California Institute of the Arts Acceptance Rate

Acceptance rate

32%

More selective than 86% of California colleges we cover. U.S. median 77%.

College Scorecard, Fall 2024 entering class

Test scores

Not considered

Share of students sending scores not reported.

IPEDS Admissions, Fall 2023 entering class

Admitted students who enroll

34%

Called “yield.” A high yield means many admitted students choose California Institute of the Arts over other offers.

IPEDS Admissions, Fall 2023 entering class

Applicants, admits and enrollment

Applied2,023

Admitted525

Enrolled177

IPEDS Admissions, Fall 2023 entering class (first-time, degree-seeking undergraduates). Newer counts arrive with the next IPEDS release.

California Institute of the Arts admissions year over year

Entering class	Acceptance	SAT reading	SAT math	ACT	Source
Fall 2024	32%	—	—	—	College Scorecard
Fall 2023	26%	—	—	—	IPEDS

Score ranges are the 25th–75th percentiles. Each year is kept as published; we add a year with every federal release.

How selective is California Institute of the Arts compared with other California colleges?

California Institute of the Arts has the 14th-lowest acceptance rate of 92 California colleges we cover. Schools around it:

Rank	College	Acceptance	Graduation	Avg. net price
10	Pitzer College	25%	83%	$34,191
11	University of California-San Diego	27%	86%	$12,470
12	University of California-Irvine	29%	87%	$14,251
13	California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo	31%	86%	$16,665
14	California Institute of the Arts	32%	67%	$46,080
15	University of California-Santa Barbara	33%	83%	$16,109
16	Hope International University	33%	49%	$29,310
17	Pacific Oaks College	34%	—	—
18	San Diego State University	36%	76%	$15,364

College Scorecard, Fall 2024 entering class. All California colleges →

Who enrolls at California Institute of the Arts

First-year students who return for year two82%

First-year students from California32%

Pell Grant recipients24%

First-generation students16%

Women / men60% / 40%

International students26%

College Scorecard; IPEDS

California Institute of the Arts admissions questions

What is the California Institute of the Arts acceptance rate?

California Institute of the Arts accepts 32% of applicants, about 1 in 3. For the Fall 2023 entering class, 525 of 2,023 applicants were admitted.

Does California Institute of the Arts require the SAT or ACT?

California Institute of the Arts does not consider SAT or ACT scores (test-blind), according to its federal admissions report for Fall 2023.

How many admitted students enroll at California Institute of the Arts?

34% of admitted students enrolled in Fall 2023 (177 of 525).

Is California Institute of the Arts getting harder to get into?

California Institute of the Arts accepted 32% of applicants for Fall 2024, compared with 26% for Fall 2023.

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Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS Admissions; years shown with each figure. “Colleges we cover” means colleges awarding bachelor's degrees to at least 100 undergraduates. Back to California Institute of the Arts overview

California Institute of the Arts acceptance rate & admissions