by our College Data Analytics TeamMany students will never be charged the complete price tag of a school. Rather, they are presented a financial aid deal that includes a mix of loans, grants, scholarships, and possibly work-study opportunities. The sum total of attendance at Otterbein University can sound overpowering, but remember that the majority of students get some type of financial assistance.
Just what financial aid solutions can Otterbein deliver, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Keep reading for answers. Keep going to see what amount of financial assistance could be accessible to you.
Eligibility for aid and scholarships is driven mostly by your household’s income and need. Continue reading to find information to help you understand just how much assistance you can expect to receive from Otterbein University.
Financial assistance, available as scholarships, loans, and work-study, is a way schools lower the price of attendance so many students can enroll. Some kinds of aid are clearly preferable to others, and outcomes differ across students.
For incoming first-year students at Otterbein University, 100% of first-year full-time students received aid of some kind some 519 first-years).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 100% | $27,923 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 100% | $23,548 |
| Federal Pell grants | 38% | $5,971 |
| State/local grants | 38% | $5,141 |
| Federal student loans | 52% | $5,565 |
Because grants and scholarships do not have to be repaid, they are the most sought-after type of financial aid. At Otterbein, some 95% of undergraduates were awarded an average grant or scholarship of $24,037 (for some 2022 students).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 95% | $24,037 |
| Federal Pell grants | 31% | $5,830 |
| Federal student loans | 53% | $6,570 |
For on-campus title-IV students, average grant aid came to $29,084.
Since aid is largely need-based, the real cost of attendance falls steeply for lower-income families.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $15,795 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $18,104 |
| Over $75,000 | $24,879 |
The numbers above are post-aid net prices, so they already account for grants and scholarships.
Net price is the cost remaining after grant and scholarship aid is subtracted from the sticker price, and it is the most useful single number for estimating real cost.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $19,237 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $22,315 |
For a personalized estimate based on your family’s financial situation, use Otterbein’s net price calculator: www.otterbein.edu/estimator/npcalc.htm.
Graduating students at Otterbein carry a median federal student debt of $20,500 in federal student debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $20,500 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $26,000 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $275.64/mo |
Under a standard ten-year plan, the median graduate’s monthly payment lands near the figure above.
Looking only at the median can be misleading because it hides the spread. The figures below chart the debt distribution at Otterbein.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,250 |
| 25th percentile | $8,750 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $34,588 |
Debt outcomes are not uniform — they shift with income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $19,000 |
| Middle income | $20,200 |
| High income | $21,250 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $21,125 |
| Continuing-generation students | $20,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $20,500 |
| Independent students | $25,000 |
The Department of Education computes summary indicators that describe debt outcomes at a glance. Otterbein.
The Stafford loan program is the largest source of federal direct loans to undergraduates. The totals below capture Stafford lending at Otterbein:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 10676 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $216,746,801 |
Veterans and active-duty service members may qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill or DoD Tuition Assistance.
Post-9/11 GI Bill activity
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 23 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $559,499 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $24,326 |
DoD Tuition Assistance activity
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 3 |
| Total DoD amount | $8,063 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $2,688 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.