10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
−$345,746at year 10Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
Columbus College of Art & Design
⌖ Columbus, OH · 5 reportable field-and-credential outcomes
10-year estimate · Negative payoff
−$345,746 over 10 years
Modeled from observed year-5 institution earnings and the institution-wide average net price over four years.
With these assumptions, the added earnings do not recover the cost within ten years.
—Modeled economic break-even
−116%Modeled 10-year ROI
$40,201Observed earnings · year 5
Not reachedMaximum annual price for positive 10-year payoff
ECONOMIC INVESTMENT → PAYBACK
Estimated payoff over ten years.
The scenario counts direct price and earnings forgone upfront, then applies the reported annual earnings premium.
FEDERAL COST DATA
Four ways to read college price.
Annual college-wide figures from the current College Scorecard release. Average net price covers full-time, first-time undergraduates receiving federal aid; public-college figures use in-state students. Program tuition and individual aid offers may differ.
COLLEGE AT A GLANCE
Institution details
Current federal characteristics describing the college—not the outcomes of a specific program.
- Accreditor
- Higher Learning Commission
- Main award level
- Bachelor’s degrees
- Campus setting
- City
- Admissions
- Selective admission
- Delivery
- Campus or mixed delivery
- Federal designation
- No special designation reported
Cost, debt, completion and earnings context
$29,439Average net price / year
$54,443Cost of attendance
$27,000Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$286/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$40,201Median earnings · year 5 after completion
55.6%Completion rate
67.7%Admission rate
882Student size
Institution debt covers federal student-loan borrowers who completed. Parent PLUS and private loans are excluded; missing and privacy-suppressed values remain unavailable.
NATIONAL CONTEXT
How this college compares
Percentiles compare this institution with currently operating colleges that report the same federal measure.
WHAT STANDS OUT
A faster read on this college
These summaries use only reportable field-and-credential records at this institution. They do not fill privacy-suppressed outcomes.
EARNINGS PATH
Reported earnings over time
$26,716Year 1
$41,994Year 4
$40,201Year 5
Separate federal cohorts may underlie different measurement years.
The college average is not the whole story.
Observed earnings vary substantially by field and credential at the same institution.
1Design and Applied Arts · Bachelor's Degree$48,2042Film/Video and Photographic Arts · Bachelor's Degree$43,6613Visual and Performing Arts, General · Master's Degree$35,8874Graphic Communications · Bachelor's Degree$33,3895Fine and Studio Arts · Bachelor's Degree$32,061Observed year-4 earnings · compare like fields and credentials before deciding
Programs that stand out against the same-degree benchmark
This view rewards performance relative to the same field and credential—not simply majors that pay more everywhere.
1Film/Video and Photographic ArtsBachelor's Degree · $43,661 reported-0%vs same-degree national median$27,000federal debt2Design and Applied ArtsBachelor's Degree · $48,204 reported-6%vs same-degree national median$27,000federal debt3Fine and Studio ArtsBachelor's Degree · $32,061 reported-22%vs same-degree national median$27,000federal debt4Graphic CommunicationsBachelor's Degree · $33,389 reported-23%vs same-degree national median$27,000federal debt5Visual and Performing Arts, GeneralMaster's Degree · $35,887 reported-40%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt
Comparable colleges in OH
Currently operating private nonprofit institutions with the closest combination of annual net price and observed year-5 earnings. Similarity is descriptive—not a quality ranking.
Cleveland, OH
Cleveland Institute of Art
- Annual net price
- $29,208
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $37,687
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -125%
Defiance College
- Annual net price
- $26,337
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $46,809
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -94%
Art Academy of Cincinnati
- Annual net price
- $34,253
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $35,134
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -131%
Ohio Christian University
- Annual net price
- $20,607
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $44,633
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -101%
Explore exact field-and-credential outcomes
| Federal field | Credential | Earnings, year 4 | Federal debt | 2023–24 awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Design and Applied Arts | Bachelor's Degree | $48,204 | $27,000 | Not reported |
| Film/Video and Photographic Arts | Bachelor's Degree | $43,661 | $27,000 | Not reported |
| Visual and Performing Arts, General | Master's Degree | $35,887 | Not available | Not reported |
| Graphic Communications | Bachelor's Degree | $33,389 | $27,000 | Not reported |
| Fine and Studio Arts | Bachelor's Degree | $32,061 | $27,000 | Not reported |
Awards use first-major IPEDS completions aggregated to the same four-digit field and credential.
Earnings, price, completion and enrollment are observed federal measures. ROI, payoff and break-even are modeled scenarios built from those measures and fixed assumptions. College payoff is not the payoff of every degree at this school; use the program table for a more precise comparison.