by our College Data Analytics TeamA large number of students will never be charged the full, advertised sticker price of a school. Instead, they will be given a financial aid offer that will include a combination of scholarships, grants, loans, and work-study. The price tag of going to Berkshire Community College can appear tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students obtain some kind of financial help.
What financial assistance options will BCC offer, and what will you qualify for? Read on for more information. Read on to learn what amount of financial assistance will be accessible to you.
The amount of financial aid and scholarships you are eligible for will vary depending on your family’s income. Continue reading to find information to help you understand just how much assistance you can expect to receive from Berkshire Community College.
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.
Among first-time, full-time freshmen at Berkshire Community College, 91% of entering full-time freshmen got some type of financial assistance (about 105 first-years).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 86% | $8,299 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 50% | $379 |
| Federal Pell grants | 57% | $6,380 |
| State/local grants | 77% | $4,243 |
| Federal student loans | 52% | $5,695 |
Because grants and scholarships do not have to be repaid, they are the most sought-after type of financial aid. At BCC, roughly 88% of undergraduate students received gift aid averaging $5,331 (among about 1429 recipients).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 88% | $5,331 |
| Federal Pell grants | 33% | $6,720 |
| Federal student loans | 30% | $6,170 |
Title-IV recipients living on campus saw average grant aid of $8,141.
Need-based aid means lower-income families typically pay far less than the sticker price suggests.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $5,880 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $8,683 |
| Over $75,000 | $15,945 |
Each figure is the net price after grants and scholarships, not the published sticker price.
Net price is the average annual cost after grants and scholarships are subtracted from the published cost of attendance — the figure closest to what a typical aid-receiving student actually pays.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $9,921 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $8,542 |
To project your own net price, use BCC’s net price calculator: www.berkshirecc.edu/paying-for-college/cost-of-attendance/index.php.
A typical borrower at BCC leaves with $8,250 of cumulative federal debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $8,250 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $12,053 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $127.78/mo |
The 10-year payment estimate assumes a standard federal repayment plan and the median graduate debt amount.
The median alone does not show how widely outcomes vary across the student body. The percentiles below describe the cumulative federal debt distribution for borrowers at BCC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,750 |
| 25th percentile | $3,460 |
| 75th percentile | $14,489 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $25,907 |
How much a student borrows depends heavily on family income, first-gen status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $8,300 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,825 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,750 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,791 |
| Independent students | $10,000 |
These indicators are derived from the underlying debt data and summarize the overall picture at BCC.
The Stafford loan program is the largest source of federal direct loans to undergraduates. These figures summarize annual Stafford program activity at BCC:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 4060 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $49,448,374 |
GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance are the two federal aid programs targeted at military-affiliated students.
Post-9/11 GI Bill activity
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 5 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $24,614 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $4,923 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.