Music at Los Angeles College of Music

Los Angeles College of Music graduates earn more than the typical California music grad—$24,059 versus the state median of $21,550—but they're taking on nearly $37,000 in debt to get there, among the highest in the nation for music programs. That's a debt load 65% larger than the California norm for this degree, creating a financial squeeze right when your child is trying to establish themselves in one of the most challenging career fields.

The school admits 81% of applicants, suggesting it's not particularly selective, yet it charges significantly more than the public alternatives. Compare this to Cal State Monterey Bay, where music graduates earn $28,000 with likely lower debt, or San Francisco State at $31,600. Even accounting for LACM's industry connections in the LA music scene, the numbers are tough: your child would owe 1.55 times their first-year salary, meaning debt payments could consume 15-20% of their take-home pay for a decade.

The small sample size here matters—we're looking at fewer than 30 graduates, so one successful producer or session musician could skew the numbers upward. For a specialized music career where networking and location matter enormously, this might make sense for the right student. But purely from a financial perspective, this is a high-cost bet on a typically low-earning field, and the California State University alternatives look considerably safer.