by our College Data Analytics TeamMany students will never be charged 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 sum total of attendance at American River College can sound tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students get some type of financial help.
What financial aid options can American River offer, and what will you qualify for? Keep reading for more information. Keep reading to see how much school funding could be available to you.
Eligibility for aid and scholarships is driven mostly by your household’s income and need. The information provided on this page can help you determine how much aid you may receive from American River College.
Through a mix of loans, grants, work-study and scholarships, schools bring down the effective cost so more students can attend. However, some types of aid are more desirable than others, and some students will receive more than others.
For incoming first-year students at American River College, 89% of the incoming full-time class was awarded financial aid roughly 1118 incoming students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 89% | $5,456 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 6% | $979 |
| Federal Pell grants | 50% | $5,336 |
| State/local grants | 88% | $2,187 |
| Federal student loans | 3% | $7,016 |
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 this school, about 48% of undergraduates were awarded an average grant or scholarship of $3,413 (across roughly 14248 students).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 48% | $3,413 |
| Federal Pell grants | 21% | $3,989 |
| Federal student loans | 3% | $7,536 |
Among title-IV aid recipients living on campus, grant and scholarship aid averaged $8,385.
Need-based aid means lower-income families typically pay far less than the sticker price suggests.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $3,720 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $5,166 |
| Over $75,000 | $9,455 |
Remember these are net prices — what families pay after gift aid, not before.
The net price strips out grant and scholarship aid from the sticker price to show roughly what families really pay.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $7,999 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $4,628 |
To get a personalized net price estimate, try American River’s net price calculator: www.arc.losrios.edu/admissions/cost-of-attendance/net-price-calculator.
A typical borrower at American River leaves with $9,354 of cumulative federal debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $9,354 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $9,625 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $102.04/mo |
At a typical 10-year repayment schedule, the median graduate would pay about the monthly figure above.
Percentiles reveal the spread — half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles. The four reference points below map the debt distribution at American River.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,922 |
| 25th percentile | $3,500 |
| 75th percentile | $15,192 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $27,019 |
Outcomes differ by income bracket, by first-generation status, and by whether a student is financially dependent.
Debt by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,443 |
| Middle income | $9,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Median Debt
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $8,250 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
These indicators are derived from the underlying debt data and summarize the overall picture at American River.
The Stafford program is the federal direct-loan vehicle most undergraduates use. The aggregate figures below show how active the program is at American River:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 15508 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $217,483,269 |
Military-affiliated students can tap the Post-9/11 GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance.
GI Bill volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 0 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $0 |
DoD program volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 0 |
| Total DoD amount | $0 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.