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 Boston College can appear overwhelming, but bear in mind that many students obtain some kind of financial aid.
Just what financial aid solutions can Boston College deliver, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Keep reading for answers. Keep scrolling to discover just how much financial aid could be open to you.
Eligibility for aid and scholarships is driven mostly by your household’s income and need. The figures below will help you estimate the aid you might receive from Boston 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. Bear in mind that not all aid is equal, and the amount any one student receives can vary widely.
Among first-time, full-time freshmen at Boston College, 53% of the incoming full-time class was awarded financial aid (about 1239 first-years).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 40% | $56,971 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 40% | $54,906 |
| Federal Pell grants | 13% | $6,149 |
| State/local grants | 4% | $3,109 |
| Federal student loans | 29% | $3,607 |
Because grants and scholarships do not have to be repaid, they are the most sought-after type of financial aid. Across the undergraduate body at Boston College, roughly 45% of undergrads got grants or scholarships worth on average $50,287 (across roughly 4520 recipients).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 45% | $50,287 |
| Federal Pell grants | 13% | $6,006 |
| Federal student loans | 30% | $4,801 |
For on-campus title-IV students, average grant aid came to $47,789.
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 | $7,086 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $10,692 |
| Over $75,000 | $50,414 |
The numbers above are post-aid net prices, so they already account for grants and scholarships.
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 | $41,704 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $39,866 |
To get a personalized net price estimate, try Boston College’s online cost calculator: npc.collegeboard.org/student/app/bc.
The median student at Boston College graduates with $17,962 in federal loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $17,962 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $19,000 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $201.43/mo |
That monthly figure reflects the median graduate debt repaid on a standard 10-year federal schedule.
The median alone does not show how widely outcomes vary across the student body. The figures below chart the debt distribution at Boston College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,000 |
| 25th percentile | $11,001 |
| 75th percentile | $19,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $19,500 |
Median debt varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $16,250 |
| Middle income | $18,000 |
| High income | $18,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $18,000 |
| Independent students | $11,313 |
The figure below distills the debt data into a single burden category for Boston College.
The Stafford loan program is the largest source of federal direct loans to undergraduates. Below is the annual Stafford program activity at Boston College:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 28134 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $664,842,902 |
Veterans and active-duty service members may qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill or DoD Tuition Assistance.
Post-9/11 GI Bill recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 146 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $2,954,540 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $20,237 |
Active-duty Tuition Assistance recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 4 |
| Total DoD amount | $8,750 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $2,188 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.