VanderCook College of Music
About
VanderCook College of Music is a private music school in Chicago, Illinois. It is the only college in the United States specializing solely in the training of music educators. Students may pursue bachelor's and master's degrees. The college is located in a Mies van der Rohe building on the campus of Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT). VanderCook is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and the National Association of Schools of Music.
Admissions & acceptance rate
First-time freshman admissions: how selective the college is, and how many admitted students choose to enroll.
Graduation rate & outcomes
Completion, retention, and the equity gap between Pell and non-Pell students.
Pell equity
Non-Pell students graduate at a 11.4-point higher rate than Pell recipients.
Source: IPEDS Graduation Rates (GR) — Pell/SSL cohort, 2024 cohort.
Program outcomes
Federal Program Performance Data: how each program's graduate earnings and debt measure up under Financial Value Transparency and Gainful Employment.
Of 6 Title IV programs, 1 pass the federal Gainful Employment test and 0 fail. 5 have graduate earnings too small to publish, so they carry no pass/fail verdict.
Pass / fail distribution
- Passing1 · 16.7%
- No Data5 · 83.3%
- Failing0 · 0.0%
Severity spectrum
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.
Debt vs earnings
Median completer debt against median graduate earnings, highest burden first.
Accreditation status & history
Who accredits the institution, current standing, and any past actions.
National Association of Schools of Music, Commission on Accreditation
Higher Learning Commission
Programmatic accreditations · 1
Action history · 3
- Jul 2025Renewal of AccreditationHigher Learning Commission
- Dec 2022Renewal of AccreditationNational Association of Schools of Music, Commission on Accreditation
- Aug 2014Change in Agency recognitionNational Association of Schools of Music, Commission on Accreditation · Music (MUS) - Institutions and units within institutions offering degree-granting and/or non-degree-granting programs
Tuition & cost
What families actually pay, broken down by family income.
Net price by family income
Negative values mean aid exceeds the published cost of attendance for that income band.
Federal aid volume & trends
Pell grants and federal Direct Loan volume disbursed to students, and how they've trended.
In AY 2024–25, 41 students received $240K in Pell grants, alongside $529K in federal Direct Loans.
Pell recipients · 5-year trend
Loan volume by type · AY 2024–25
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.
Student loan default rate
The share of student borrowers who default on federal loans within three years, against the national benchmark.
Of 36 borrowers who entered repayment, 0 (0.0%) defaulted within three years — below the 2.3% national rate.
Default rate vs national, by cohort
* Cohorts 2020 and later read near 0% because the federal COVID-19 payment pause (CARES Act) suspended defaults nationwide. These years reflect a national policy, not institutional performance; the 2019 cohort is the last measured under normal repayment.
Academic programs at VanderCook College of Music
Top program areas ranked by completions.
Top program families by completions
Enrollment trends & demographics
Fall headcount, 12-month unduplicated enrollment, and student body composition.
Gender split
Race / ethnicity composition
Campus safety & crime statistics
Reported on-campus crimes over the last three years, including violence and hate crimes.
3-year trend
Criminal offenses by type
By location
VAWA offenses
Hate crimes by bias
No hate crimes reported.
Arrests vs disciplinary referrals
Residence-hall fires
Student-faculty ratio
Student-to-faculty ratio and instructional staff counts.
VanderCook College of Music vs Peer comparison
The peer institutions VanderCook College of Music selected for federal comparison reporting.
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 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SubjectVanderCook College of Music | 67% | — | 323 | $19,780 | — |
| 55% | 44.4% | 155 | $30,403 | — | |
| — | — | 8,378 | $19,775 | — | |
| — | — | 486 | — | — | |
| — | — | 719 | — | — | |
| — | — | 494 | $21,108 | — | |
| — | — | 17 | — | — | |
| 0% | 78.6% | 98 | $7,439 | — | |
| — | — | 48 | — | — | |
| — | — | 610 | — | — | |
| — | — | 99 | — | — | |
| — | — | 173 | — | — | |
| 72% | 87.2% | 878 | $18,463 | — | |
| — | — | 35 | — | — | |
| — | — | 1,324 | — | — | |
| — | — | 1,145 | — | — | |
| 71% | 76.6% | 418 | $43,923 | — | |
| — | — | 20 | — | — | |
| — | — | 8 | — | — | |
| 0% | — | 368 | $19,965 | — | |
| Peer group median | 61% | 77.6% | 346 | $19,873 |
Institutions like VanderCook College of Music
Explore the federal data for institutions in VanderCook College of Music's comparison group.
- South Carolina
American College of the Building Arts
Grad rate55%Admit rate44.4%Enrollment155Net price$30,403View data - Florida
Ana G. Mendez University
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment8,378Net price$19,775View data - Ohio
Antioch University
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment486Net price—View data - New York
Bank Street College of Education
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment719Net price—View data - Rhode Island
College Unbound
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment494Net price$21,108View data - Massachusetts
Conway School of Landscape Design
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment17Net price—View data - California
Epic Bible College & Graduate School
Grad rate0%Admit rate78.6%Enrollment98Net price$7,439View data - West Virginia
Future Generations University
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment48Net price—View data - New Jersey
Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment610Net price—View data - California
High Tech High Graduate School of Education
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment99Net price—View data - District of Columbia
Institute of World Politics
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment173Net price—View data - Minnesota
Martin Luther College
Grad rate72%Admit rate87.2%Enrollment878Net price$18,463View data - California
Reiss-Davis Graduate School
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment35Net price—View data - New York
Relay Graduate School of Education
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment1,324Net price—View data - California
Sofia University
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment1,145Net price—View data - California
Southern California Institute of Architecture
Grad rate71%Admit rate76.6%Enrollment418Net price$43,923View data - Louisiana
The Chicago School at Xavier University of Louisiana
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment20Net price—View data - Arizona
The School of Architecture
Grad rate—Admit rate—Enrollment8Net price—View data - Florida
University of Fort Lauderdale
Grad rate0%Admit rate—Enrollment368Net price$19,965View data
VanderCook College of Music Institutional Research office
The IR team responsible for the institution's federal reporting.
The Institutional Assessments page from VanderCook College of Music's website mainly includes repeated navigation links without specific content about institutional assessments. It contains links to various resources related to the campus, academics, financial aid, and events & outreach at the college.
Visit IR office pageReports & documents (2)
Dashboards, factbooks, data dictionaries, and other reference material published by the IR office.
- DFR reportIPEDS Data Feedback Report 20242024nces.ed.gov
- Strategic planStrategic planVanderCook College of Music's strategic vision focuses on educating inspired musicians to become inspiring music teachers. The college offers diverse academic programs including undergraduate and graduate courses, along with various workshops and continuing education opportunities for musicians. Supporting this vision, the college also offers scholarships, music clinics, and community programs to enhance musical education and outreach.vandercook.edu
Frequently asked questions about VanderCook College of Music
Quick answers to the questions most often asked about VanderCook College of Music.
What is the graduation rate at VanderCook College of Music?
How many students attend VanderCook College of Music?
What is the average net price at VanderCook College of Music?
What is the yield rate at VanderCook College of Music?
Where is VanderCook College of Music located?
Who runs Institutional Research at VanderCook College of Music?
About the data on this page
Every figure comes from an official federal or public source. Here is each one and the release it is currently on.
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