VanderCook College of Music

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for VanderCook College of Music

VanderCook College of Music operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Chicago, Illinois (city: large), with a total reported enrollment of 76 students of which 110 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile’s peer group and cost cohort are determined. VanderCook College of Music is categorized as “32” under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.

Selectivity and financial signals give context to what applicants can expect. The reported admission rate is 89.5%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $19,780, with published in-state tuition of $30,910 and a Pell grant recipient share of 26.3%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $27,000, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 58.8%, and the first-year retention rate is 88.2%. Graduates earn a median of $47,863 ten years after enrolling, compared with $45,704 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 6400.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans. Treating these numbers as a single snapshot alongside the cost cohort is the standard approach for evaluating ROI under the College Scorecard methodology.