AAC vs. CU

Art Academy of Cincinnati vs. Cumberland University comparison

	Art Academy of Cincinnati	Cumberland University	College 3	College 4
	Remove	Remove	+Add	+Add
Overview	AAC	CU
Location	Cincinnati, OH	Lebanon, TN
Setting	Large City	Distant Town
Enrollment	263	2,588
Type	Private 4 Year	Private 4 Year
National Ranking
Religious Affiliation	-	-	-	-
Status	Non-profit	Non-profit
Website	artacademy.edu	cumberland.edu
Team Colors

Costs	AAC	CU
Tuition (In State)	$35,404	$25,200
Tuition (Out of State)	$35,404	$25,200
Room & Board	$10,500	$8,990
Avg Net Price	$27,510	$18,528
Avg Grant Aid	$17,764	$22,145
% Receiving Grant Aid	100%	100%

Admission	AAC	CU
Admission Chances	Calculate	Calculate
Applied	426	2,137
Admitted	426	1,415
Acceptance Rate	100%	66.2%
Enrolled %	20.4%	44.5%
Avg High School GPA	3.1	3.3
Typical High School Grades	B	B+
Admissions Standards	Unavailable	Unavailable
Applicant Competition		Low
ACT Range
SAT Range
Submit Test Scores	Not considered for admission, even if submitted (Test Blind)	Not considered for admission, even if submitted (Test Blind)
Application Deadline	Aug 1, 2025

Academics	AAC	CU
Student to Faculty Ratio	11:1	16:1
Popular Majors	Visual and Performing Arts (100%)	Health Professions (46%) Business (15%) Education (14%) Biology (4%) Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, Firefighting (4%)
Outcomes	AAC	CU
Graduation Rate	44%	34%
Median Earnings (After 10 years)	$30,400	$39,900
Making Student Loan Payments	55%	60%
Median Student Loan Debt	$27,000	$21,729
Median Loan Payment	$279	$224

Diversity	AAC	CU
% Men	26%	42%
% Women	74%	58%
Racial Diversity	Low	Medium
HBCU	No	No
% White	79%	63%
% Black	10%	12%
% Hispanic	4%	3%
% Native American	1%	1%
% Pacific Islander	1%	0%
% Two or More Races	3%	0%
% International	1%	4%
% Unknown Race	1%	16%

Students	AAC	CU
% In-State	64%	88%
% Out-of-State	35%	8%
Campus	AAC	CU
Campus Housing	Yes	Yes
Freshman Dorm Required	No	No
Meal Plan	Yes	Yes
Weekend/Evening Classes	No	No
Daycare Facility	No	No
Learn More	Details	Details

Comparable Facts

• Cumberland University is larger than than AAC based on total student enrollment (2,588 students vs. 263 students)

AAC vs. CU Cost Comparison

Which college is more expensive, AAC or CU?

• Art Academy of Cincinnati is 40.5% more expensive to attend than CU for in-state tuition ($35,404.00 vs. $25,200.00)
• Out of state tuition is 40.5% higher at AAC than Cumberland University ($35,404.00 vs. $25,200.00)
• The typical actual cost that students pay to attend (average net price) is less at Cumberland University than AAC ($18,528 vs. $27,510)
• Living costs (room and board or off-campus housing budget) at Cumberland University are 16.8% lower than costs at Art Academy of Cincinnati ($8,990 vs. $10,500)
• The same percent of students receive financial grant aid at Art Academy of Cincinnati as Cumberland University (100% vs. 100%)
• The average total grant financial aid received by Cumberland University students is 24.7% larger than aid received Art Academy of Cincinnati ($22,145 vs. $17,764)

AAC vs. CU Admissions Difficulty Comparison

Which college is harder to get into, AAC or CU? Average SAT and ACT scores plus acceptance rates offer good insight into the difficulty of admission between CU or AAC .

• The average SAT score at Cumberland University (989) is 26 points higher than at AAC (963)
• Incoming AAC students have at the same average ACT score (21) as students at CU (21)
• Accepted freshman CU students have a 0.2 point higher average high school GPA (3.3) than students at AAC (3.1)
• AAC has a higher acceptance rate (100%) than CU (66.2%)

AAC vs. CU Graduation Outcomes Comparison

Which is better, AAC or CU? Graduation rate, salary and amount of student loan debt are indicators of a college which offers better outcomes for its graduates. Compare the following outcomes facts between CU and AAC.

• The graduation rate at AAC is higher than Cumberland University (44% vs. 34%)
• Graduates from Cumberland University earn on average $9,500 more per year than AAC graduates after ten years. ($39,900 vs. $30,400)
• Cumberland University students graduate with a $5,271 lower median federal student loan debt than AAC graduates. ($21,729 vs. $27,000)
• CU graduates are paying $55 less per month on federal student loans than AAC graduates. ($224 vs. $279)
• More CU graduates are actively paying back their federal student loan debt than former AAC students, three years after graduation. (60% vs. 55%)

Sources: U.S. Department of Education https://nces.ed.gov IPEDS and College Scorecard https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/