Maine College of Art & Design
Portland, ME · Private · Small city · MCAD · MECA&D · Meca · Portland School of Art
Private institution in Portland, ME · 415 undergraduates · 78% acceptance rate · $40,778 median earnings 10 years after entry.
- Top 10%Student-faculty ratio
Stats
College Scorecard figures, each with where this school sits nationally among institutions that report the same measure. A dash means the school does not report it.
Cost
- Average net price
- $36,4431,856th cheapest of 1,969 reporting
- In-state tuition & fees
- $41,3981,670th cheapest of 2,024 reporting
- Out-of-state tuition & fees
- $41,3981,647th cheapest of 2,024 reporting
- Cost of attendance
- $57,0271,639th cheapest of 1,969 reporting
- Median graduate debt
- $27,0001,593rd lowest of 1,865 reporting
Outcomes
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $40,7781,573rd highest of 1,954 reporting
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $24,3331,861st highest of 1,950 reporting
- Graduation rate (4-year)
- 48.7%1,202nd highest of 2,014 reporting
- Full-time retention
- 77.9%776th highest of 1,837 reporting
Admissions
- Acceptance rate
- 77.5%821st most selective of 1,596 reporting
- Average SAT
- —
- Median ACT
- —
Campus
- Undergraduates
- 4151,724th largest of 2,144 reporting
- Student-faculty ratio
- 8.0:1212th smallest of 2,141 reporting
- Pell Grant share
- 26.6%1,381st highest of 2,122 reporting
Nearest large-hub airport: 97 mi (BOS)
List appearances
This school doesn’t place in the top slice of any of our 111 lists. Most lists are Top 25–50, so absence here is common and says little on its own.
Applying
- EADec 1
- RDMar 1
- Common App member
- Yes
- Application fee
- $70
- Personal essay
- Required
- Writing supplement
- No
Deadlines and essay flags come from the Common App Requirements Grid, joined by school name. Always confirm against the school’s own admissions page before applying.
Best-paying fields of study
Median earnings one and two years after graduating, by field. Showing 5 of 5 reported programs.
| Field | Level | 1 yr | 2 yr |
|---|---|---|---|
| Design and Applied ArtsVisual & Performing Arts | bachelors | $26,353 | $24,808 |
| Fine and Studio ArtsVisual & Performing Arts | bachelors | $18,498 | $21,736 |
| Crafts/Craft Design, Folk Art and ArtisanryVisual & Performing Arts | bachelors | — | — |
| Film/Video and Photographic ArtsVisual & Performing Arts | bachelors | — | $23,456 |
| Graphic CommunicationsCommunications Technology | bachelors | — | — |
Campus facts
Similar-size colleges
Nearest undergraduate enrollment to Maine College of Art & Design’s 415 (College Scorecard UGDS, compiled 2026-10-24). Size only — not a judgment of similarity or quality.
In ME
- College of the AtlanticBar Harbor, ME · 358 undergrads
- Beal UniversityBangor, ME · 503 undergrads
- Maine College of Health ProfessionsLewiston, ME · 228 undergrads
- University of Maine at Fort KentFort Kent, ME · 638 undergrads
- Thomas CollegeWaterville, ME · 688 undergrads
- Maine Media CollegeRockport, ME · 0 undergrads
Elsewhere
- Touro University WorldwideLos Alamitos, CA · 416 undergrads
- Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of TechnologyBoston, MA · 412 undergrads
- Pacific Northwest College of ArtPortland, OR · 412 undergrads
- Carolinas College of Health SciencesCharlotte, NC · 409 undergrads
- Mitchell CollegeNew London, CT · 421 undergrads
- Morris CollegeSumter, SC · 421 undergrads
Key links
- Official websitemeca.edu
- College ScorecardFederal source for every figure above (UNITID 161509)
- Compare colleges in MERe-score with your weights
- The Most Selective Colleges in MaineEvery eligible four-year in this state, ranked by published admission rate
- Compare with College of the AtlanticSide by side on every Scorecard measure — closest in-state school by enrollment
- Showdown: Maine College of Art & Design vs College of the AtlanticHigher-or-lower on real Scorecard metrics — round 1 is these two
- Build an admissions plan8th–12th grade actions for this college — sports, activities, timeline
- MethodologyWhat these figures do and do not capture
- How to read a school page end to endStats, standings, lists, athletics, news — one profile, many jobs. Know which panel answers which question.
- Sticker price is a trapPublished tuition is a starting rumor. Net price is closer to what families actually pay.
- What acceptance rate actually measuresSelectivity is a competition statistic — not a quality score, and not your personal odds.
- A plan from eighth grade — without fake certaintySchool-anchored milestones, sports scarcity honesty, and EC playbooks — not invented admit odds.