by our College Data Analytics TeamThis overview lays out the cost of attending Brown University, including attendance costs, projected four- and two-year degree costs, average net price, debt outcomes, and how aid is distributed across income levels.
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What it costs to attend Brown University is about $84,986.00 a year.
The blocks below show what you would pay with no aid, with average aid, and as a low-income student.
| Tuition and fees | $71,412.00 |
| + Room, board & other expenses | $13,574.00 |
| Total cost | $84,986.00 |
| That is 159% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $84,986.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$62,464.00 |
| Net price | $22,522.00 |
| That is 31% below the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $84,986.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$88,068.00 |
| Net price | $-3,082.00 |
| That is 109% below the national average net price. | |
| Want the line-by-line detail? Dig into tuition and fees and room and board. |
Costs have trended upward in recent years by around 4.7% per year; the projections below compound that across a degree. The detailed projections below compare a degree for a low-income aided student, an average-aid student, and a no-aid student. Loan math assumes ten-year repayment at 6.8% interest.
| Projected 4-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 4.7% | 4.7% | 4.7% |
| Freshman year | $-3,225.00 | $23,570.00 | $88,940.00 |
| Senior year | $-3,697.00 | $27,016.00 | $101,942.00 |
| Total 4-year net price | $-13,830.00 | $101,067.00 | $381,372.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $-5,269.00 | $38,503.00 | $145,289.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $-159.00 | $1,163.00 | $4,389.00 |
| Total amount paid | $-19,099.00 | $139,569.00 | $526,660.00 |
| Projected 2-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 4.7% | 4.7% | 4.7% |
| Freshman year | $-3,225.00 | $23,570.00 | $88,940.00 |
| Senior year | $-3,375.00 | $24,667.00 | $93,079.00 |
| Total 2-year net price | $-6,601.00 | $48,237.00 | $182,019.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $-2,515.00 | $18,376.00 | $69,343.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $-76.00 | $555.00 | $2,095.00 |
| Total amount paid | $-9,116.00 | $66,613.00 | $251,362.00 |
For the complete net-price picture, see the net-price section.
The net price figure shows the cost after grants and scholarships are deducted. This is the more honest cost figure for most families, since it accounts for institutional and federal aid.
| Average net price (on-campus) | $25,184.00 |
| Average net price (off-campus) | $26,572.00 |
What families actually pay shifts with income, since need-based grants are larger for lower-income students. Below, average net price is broken out by family income:
| Family income | Average net price |
|---|---|
| Under $30,000 | $-2,158.00 |
| $30,000 to $48,000 | $2,273.00 |
| $48,001 to $75,000 | $7,757.00 |
| $75,001 to $110,000 | $19,526.00 |
| Over $110,000 | $45,823.00 |
Use Brown University Net Price Calculator, or check with the financial aid office.
Dig into how aid is awarded on the grants & scholarships detail.
The typical debt load for borrowers leaving Brown University stands at $10,000.00, landing it in the Low ($10-20k) debt-load classification.
Here’s how debt at graduation distributes across borrowers:
| Percentile | Debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| 10th | $4,000.00 |
| 25th | $8,000.00 |
| Median (50th) | $10,000.00 |
| 75th | $24,808.00 |
| 90th | $35,000.00 |
The 10th-to-90th-percentile spread is one signal of how variable debt outcomes are across the student body.
Explore borrowing, repayment, and default in detail on the student loan debt page.
Median debt at graduation differs meaningfully across income brackets. The figures below split graduating borrowers into three income brackets:
| Family income | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| Low income | $7,847.00 |
| Middle income | $8,000.00 |
| High income | $11,076.00 |
First-gen students typically face different financial-aid contexts than students whose parents attended college.
| Student group | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $10,000.00 |
| Continuing-generation students | $10,000.00 |
Pell Grants are the federal government’s primary need-based undergraduate aid program. Contrasting Pell and non-Pell borrowers shows how need shapes debt.
The Pell vs non-Pell debt gap at Brown University amounts to $-2,075.00.
The federal default-rate classification for Brown University is Low (<5%).
| Window | Cohort default rate |
|---|---|
| 2-year | 1.3% |
For scale, federal Stafford loan disbursements at Brown University add up to $290,136,727.00 spread across 10,017 borrowers.
Veterans and active-duty servicemembers can tap dedicated federal aid programs such as the Post-9/11 GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance.
| GI Bill recipients | 95 |
| Avg GI Bill amount | $42,174.00 |
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 1 |
| Avg DoD Tuition Assistance | $4,500.00 |
For the full rundown of veteran and military benefits, see the college veterans page.
Beyond the data above, it helps to ask a few questions when weighing Brown University, keep these questions in mind:
Each page below covers one part of paying for college in more detail:
Data sources. Figures on this page draw from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and MediaFactual editorial review. Net-price calculator and financial-aid office links are taken from the institution’s own published data.