by our College Data Analytics TeamA lot of students will not be asked to pay 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 Ball State University can sound overpowering, but remember that the majority of students get some type of financial assistance.
What financial aid options can Ball State offer you, and what will you qualify for? Keep reading for more information. Keep reading to discover how much school funding could be available to you.
Your financial aid package, which may contain grants and scholarships, will be determined on your financial need. The figures below will help you estimate the aid you might receive from Ball State 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. Note that some aid is more valuable than the rest, and individual awards are far from uniform.
At Ball State University, 91% of new full-time first-years were awarded at least some aid some 3440 students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 77% | $13,218 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 58% | $7,282 |
| Federal Pell grants | 42% | $5,761 |
| State/local grants | 41% | $8,410 |
| Federal student loans | 52% | $5,065 |
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 Ball State, some 67% of undergraduate students received gift aid averaging $12,279 (among about 9956 undergraduates).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 67% | $12,279 |
| Federal Pell grants | 35% | $5,765 |
| Federal student loans | 43% | $6,260 |
On-campus students receiving title-IV aid were awarded grants averaging $11,206.
Because need-based aid scales with family income, what students actually pay differs sharply across income brackets.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $8,230 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $12,431 |
| Over $75,000 | $21,067 |
Each figure is the net price after grants and scholarships, not the published sticker price.
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 | $14,940 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $15,898 |
To project your own net price, use Ball State’s net price calculator: bsu.studentaidcalculator.com/survey.aspx.
A typical borrower at Ball State leaves with $16,904 in federal student debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $16,904 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $23,250 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $246.49/mo |
The 10-year payment estimate assumes a standard federal repayment plan and the median graduate debt amount.
Looking only at the median can be misleading because it hides the spread. The four reference points below map the debt distribution at Ball State.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,000 |
| 25th percentile | $7,000 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,000 |
The figures below break down median federal debt by income tier, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $14,487 |
| Middle income | $16,500 |
| High income | $18,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,705 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $16,790 |
| Independent students | $17,264 |
These indicators are derived from the underlying debt data and summarize the overall picture at Ball State.
The Stafford loan program is the largest source of federal direct loans to undergraduates. Below is the annual Stafford program activity at Ball State:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 70775 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $1,494,824,387 |
The GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance are the main federal aid routes for veterans and service members.
Post-9/11 GI Bill recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 201 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $1,492,861 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $7,427 |
DoD program volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 75 |
| Total DoD amount | $257,619 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $3,435 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.