by our College Data Analytics TeamThe majority of students will not be asked to pay 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 sum total of attendance at William & Mary can sound tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students get some type of financial help.
What financing options does William & Mary offer you, and what will you qualify for? Keep scrolling for more information. Keep scrolling to see what amount of financial assistance could be accessible to you.
The amount of financial aid you can receive varies from person to person and will depend on your family’s economic situation. The information provided on this page can help you determine how much aid you may receive from William & Mary.
Through a mix of loans, grants, work-study and scholarships, schools bring down the effective cost so more students can attend. 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 William & Mary, 55% of entering full-time freshmen got some type of financial assistance some 898 students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 43% | $23,144 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 42% | $19,346 |
| Federal Pell grants | 11% | $5,795 |
| State/local grants | 8% | $14,569 |
| Federal student loans | 22% | $5,114 |
Grants and scholarships are the most valuable form of aid because, unlike loans, they never have to be repaid. At William & Mary, approximately 50% of undergraduates were awarded an average grant or scholarship of $23,152 (covering around 3502 students).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 50% | $23,152 |
| Federal Pell grants | 12% | $5,766 |
| Federal student loans | 22% | $6,115 |
For on-campus title-IV students, average grant aid came to $23,939.
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 | $6,524 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $9,807 |
| Over $75,000 | $31,182 |
Each figure is the net price after grants and scholarships, not the published sticker price.
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 | $19,096 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $22,529 |
To get a personalized net price estimate, try William & Mary’s official net price calculator: npc.collegeboard.org/app/wm.
Graduating students at William & Mary carry a median federal student debt of $15,500 of federal student loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $15,500 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $18,500 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $196.13/mo |
At a typical 10-year repayment schedule, the median graduate would pay about the monthly 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 William & Mary.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $25,967 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $27,250 |
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 | $11,250 |
| Middle income | $15,110 |
| High income | $16,750 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,750 |
Dependent vs Independent Students
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,500 |
| Independent students | $15,066 |
A handful of calculated indicators summarize the debt outlook at William & Mary.
The Stafford loan program is the largest source of federal direct loans to undergraduates. These figures summarize annual Stafford program activity at William & Mary:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 14885 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $374,454,385 |
Veterans and active-duty service members may qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill or DoD Tuition Assistance.
Post-9/11 GI Bill recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 438 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $9,883,013 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $22,564 |
Active-duty Tuition Assistance recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 18 |
| Total DoD amount | $74,250 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $4,125 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.