by our College Data Analytics TeamMany students are not billed the full, advertised sticker price of a school. Instead, they will be given a financial aid offer that will include a combination of scholarships, grants, loans, and work-study. The total price of attendance at Clark Atlanta University can feel overpowering, but remember that the majority of students receive some sort of financial assistance.
What financial assistance options will CAU offer you, and what will you qualify for? Read on for more information. Keep reading to find out what amount of financial assistance will be accessible to you.
How much aid you qualify for depends largely on your family’s financial circumstances. Continue reading to find information to help you understand just how much assistance you can expect to receive from Clark Atlanta University.
Colleges use loans, grants, scholarships and work-study to minimize what students actually pay out of pocket. 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 Clark Atlanta University, 100% of new full-time first-years were awarded at least some aid (about 1065 freshmen).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 89% | $12,453 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 48% | $11,400 |
| Federal Pell grants | 73% | $6,339 |
| State/local grants | 22% | $4,042 |
| Federal student loans | 78% | $6,271 |
Because grants and scholarships do not have to be repaid, they are the most sought-after type of financial aid. At CAU, approximately 87% of the undergraduate population received grant aid that averaged $14,599 (across approximately 3034 undergraduates).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 87% | $14,599 |
| Federal Pell grants | 70% | $6,114 |
| Federal student loans | 80% | $7,070 |
For students living on campus and receiving title-IV aid, grants averaged $5,974.
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 | $33,899 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $35,706 |
| Over $75,000 | $39,268 |
These figures reflect what title-IV aid recipients pay after grant and scholarship aid is applied.
Net price is the cost remaining after grant and scholarship aid is subtracted from the sticker price, and it is the most useful single number for estimating real cost.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $37,702 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $35,115 |
For a personalized estimate based on your family’s financial situation, use CAU’s net price tool: cau.clearcostcalculator.com/student/default/netpricecalculator/survey.
Graduating students at CAU carry a median federal student debt of $19,500 of federal student loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $19,500 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $27,000 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $286.24/mo |
Under a standard ten-year plan, the median graduate’s monthly payment lands near the figure above.
A single median figure conceals how much debt outcomes differ student to student. Use the percentiles below to see the debt range at CAU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $6,500 |
| 75th percentile | $31,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $43,500 |
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 | $19,250 |
| Middle income | $19,500 |
| High income | $19,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Median Debt
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,500 |
| Independent students | $20,000 |
Federal data publishes pre-calculated indicators that summarize debt outcomes. CAU.
Stafford loans make up the bulk of federal direct lending to undergraduates. These figures summarize annual Stafford program activity at CAU:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 34071 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $1,084,586,722 |
GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance are the two federal aid programs targeted at military-affiliated students.
GI Bill volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 83 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $836,894 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $10,083 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.