by our College Data Analytics TeamVanderCook College of Music is a private not-for-profit institution in Chicago, Illinois enrolling 76 undergraduates. It accepts 90% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 67%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #1,437 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 28%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
VanderCook College of Music ranks #1,437 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 28%.
In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.
According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, VanderCook College of Music is ranked #1,437 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality.
VanderCook College of Music is also ranked #74 on the Best Colleges in Illinois list.
See all of the rankings for VanderCook College of Music.
VanderCook College of Music has an acceptance rate of 90%, so it is easier to gain admission to this school than some others. Still, the admissions staff will examine your application closely to make sure you’re a good fit for VanderCook College of Music.
Learn more about VanderCook College of Music admissions.
At VanderCook College of Music, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 5 to 1. That’s much better than the national average of 15 to 1. This indicates that many classes will probably be small, and students will have ample opportunities to work closely with their professors and classmates.
When estimating how much access students will have to their teachers, some people like to look at what percentage of faculty members are full time. This is because part-time teachers may not have as much time to spend on campus as their full-time counterparts.
The full-time faculty percentage at VanderCook College of Music is 11%. This is lower than the national average of 47%.
VanderCook College of Music has a freshmen retention rate of 88%. That’s a good sign that full-time students like the school and their professors enough to want to stick around for another year. It’s also a sign that the admissions team did a good job in choosing applicants who were a good fit for the school.
Students are considered to have graduated on time if they finish their studies within four years. At VanderCook College of Music the on-time graduation rate of first-time, full-time students is 67%. That is great when compared to the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at VanderCook College of Music.
The current enrollment includes 76 undergraduates at VanderCook College of Music.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at VanderCook College of Music.
The typical net cost at VanderCook College of Music is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of VanderCook College of Music, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
It’s not uncommon for college students to take out loans to pay for school. In fact, almost 66% of students nationwide depend at least partially on loans. At VanderCook College of Music, approximately 42% of students took out student loans averaging $6,964 a year. That adds up to $27,856 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 12.1%. This is higher than the national default rate of 10.1% so you should proceed with caution when taking out student loans. Get more details about paying for VanderCook College of Music.
The pay for some majors is higher than others, but on average, students who graduate with a bachelor’s degree from VanderCook College of Music make about $47,863 a year during their first few years of employment after graduation. This is right on par with the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year. Also, graduates in your major field may make more.
See which majors at VanderCook College of Music make the most money.
VanderCook College of Music is an private not-for-profit institution situated in Chicago, Illinois. The location of the school is great for students who enjoy the amenities of city life. Get more details about the location of VanderCook College of Music.
Contact details for VanderCook College of Music can be found below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 3140 South Federal Street, Chicago, IL 60616-3731 |
| Phone: | 3122256288 |
| Website: | www.vandercook.edu |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/VanderCookCollege/ |
| Twitter: | www.twitter.com/vandercook |
In the most recent reporting year, students from 3 majors graduated from VanderCook College of Music. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 51 | NA |
| Teacher Education Subject Specific | 50 | $39,759 |
| Music | 1 | NA |
14 students took at least one online class at VanderCook College of Music.
Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.
Learn more about online learning at VanderCook College of Music.
Interested in comparing VanderCook College of Music? Pit them head to head with College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.