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Cost & financial aid brief

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# The Chicago School at Los Angeles Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid

Updated October 21, 2026

[Overview](/school/the-chicago-school-at-los-angeles/)Cost & aid[Outcomes](/school/the-chicago-school-at-los-angeles/outcomes/)[Admissions](/school/the-chicago-school-at-los-angeles/admissions/)[Majors](/school/the-chicago-school-at-los-angeles/majors/)[Similar schools](/school/the-chicago-school-at-los-angeles/similar/)

**On this page**+

## How much does The Chicago School at Los Angeles cost after financial aid?

The Chicago School at Los Angeles is a private nonprofit university in Los Angeles, California, enrolling 337 undergraduates. The published tuition and fees are $21,780, which reflects the instructional price before room, board and other expenses.

[Net price](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/) is the amount aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships. Among comparable institutions (same type and size), the median net price is $22,347.

That figure represents the middle value for similar schools. It serves as a benchmark for what students typically pay after aid at institutions of the same control and size.

Individual aid packages differ by family income and assets. The final price a student faces depends on their specific grant and scholarship eligibility.

The published tuition and fees at The Chicago School at Los Angeles are $21,780. The median federal student debt at completion is below the peer median for comparable institutions.

Borrowers who complete their degree carry a median of $20,000 in federal student loans. That is $5,000 below the median for comparable institutions, which is $25,000.

Azimuth ranks the university #371 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. That places the access pillar at the 75th percentile.

The Chicago School at Los Angeles enrolls 337 undergraduates, and 56.5% of them receive Pell Grants. That share provides context for who the lowest-income aid packages serve.

The university's pricing structure means aid packages are built against a published cost of $21,780. Borrowers who complete a degree leave with a median of $20,000 in federal student loans, $5,000 below the peer median of $25,000.

If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $227 a month. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $21,265 in [Parent PLUS](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) loans.

## Student loans: what does repayment look like?

Completing borrowers at The Chicago School at Los Angeles hold a median of $20,000 in federal student debt. This amount is $5,000 below the median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

At those institutions, the median is $25,000. The median is the middle value for borrowers who completed.

It excludes both [Parent PLUS](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) and private loans. If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $227 a month.

Parents who borrow through the federal Parent PLUS program are a separate borrower population.

Four years after completing a degree at The Chicago School at Los Angeles, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $82,068. That is $26,153 above the $55,915 median for comparable institutions (same type and size), and it sits in the 90th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Graduates earn about $11,232 more than the model expects for similar students. That puts the gap at the 86th percentile.

Borrowers who finish carry a median of $20,000 in federal loans, $5,000 below the median for comparable institutions (same type and size). That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $227 a month if repaid over ten years.

For the separate population of parent borrowers, median [Parent PLUS](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) borrowing is $21,265. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $227 a month if repaid over ten years.

[Repayment figures](#combined-borrowing) are in the Financial GPS card below. [Borrowing populations and model assumptions](#cost-data-notes).

## Parent loans: what can the family afford?

[How Parent PLUS borrowing affects families](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/)

**Median Parent PLUS debt**
$21,265

**Estimated parent payment**
$270/mo

Modeled Parent PLUS pressure by income

| Household income | Share of income above basic expenses | Risk level |
| --- | --- | --- |
| $35,000 | No room | High pressure |
| $50,000 | No room | High pressure |
| $75,000 | 15.9% | High pressure |
| $100,000 | 7.1% | Caution |
| $150,000 | 3.4% | Safe |
| $200,000 | 2.2% | Safe |

The 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS balance, as a share of household income above basic expenses ($54,640 a year: 200% of the 2026 federal poverty guideline for a household of three). No room is High pressure. [Open the parent tool for your own numbers](/financial-gps/?tool=parent&school=the-chicago-school-at-los-angeles#parent-tool). [Read the assumptions and limits](#cost-data-notes).

## Student and parent loans: the monthly payments

Financial GPS

### What does repayment look like?

**Institution median student debt**
$20,000

**Institution Parent PLUS debt**
$21,265

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

**Estimated student payment · monthly**
$227/mo

**Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly**
$270/mo

**Modeled student + parent payments**
$497/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

#### Student payment as a share of available income

At median graduate earnings of $82,068, with a $23,940 annual allowance for basic expenses:

**4.7%** of income above the allowance · Excellent

1.  Excellent Under 8% · selected scenario
2.  Good 8–under 12%
3.  Concerning 12–20%
4.  High risk Over 20%

How this estimate works

These are modeled earnings scenarios, not observed earnings percentiles. Annual student payments ÷ (earnings − basic-expense allowance). The starting allowance, $23,940, uses the published framework’s 2026 baseline; it is not a current local living-cost estimate. Change it for your budget, including taxes and other obligations. This combines school-level figures for illustration, not a typical individual’s budget or an official school rating. Parent PLUS is separate.

[Read the framework and its limits](/analysis/financial-gps-framework/).

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

[Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS](/financial-gps/?tool=student&school=the-chicago-school-at-los-angeles#student-tool)

## Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: [methodology](/methodology/).

Analysis and methodology by [Daniel Rogers](/about/#founder), founder of College Azimuth.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Figure notes link to sources and limitations. [About College Azimuth](/about/).

**Net price and borrowing.** The 2023–24 income-band averages include living costs and cover eligible first-time, full-time aid recipients; public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. They are not individual aid offers. Peer matching supplies overall net prices, not matched income-band averages. [College Scorecard data and documentation](https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/data/).

A personal student-risk assessment also needs your major and borrowing plan; these school-level illustrations do not assign you a personal risk zone.

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates. Private-loan figures from the Common Data Set are separate from these federal repayment illustrations.