by our College Data Analytics TeamMany students will not be asked to pay 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 Central Washington University can seem tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students are given some form of financial help.
Just what financing solutions does CWU deliver, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Keep scrolling for answers. Scroll down to learn 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 Central Washington University.
Through a mix of loans, grants, work-study and scholarships, schools bring down the effective cost so more students can attend. However, some types of aid are more desirable than others, and some students will receive more than others.
At Central Washington University, 90% of new full-time first-years were awarded at least some aid roughly 1340 freshmen).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 85% | $8,816 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 74% | $3,208 |
| Federal Pell grants | 38% | $5,345 |
| State/local grants | 48% | $6,068 |
| Federal student loans | 46% | $4,855 |
The best aid is gift aid: grants and scholarships that carry no repayment obligation. Here, roughly 58% of undergraduates were awarded an average grant or scholarship of $9,441 (covering around 5867 students).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 58% | $9,441 |
| Federal Pell grants | 28% | $5,188 |
| Federal student loans | 31% | $6,354 |
On-campus students receiving title-IV aid were awarded grants averaging $10,340.
Because need-based aid scales with family income, what students actually pay differs sharply across income brackets.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $9,324 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $13,256 |
| Over $75,000 | $21,077 |
Remember these are net prices — what families pay after gift aid, not before.
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 | $18,476 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $14,715 |
To project your own net price, use CWU’s net price calculator: www.cwu.edu/_app/net-price-calc/.
The middle student in the debt distribution at CWU owes $13,000 in federal student debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $13,000 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $19,500 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $206.73/mo |
The 10-year payment estimate assumes a standard federal repayment plan and the median graduate debt amount.
A single median figure conceals how much debt outcomes differ student to student. Use the percentiles below to see the debt range at CWU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $6,000 |
| 75th percentile | $25,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,500 |
The figures below break down median federal debt by income tier, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $13,888 |
| Middle income | $13,068 |
| High income | $13,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $13,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,102 |
| Independent students | $17,428 |
The figure below distills the debt data into a single burden category for CWU.
Stafford loans make up the bulk of federal direct lending to undergraduates. These figures summarize annual Stafford program activity at CWU:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 37671 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $679,942,060 |
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 | 289 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $2,433,325 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $8,420 |
DoD program volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 66 |
| Total DoD amount | $206,725 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $3,132 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.