by our College Data Analytics TeamMany students are not billed 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 Charleston Southern University can appear tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students obtain some kind of financial help.
Just what financial aid solutions can CSU provide, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Keep reading for answers. Read on to discover how much school funding could be available to you.
The amount of financial aid and scholarships you are eligible for will vary depending on your family’s income. Read on to get a sense of the financial assistance available at Charleston Southern University.
Financial assistance, available as scholarships, loans, and work-study, is a way schools lower the price of attendance so many students can enroll. Note that some aid is more valuable than the rest, and individual awards are far from uniform.
For incoming first-year students at Charleston Southern University, 99% of first-year full-time students received aid of some kind roughly 714 first-years).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 98% | $23,240 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 97% | $15,936 |
| Federal Pell grants | 43% | $5,505 |
| State/local grants | 67% | $7,468 |
| Federal student loans | 57% | $5,113 |
Gift aid — grants and scholarships — beats loans every time because none of it has to be repaid. At CSU, about 86% of undergrads got grants or scholarships worth on average $21,860 (among about 2510 students).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 86% | $21,860 |
| Federal Pell grants | 34% | $5,350 |
| Federal student loans | 48% | $6,422 |
Title-IV recipients living on campus saw average grant aid of $22,892.
Since aid is largely need-based, the real cost of attendance falls steeply for lower-income families.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $19,600 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $20,898 |
| Over $75,000 | $23,861 |
Each amount is the average cost remaining once grant aid is subtracted, by income band.
The net price strips out grant and scholarship aid from the sticker price to show roughly what families really pay.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $21,666 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $21,955 |
To get a personalized net price estimate, try CSU’s online cost calculator: www.charlestonsouthern.edu/admissions/financial-aid/tuition-calculator/.
The median federal debt load at CSU comes to $18,250 in federal loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $18,250 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $26,471 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $280.64/mo |
That monthly figure reflects the median graduate debt repaid on a standard 10-year federal schedule.
A single median figure conceals how much debt outcomes differ student to student. The percentiles below describe the cumulative federal debt distribution for borrowers at CSU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,750 |
| 25th percentile | $6,500 |
| 75th percentile | $28,768 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $39,625 |
The figures below break down median federal debt by income tier, first-generation status, and dependency.
Debt by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $16,601 |
| Middle income | $18,848 |
| High income | $18,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Median Debt
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $16,750 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $17,477 |
| Independent students | $19,000 |
Federal data publishes pre-calculated indicators that summarize debt outcomes. CSU.
The Stafford loan program is the largest source of federal direct loans to undergraduates. The annual Stafford volume below reflects program activity at CSU:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 15632 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $348,647,048 |
Military-affiliated students can tap the Post-9/11 GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance.
GI Bill volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 179 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $4,128,391 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $23,064 |
Active-duty Tuition Assistance recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 37 |
| Total DoD amount | $85,500 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $2,311 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.