VanderCook College of Music
Acceptance rate
89.5%
2025
Tuition per year
$30,910
$44,918 with room and board
Peer median $18,120
Undergraduates
107
Student-faculty ratio 5:1
Peer median 11 : 1
Graduation rate
52.4%
4-year; 6-year rate 57.1%
“Peers” are all 20 private other special focus institutions in the U.S. (by Carnegie Classification).
About
- Type
- Private nonprofit, 4-year
- Location
- Chicago, Illinois
- Website
- www.vandercook.edu
- Undergraduates
- 107
- Student-faculty ratio
- 5 : 1
This collegeRanked colleges nearby
- Setting
- Large city
- Nearest major city
- In Chicago
- Nearest international airport
- Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW), about 7 mi
- Academic calendar
- Semester
- Religious affiliation
- Not applicable
- President
- Kimberly Farris (President)
- Phone
- 3122256288
- Address
- 3140 South Federal Street, Chicago, IL 60616-3731
Rankings & Admission
Acceptance rate by gender, 2025
In 2020: men 88.9%, women 77.8%.
Test Scores
SAT/ACT optional: considered if submitted IPEDS (US Department of Education) has no SAT/ACT data for students admitted in 2025.
How Hard Is It to Get In
about 9 in 10
38 applicants in 2025, 89.5% admitted
34 admitted 4 not admitted Yield 44.1%
Degrees & Majors
Graduates in 2025 (first major)
U.S. studentsInternational
Popular graduate programs
- Music Teacher Education · Master's32 (0% international)
All majors, graduates and earnings IPEDS · College Scorecard
*Depends on whether majors have graduates in 2025 or not, Yes / No
**Move mouse on can check deitaled graudates number, click for major detailed information
***Due to privacy policy, graduate salaries are not shown for some majors that has few gradautes
| Major | Graduate Salary | Under | Master |
|---|---|---|---|
| Music Teacher Education. | $51,129 |
| Major | Graduate Salary | Under | Master |
|---|---|---|---|
| Music Pedagogy. | - |
Students
323 students in 2025 · Undergraduate men to women 57:43 · Freshman retention 88.2%
- Continuing undergraduates 55
- First-year undergraduates 15
- Graduate students 216
- Transfers and others 37
Undergraduate race and ethnicity (107)
International Students
International share over the last 10 years · gray line: median of all 20 private other special focus institutions in the U.S.
8 in 2025 · 1.3% in 2016
7 in 2025 · 0.0% in 2016
Cost
2025 cost per year
$44,918
- Undergraduate tuition
- $30,910
- Room and board
- $14,008
- Graduate tuition
- $8,135
Tuition rose 18% from 2016 to 2025; room and board rose 22%.
Finances · fiscal year 2024
Revenue$6.1M
Expenses$5.7M
Average faculty salary · 2025 (9-month equivalent)
Dark gray ticks: median pay for the same rank at all 20 private other special focus institutions in the U.S.
Campus Life
Athletics and varsity athletes NCAA · EADA
No athlete data available for 2025.
No athlete data available for 2024.
No athlete data available for 2023.
Nearby & Safety
Ranked colleges nearby
-
Illinois Institute of TechnologyChicago · 0.4 mi
U.S. News #121
-
University of Illinois at ChicagoChicago · 2.7 mi
U.S. News #95
-
DePaul UniversityChicago · 2.8 mi
U.S. News #169
-
University of ChicagoChicago · 3.7 mi
U.S. News #9
-
Loyola University ChicagoChicago · 11.4 mi
U.S. News #121
-
Northwestern UniversityEvanston · 15.0 mi
U.S. News #9
-
Wheaton College (IL)Wheaton · 24.3 mi
Liberal Arts #57
-
Lake Forest CollegeLake Forest · 30.3 mi
Liberal Arts #62
-
Aurora UniversityAurora · 37.5 mi
U.S. News #262
Peer median 0.0 · all 20 private other special focus institutions in the U.S.
References and Data Sources
Data from IPEDS (U.S. Department of Education), U.S. News, THE, QS, ARWU and Clery Act campus safety reports. Data insights are written by the Forward Pathway data team from public data.