by our College Data Analytics TeamMany students will not be asked to pay 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 California Institute of Technology can seem overpowering, but remember that the majority of students are given some form of financial assistance.
Just what financial aid solutions can Caltech deliver, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Keep reading for answers. Keep reading to learn how much school funding will be available 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 California Institute of Technology.
Aid such as grants, loans, work-study, and scholarships helps colleges decrease the real cost of attendance for most students. Keep in mind that certain forms of assistance are more beneficial than others, and aid amounts differ from student to student.
At California Institute of Technology, 70% of new full-time first-years were awarded at least some aid around 186 first-years).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 53% | $72,373 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 53% | $68,019 |
| Federal Pell grants | 21% | $6,365 |
| State/local grants | 4% | $9,358 |
| Federal student loans | 4% | $4,873 |
Unlike loans, grants and scholarships are gift aid that does not need to be paid back, making them the most desirable form of assistance. Here, roughly 59% of undergraduates were awarded an average grant or scholarship of $58,526 (across approximately 607 recipients).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 59% | $58,526 |
| Federal Pell grants | 18% | $5,750 |
| Federal student loans | 4% | $6,212 |
For students living on campus and receiving title-IV aid, grants averaged $70,811.
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 | $1,488 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $4,285 |
| Over $75,000 | $47,408 |
Each amount is the average cost remaining once grant aid is subtracted, by income band.
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 | $16,075 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $18,902 |
For a customized cost estimate, visit Caltech’s online cost calculator: www.finaid.caltech.edu/npc.
The median student at Caltech graduates with $12,000 of cumulative federal debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $12,000 |
The numbers below show the full range, not just the middle of the distribution. The percentiles below describe the cumulative federal debt distribution for borrowers at Caltech.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $20,458 |
The figure below distills the debt data into a single burden category for Caltech.
The Stafford loan program is the largest source of federal direct loans to undergraduates. Below is the annual Stafford program activity at Caltech:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 257 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $2,447,102 |
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 | 4 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $31,620 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $7,905 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.