by our College Data Analytics TeamA lot of students will not be asked to pay the advertised price of a school. Instead, they will be provided a financial aid package that will include a combination of scholarships, grants, loans, and work-study. The price tag of going to Northeastern University can appear tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students obtain some kind of financial help.
Just what financial aid solutions can Northeastern deliver, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Keep reading for answers. Keep going to discover just how much financial aid could be open to you.
Your financial aid package, which may contain grants and scholarships, will be determined on your financial need. Continue reading to find information to help you understand just how much assistance you can expect to receive from Northeastern University.
Financial aid, in the form of loans, grants, work-study, and scholarships, is one way colleges reduce the cost of attendance so most students can actually afford to attend. Keep in mind that certain forms of assistance are more beneficial than others, and aid amounts differ from student to student.
At Northeastern University, 74% of entering full-time freshmen got some type of financial assistance approximately 2041 first-years).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 66% | $50,421 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 66% | $47,842 |
| Federal Pell grants | 17% | $7,127 |
| State/local grants | 7% | $3,596 |
| Federal student loans | 39% | $4,241 |
Unlike loans, grants and scholarships are gift aid that does not need to be paid back, making them the most desirable form of assistance. At Northeastern, roughly 60% of undergraduate students received gift aid averaging $35,882 (for some 9503 awardees).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 60% | $35,882 |
| Federal Pell grants | 12% | $6,964 |
| Federal student loans | 27% | $5,882 |
For students living on campus and receiving title-IV aid, grants averaged $53,726.
How much a family pays depends heavily on income, because most aid is awarded on the basis of financial need.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $6,090 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $8,859 |
| Over $75,000 | $44,985 |
Each figure is the net price after grants and scholarships, not the published sticker price.
After grants and scholarships come off the published price, what remains is the net price — the best estimate of true out-of-pocket cost.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $30,915 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $32,116 |
For a customized cost estimate, visit Northeastern’s net price calculator: studentfinance.northeastern.edu/financial-tools-and-calculators/.
The median federal debt load at Northeastern comes to $22,000 of federal student loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $22,000 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $24,250 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $257.09/mo |
The 10-year payment estimate assumes a standard federal repayment plan and the median graduate debt amount.
Percentiles reveal the spread — half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles. The percentiles below describe the cumulative federal debt distribution for borrowers at Northeastern.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,757 |
| 25th percentile | $14,500 |
| 75th percentile | $31,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $34,500 |
Outcomes differ by income bracket, by first-generation status, and by whether a student is financially dependent.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $21,950 |
| Middle income | $22,601 |
| High income | $21,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Median Debt
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $21,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $22,249 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $21,500 |
| Independent students | $23,791 |
The figure below distills the debt data into a single burden category for Northeastern.
Most undergraduate borrowing runs through the federal Stafford loan program. These figures summarize annual Stafford program activity at Northeastern:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 58566 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $1,471,703,811 |
If you are a veteran or active-duty service member, the GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance are the primary federal programs you can use at this school.
Post-9/11 GI Bill recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 189 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $5,409,085 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $28,619 |
DoD Tuition Assistance activity
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 13 |
| Total DoD amount | $54,250 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $4,173 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.