by our College Data Analytics TeamA large number of students are not billed the advertised price of a school. Instead, they will be provided a financial aid package that will include a combination of scholarships, grants, loans, and work-study. The total cost of going to Elmhurst University can seem overpowering, but remember that the majority of students are given some form of financial assistance.
What financial assistance options will Elmhurst offer, and what will you qualify for? Read on for more information. Keep reading to learn just how much financial aid will be open to you.
The amount of financial aid and scholarships you are eligible for will vary depending on your family’s income. Continue reading to find information to help you understand just how much assistance you can expect to receive from Elmhurst University.
Financial aid, in the form of loans, grants, work-study, and scholarships, is one way colleges reduce the cost of attendance so most students can actually afford to attend. However, some types of aid are more desirable than others, and some students will receive more than others.
Among first-time, full-time freshmen at Elmhurst University, 100% of entering full-time freshmen got some type of financial assistance roughly 607 new students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 100% | $30,079 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 100% | $23,624 |
| Federal Pell grants | 45% | $5,582 |
| State/local grants | 49% | $7,738 |
| Federal student loans | 89% | $5,521 |
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 Elmhurst, approximately 92% of undergrads got grants or scholarships worth on average $26,434 (covering around 2898 awardees).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 92% | $26,434 |
| Federal Pell grants | 37% | $5,409 |
| Federal student loans | 77% | $3,831 |
Among title-IV aid recipients living on campus, grant and scholarship aid averaged $30,494.
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 | $15,164 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $17,918 |
| Over $75,000 | $27,341 |
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 | $24,185 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $21,063 |
For a customized cost estimate, visit Elmhurst’s online cost calculator: www.elmhurst.edu/admission/financial-aid/tuition-fees/net-price-calculator/.
The middle student in the debt distribution at Elmhurst owes $15,000 of federal student loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $15,000 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $20,489 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $217.22/mo |
Under a standard ten-year plan, the median graduate’s monthly payment lands near the figure above.
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 Elmhurst.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,500 |
| 25th percentile | $8,305 |
| 75th percentile | $26,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,000 |
Outcomes differ by income bracket, by first-generation status, and by whether a student is financially dependent.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $15,000 |
| Middle income | $16,750 |
| High income | $14,236 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Median Debt
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $14,236 |
| Independent students | $21,000 |
The figure below distills the debt data into a single burden category for Elmhurst.
The Stafford program is the federal direct-loan vehicle most undergraduates use. The totals below capture Stafford lending at Elmhurst:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 11983 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $211,655,692 |
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 | 37 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $580,741 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $15,696 |
DoD Tuition Assistance activity
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 0 |
| Total DoD amount | $0 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.