by our College Data Analytics TeamMany students are not billed the complete price tag of a school. Rather, they are presented a financial aid deal that includes a mix of loans, grants, scholarships, and possibly work-study opportunities. The total cost of going to California State University-Monterey Bay can seem tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students are given some form of financial help.
What financing options does CSUMB offer you, and what will you qualify for? Keep scrolling for more information. Scroll down to find out just how much financial aid will 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 California State University-Monterey Bay.
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.
Looking at the entering class at California State University-Monterey Bay, 76% of first-year full-time students received aid of some kind approximately 710 students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 71% | $12,185 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 48% | $5,986 |
| Federal Pell grants | 43% | $5,872 |
| State/local grants | 61% | $4,650 |
| Federal student loans | 32% | $3,789 |
Unlike loans, grants and scholarships are gift aid that does not need to be paid back, making them the most desirable form of assistance. At CSUMB, roughly 69% of the undergraduate population received grant aid that averaged $11,887 (across approximately 4105 students).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 69% | $11,887 |
| Federal Pell grants | 43% | $5,356 |
| Federal student loans | 28% | $5,030 |
Among title-IV aid recipients living on campus, grant and scholarship aid averaged $13,324.
Need-based aid means lower-income families typically pay far less than the sticker price suggests.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $10,469 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $12,634 |
| Over $75,000 | $21,014 |
Remember these are net prices — what families pay after gift aid, not before.
After grants and scholarships come off the published price, what remains is the net price — the best estimate of true out-of-pocket cost.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $13,663 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $14,487 |
To project your own net price, use CSUMB’s net price calculator: csumb.github.io/net-price-calculator.html.
The median student at CSUMB graduates with $11,000 of cumulative federal debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $11,000 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $12,750 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $135.17/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 CSUMB.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $18,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $25,000 |
Median debt varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Debt by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $11,000 |
| Middle income | $11,000 |
| High income | $11,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $11,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $11,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $11,000 |
| Independent students | $11,000 |
A handful of calculated indicators summarize the debt outlook at CSUMB.
Most undergraduate borrowing runs through the federal Stafford loan program. These figures summarize annual Stafford program activity at CSUMB:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 17207 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $268,444,825 |
The GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance are the main federal aid routes for veterans and service members.
Post-9/11 GI Bill activity
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 66 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $371,268 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $5,625 |
Active-duty Tuition Assistance recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 2 |
| Total DoD amount | $5,404 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $2,702 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.