA · 3-yr
0
DV, dating, stalking
Hate crimes · 3-yr
1
Res-hall fires · 3-yr
0

Criminal offenses by type

No criminal offenses reported.

By location

0total

    VAWA offenses

    0
    Domestic violence
    0
    Dating violence
    0
    Stalking
    0 total under the Violence Against Women Act.

    Hate crimes by bias

    No hate crimes reported.

    Arrests vs disciplinary referrals

    CategoryArrestsReferrals
    Weapons00
    Drugs04
    Liquor02

    Residence-hall fires

    No residence-hall fires reported.

    Source: U.S. Dept. of Education

    Student-faculty ratio

    Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.

    Student-to-faculty
    6.0:1
    Instructional staff (full-time equivalent)
    50

    Cornish College of the Arts vs Peer comparison

    The peer institutions Cornish College of the Arts selected for federal comparison reporting.

    GraduationRetentionSelectivityEnrollmentAffordabilityYield
    This institutionPeer median

    A larger shape on any axis means this institution outperforms its peers on that dimension. For acceptance rate and net price, lower raw values are inverted so "more selective" and "more affordable" appear larger.

    Carnegie
    SubjectCornish College of the Arts
    56%505$39,060
    Perry Technical Institute
    1,072$23,292Community College
    American Film Institute Conservatory
    379
    San Francisco Conservatory of Music
    74%54.9%439$42,448
    Laguna College of Art and Design
    52%94.3%775$42,354
    Otis College of Art and Design
    66%81.8%1,267$45,864
    Peer group median61%81.8%640$42,354

    Frequently asked questions about Cornish College of the Arts

    Quick answers to the questions most often asked about Cornish College of the Arts.

    What is the graduation rate at Cornish College of the Arts?

    Cornish College of the Arts reports a 6-year graduation rate of 56% per the latest IPEDS.

    How many students attend Cornish College of the Arts?

    Cornish College of the Arts reports a total enrollment of 505 students per the latest IPEDS.

    What is the average net price at Cornish College of the Arts?

    The average net price at Cornish College of the Arts is $39,060 per the latest College Scorecard. Net price is the published cost of attendance minus grant aid.

    What is the yield rate at Cornish College of the Arts?

    Cornish College of the Arts's yield rate is 19.3%, the share of admitted students who enrolled, per the latest IPEDS.

    Where is Cornish College of the Arts located?

    Cornish College of the Arts is located in Seattle, Washington 98121.

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