by our College Data Analytics TeamA lot of students will never be charged 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 price tag of going to Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology can appear tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students obtain some kind of financial help.
Just what financial assistance solutions will CPI provide, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Read on for answers. Keep scrolling to discover what amount of financial assistance could be accessible to you.
How much aid you qualify for depends largely on your family’s financial circumstances. The figures below will help you estimate the aid you might receive from Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology.
Financial assistance, available as scholarships, loans, and work-study, is a way schools lower the price of attendance so many students can enroll. Bear in mind that not all aid is equal, and the amount any one student receives can vary widely.
For incoming first-year students at Central Pennsylvania Institute of Science and Technology, 77% of new full-time first-years were awarded at least some aid around 102 new students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 67% | $7,021 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 5% | $2,158 |
| Federal Pell grants | 57% | $4,351 |
| State/local grants | 45% | $3,622 |
| Federal student loans | 55% | $7,230 |
Grants and scholarships are the most valuable form of aid because, unlike loans, they never have to be repaid. At this school, about 65% of undergraduates were awarded an average grant or scholarship of $6,979 (covering around 140 students).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 65% | $6,979 |
| Federal Pell grants | 56% | $3,800 |
| Federal student loans | 51% | $9,416 |
Among title-IV aid recipients living on campus, grant and scholarship aid averaged $5,960.
Need-based aid means lower-income families typically pay far less than the sticker price suggests.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $9,692 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $11,158 |
| Over $75,000 | $13,515 |
These figures reflect what title-IV aid recipients pay after grant and scholarship aid is applied.
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 | $9,857 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $10,498 |
To get a personalized net price estimate, try CPI’s NPC: www.cpi.edu/adult-cont-ed.php.
The middle student in the debt distribution at CPI owes $7,480 of federal student loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $7,480 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $9,454 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $100.23/mo |
Spreading the median graduate debt over a standard 10-year repayment schedule works out to roughly the monthly payment shown above.
The median alone does not show how widely outcomes vary across the student body. These percentiles trace how cumulative federal debt is spread among borrowers at CPI.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $4,500 |
| 75th percentile | $9,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $17,200 |
Debt outcomes are not uniform — they shift with income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $7,247 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $7,600 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,917 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
These indicators are derived from the underlying debt data and summarize the overall picture at CPI.
The Stafford loan program is the largest source of federal direct loans to undergraduates. The annual Stafford volume below reflects program activity at CPI:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 1447 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $12,916,455 |
GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance are the two federal aid programs targeted at military-affiliated students.
Post-9/11 GI Bill activity
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 3 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $19,486 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $6,495 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.