by our College Data Analytics TeamThe majority of 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 total price of attendance at College of the Mainland can feel overpowering, but remember that the majority of students receive some sort of financial assistance.
Just what financial aid solutions can COM deliver, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Keep reading for answers. Keep reading to see what amount of financial assistance could be accessible to you.
Your financial aid package, which may contain grants and scholarships, will be determined on your financial need. Use the information below to understand how much financial assistance you may get from College of the Mainland.
Colleges use loans, grants, scholarships and work-study to minimize what students actually pay out of pocket. However, some types of aid are more desirable than others, and some students will receive more than others.
For freshmen starting at College of the Mainland, 81% of first-time, full-time freshmen received some form of financial aid (about 369 first-years).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 81% | $5,191 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 29% | $1,159 |
| Federal Pell grants | 54% | $6,404 |
| State/local grants | 24% | $1,773 |
| Federal student loans | 1% | $3,665 |
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 COM, around 41% of the undergraduate population received grant aid that averaged $4,719 (covering around 2050 students).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 41% | $4,719 |
| Federal Pell grants | 27% | $5,699 |
| Federal student loans | 3% | $4,440 |
For on-campus title-IV students, average grant aid came to $7,015.
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 | $1,975 |
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 | $1,342 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $1,975 |
For a personalized estimate based on your family’s financial situation, use COM’s net price calculator: www.highered.texas.gov/apps/NPC/?Fice=007096.
Graduating students at COM carry a median federal student debt of $5,156 in federal loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $5,156 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $5,960 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $63.19/mo |
Under a standard ten-year plan, the median graduate’s monthly payment lands near the figure above.
Percentiles reveal the spread — half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles. The percentiles below describe the cumulative federal debt distribution for borrowers at COM.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,329 |
| 25th percentile | $2,728 |
| 75th percentile | $8,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $12,260 |
Outcomes differ by income bracket, by first-generation status, and by whether a student is financially dependent.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $5,167 |
| Middle income | $5,500 |
| High income | $4,950 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $4,640 |
| Continuing-generation students | $5,519 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $4,014 |
| Independent students | $5,736 |
A handful of calculated indicators summarize the debt outlook at COM.
The Stafford program is the federal direct-loan vehicle most undergraduates use. The totals below capture Stafford lending at COM:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 1880 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $12,940,539 |
The GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance are the main federal aid routes for veterans and service members.
GI Bill volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 56 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $70,610 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $1,261 |
Active-duty Tuition Assistance recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 0 |
| Total DoD amount | $0 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.