10-YEAR PAYOFF CURVECumulative economic payoff after graduation
−$468,460at year 10Net gainInvestment not yet recovered
NET GAIN$0UNRECOVERED
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
⌖ Chicago, IL · 6 reportable field-and-credential outcomes
10-year estimate · Negative payoff
−$468,460 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
−124%Modeled 10-year ROI
$36,070Observed 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
$49,790Average net price / year
$75,625Cost of attendance
$27,000Median federal student debt · completer borrowers
$286/moPublished 10-year payment estimate
$36,070Median earnings · year 5 after completion
67.0%Completion rate
77.5%Admission rate
2,805Student 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
$24,516Year 1
$45,385Year 4
$36,070Year 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.
1Architecture · Master's Degree$74,6292Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions · Master's Degree$58,8093Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas · Master's Degree$52,9524Fine and Studio Arts · Master's Degree$47,3555Fine and Studio Arts · Bachelor's Degree$45,6026Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies · Master's Degree$42,100Observed 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.
1Fine and Studio ArtsBachelor's Degree · $45,602 reported+10%vs same-degree national median$27,000federal debt2ArchitectureMaster's Degree · $74,629 reported+1%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt3Fine and Studio ArtsMaster's Degree · $47,355 reported-4%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt4Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject AreasMaster's Degree · $52,952 reported-17%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt5Rehabilitation and Therapeutic ProfessionsMaster's Degree · $58,809 reported-18%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt6Rhetoric and Composition/Writing StudiesMaster's Degree · $42,100 reported-24%vs same-degree national medianNot availablefederal debt
Comparable colleges in IL
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.
Chicago, IL
Columbia College Chicago
- Annual net price
- $26,598
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $41,854
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -111%
Hebrew Theological College
- Annual net price
- $26,861
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $47,563
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -91%
Knox College
- Annual net price
- $24,595
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $47,902
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -90%
Moody Bible Institute
- Annual net price
- $22,221
- Observed earnings · year 5
- $46,456
- Modeled 10-year ROI
- -95%
Explore exact field-and-credential outcomes
| Federal field | Credential | Earnings, year 4 | Federal debt | 2023–24 awards |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Master's Degree | $74,629 | Not available | Not reported |
| Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions | Master's Degree | $58,809 | Not available | Not reported |
| Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas | Master's Degree | $52,952 | Not available | Not reported |
| Fine and Studio Arts | Master's Degree | $47,355 | Not available | Not reported |
| Fine and Studio Arts | Bachelor's Degree | $45,602 | $27,000 | 16 |
| Rhetoric and Composition/Writing Studies | Master's Degree | $42,100 | Not available | 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.