by our College Data Analytics TeamMost students are not billed the full sticker price of a school. Rather, they are offered a financial aid plan that includes a mix of loans, grants, scholarships, and possibly work-study opportunities. The total cost of going to Black Hills State University can seem overwhelming, but bear in mind that many students are given some form of financial aid.
What financing options does BHSU offer you, and what will you qualify for? Keep scrolling for more information. Keep going to see 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. Use the information below to understand how much financial assistance you may get from Black Hills 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. Keep in mind that certain forms of assistance are more beneficial than others, and aid amounts differ from student to student.
For freshmen starting at Black Hills State University, 89% of entering full-time freshmen got some type of financial assistance roughly 405 students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 76% | $6,070 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 55% | $3,114 |
| Federal Pell grants | 38% | $5,104 |
| State/local grants | 9% | $1,380 |
| Federal student loans | 53% | $4,985 |
Grants and scholarships are the most valuable form of aid because, unlike loans, they never have to be repaid. Across the undergraduate body at BHSU, some 41% of undergraduate students received gift aid averaging $6,366 (among about 1335 students).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 41% | $6,366 |
| Federal Pell grants | 20% | $4,872 |
| Federal student loans | 28% | $6,035 |
For on-campus title-IV students, average grant aid came to $5,366.
How much a family pays depends heavily on income, because most aid is awarded on the basis of financial need.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $12,838 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $16,414 |
| Over $75,000 | $19,628 |
Each amount is the average cost remaining once grant aid is subtracted, by income band.
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 | $15,911 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $17,001 |
To project your own net price, use BHSU’s net price calculator: form.bhsu.edu/BH_TuitionCalc/TuitionCalculator.aspx.
Graduating students at BHSU carry a median federal student debt of $15,000 of cumulative federal debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $15,000 |
| 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.
Percentiles reveal the spread — half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles. Use the percentiles below to see the debt range at BHSU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,125 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $26,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $38,530 |
How much a student borrows depends heavily on family income, first-gen status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $16,148 |
| Middle income | $16,000 |
| High income | $13,499 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Median Debt
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,940 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $13,750 |
| Independent students | $19,000 |
A handful of calculated indicators summarize the debt outlook at BHSU.
Most undergraduate borrowing runs through the federal Stafford loan program. The annual Stafford volume below reflects program activity at BHSU:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 14036 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $245,387,334 |
GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance are the two federal aid programs targeted at military-affiliated students.
Post-9/11 GI Bill recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 71 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $427,474 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $6,021 |
DoD program volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 82 |
| Total DoD amount | $174,250 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $2,125 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.