by our College Data Analytics TeamThe majority of students will not be asked to pay 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 sum total of attendance at Columbia International University can sound overwhelming, but bear in mind that many students get some type of financial aid.
Just what financial assistance solutions will CIU deliver, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Read on for answers. Read on to find out just how much financial aid will be open 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 Columbia International University.
Financial assistance, available as scholarships, loans, and work-study, is a way schools lower the price of attendance so many students can enroll. However, some types of aid are more desirable than others, and some students will receive more than others.
Looking at the entering class at Columbia International University, 95% of entering full-time freshmen got some type of financial assistance around 109 students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 95% | $17,009 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 48% | $20,578 |
| Federal Pell grants | 49% | $5,901 |
| State/local grants | 74% | $4,413 |
| Federal student loans | 65% | $5,197 |
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 CIU, about 70% of undergraduates were awarded grant or scholarship aid averaging $17,570 (covering around 640 students).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 70% | $17,570 |
| Federal Pell grants | 34% | $5,259 |
| Federal student loans | 46% | $6,559 |
Among title-IV aid recipients living on campus, grant and scholarship aid averaged $17,009.
Need-based aid means lower-income families typically pay far less than the sticker price suggests.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $19,346 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $18,017 |
| Over $75,000 | $25,915 |
These figures reflect what title-IV aid recipients pay after grant and scholarship aid is applied.
After grants and scholarships come off the published price, what remains is the net price — the best estimate of true out-of-pocket cost.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $26,036 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $21,660 |
To project your own net price, use CIU’s online cost calculator: www.ciu.edu/admissions-aid/financial-aid/net-price-calculator.
A typical borrower at CIU leaves with $10,500 in federal loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $10,500 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $20,000 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $212.03/mo |
The 10-year payment estimate assumes a standard federal repayment plan and the median graduate debt amount.
Looking only at the median can be misleading because it hides the spread. The percentiles below describe the cumulative federal debt distribution for borrowers at CIU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $6,250 |
| 75th percentile | $26,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,500 |
How much a student borrows depends heavily on family income, first-gen status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,500 |
| Middle income | $12,000 |
| High income | $13,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,821 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,000 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,000 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
These indicators are derived from the underlying debt data and summarize the overall picture at CIU.
The Stafford program is the federal direct-loan vehicle most undergraduates use. The aggregate figures below show how active the program is at CIU:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 3817 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $103,431,465 |
GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance are the two federal aid programs targeted at military-affiliated students.
Post-9/11 GI Bill recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 57 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $673,790 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $11,821 |
DoD program volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 7 |
| Total DoD amount | $17,860 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $2,551 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.