by our College Data Analytics TeamThe majority 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 total cost of going to Alma College can seem overpowering, but remember that the majority of students are given some form of financial assistance.
Just what financing solutions does Alma provide, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Keep scrolling for answers. Keep reading to discover what amount of financial assistance could be accessible to you.
Your financial aid package, which may contain grants and scholarships, will be determined on your financial need. Read on to get a sense of the financial assistance available at Alma College.
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.
At Alma College, 100% of first-time, full-time freshmen received some form of financial aid some 346 incoming students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 100% | $41,618 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 100% | $38,735 |
| Federal Pell grants | 24% | $5,920 |
| State/local grants | 43% | $3,009 |
| Federal student loans | 52% | $6,644 |
Gift aid — grants and scholarships — beats loans every time because none of it has to be repaid. Here, approximately 91% of the undergraduate population received grant aid that averaged $39,873 (across approximately 1127 awardees).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 91% | $39,873 |
| Federal Pell grants | 27% | $6,011 |
| Federal student loans | 57% | $6,740 |
On-campus students receiving title-IV aid were awarded grants averaging $42,956.
The figures below show the average net price — cost after all grant and scholarship aid — broken out by family income.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $19,945 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $21,901 |
| Over $75,000 | $26,273 |
Each figure is the net price after grants and scholarships, not the published sticker price.
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 | $20,694 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $24,663 |
For a personalized estimate based on your family’s financial situation, use Alma’s official net price calculator: www.alma.edu/financial-aid/net-price-calculator/.
The middle student in the debt distribution at Alma owes $23,250 of federal borrowing.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $23,250 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $27,000 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $286.24/mo |
That monthly figure reflects the median graduate debt repaid on a standard 10-year federal schedule.
A single median figure conceals how much debt outcomes differ student to student. The four reference points below map the debt distribution at Alma.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $9,500 |
| 75th percentile | $28,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $38,500 |
Median debt varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Debt by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $25,625 |
| Middle income | $25,000 |
| High income | $21,594 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Median Debt
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $23,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $23,250 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $23,250 |
| Independent students | $13,750 |
These indicators are derived from the underlying debt data and summarize the overall picture at Alma.
Most undergraduate borrowing runs through the federal Stafford loan program. The aggregate figures below show how active the program is at Alma:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 5865 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $98,979,991 |
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 | 5 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $126,156 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $25,231 |
Active-duty Tuition Assistance recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 3 |
| Total DoD amount | $11,500 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $3,833 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.