by our College Data Analytics TeamA large number of students will never be charged 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 price tag of going to Bucknell University can appear overwhelming, but bear in mind that many students obtain some kind of financial aid.
What financial aid options can Bucknell offer, and what will you qualify for? Keep reading for more information. Keep reading to see what amount of financial assistance could be accessible to you.
The amount of financial aid you can receive varies from person to person and will depend on your family’s economic situation. The figures below will help you estimate the aid you might receive from Bucknell 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. However, some types of aid are more desirable than others, and some students will receive more than others.
At Bucknell University, 66% of first-time, full-time freshmen received some form of financial aid around 676 students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 59% | $44,734 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 58% | $42,896 |
| Federal Pell grants | 13% | $5,688 |
| State/local grants | 8% | $4,013 |
| Federal student loans | 34% | $5,292 |
Grants and scholarships are the most valuable form of aid because, unlike loans, they never have to be repaid. At Bucknell, roughly 60% of undergrads got grants or scholarships worth on average $43,902 (among about 2302 awardees).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 60% | $43,902 |
| Federal Pell grants | 12% | $5,651 |
| Federal student loans | 35% | $6,389 |
For on-campus title-IV students, average grant aid came to $42,990.
The figures below show the average net price — cost after all grant and scholarship aid — broken out by family income.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $20,654 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $20,335 |
| Over $75,000 | $50,615 |
Each amount is the average cost remaining once grant aid is subtracted, by income band.
The net price represents the average annual cost a title-IV-receiving student pays after grant aid is subtracted from the full cost of attendance.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $40,766 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $40,429 |
To project your own net price, use Bucknell’s official net price calculator: npc.collegeboard.org/student/app/bucknell.
The median federal debt load at Bucknell comes to $23,250 of federal borrowing.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $23,250 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $27,000 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $286.24/mo |
That monthly figure reflects the median graduate debt repaid on a standard 10-year federal schedule.
Looking only at the median can be misleading because it hides the spread. These percentiles trace how cumulative federal debt is spread among borrowers at Bucknell.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $6,453 |
| 25th percentile | $14,855 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,000 |
How much a student borrows depends heavily on family income, first-gen status, and dependency.
Debt by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $16,400 |
| Middle income | $25,000 |
| High income | $25,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Median Debt
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $23,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $23,061 |
A handful of calculated indicators summarize the debt outlook at Bucknell.
The Stafford loan program is the largest source of federal direct loans to undergraduates. The aggregate figures below show how active the program is at Bucknell:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 5642 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $86,245,207 |
Military-affiliated students can tap the Post-9/11 GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance.
Post-9/11 GI Bill recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 20 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $539,689 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $26,984 |
DoD program volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 0 |
| Total DoD amount | $0 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.