by our College Data Analytics TeamMost students will never be charged 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 cost of going to Florida International University can seem overpowering, but remember that the majority of students are given some form of financial assistance.
What financial assistance options will FIU offer you, and what will you qualify for? Read on for more information. Read on to see just how much financial aid could 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 figures below will help you estimate the aid you might receive from Florida International University.
Through a mix of loans, grants, work-study and scholarships, schools bring down the effective cost so more students can attend. However, some types of aid are more desirable than others, and some students will receive more than others.
Looking at the entering class at Florida International University, 91% of new full-time first-years were awarded at least some aid (about 3084 freshmen).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 84% | $10,350 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 60% | $3,599 |
| Federal Pell grants | 47% | $6,028 |
| State/local grants | 77% | $4,756 |
| Federal student loans | 10% | $4,966 |
Unlike loans, grants and scholarships are gift aid that does not need to be paid back, making them the most desirable form of assistance. Across the undergraduate body at FIU, about 61% of undergraduates were awarded an average grant or scholarship of $8,667 (for some 27270 students).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 61% | $8,667 |
| Federal Pell grants | 41% | $7,083 |
| Federal student loans | 17% | $7,260 |
On-campus students receiving title-IV aid were awarded grants averaging $12,174.
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 | $7,548 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $9,617 |
| Over $75,000 | $16,205 |
Each amount is the average cost remaining once grant aid is subtracted, by income band.
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 | $9,288 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $9,133 |
To get a personalized net price estimate, try FIU’s net price tool: [tcc.ruffalonl.com/Florida International University/Freshman-Students](https://tcc.ruffalonl.com/Florida International University/Freshman-Students).
The median federal debt load at FIU comes to $14,246 of federal student loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $14,246 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $16,500 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $174.93/mo |
The 10-year payment estimate assumes a standard federal repayment plan and the median graduate debt amount.
The median alone does not show how widely outcomes vary across the student body. These percentiles trace how cumulative federal debt is spread among borrowers at FIU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,750 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $25,736 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $36,250 |
Median debt varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $14,500 |
| Middle income | $13,750 |
| High income | $15,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,308 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Students
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,804 |
| Independent students | $17,750 |
These indicators are derived from the underlying debt data and summarize the overall picture at FIU.
The Stafford program is the federal direct-loan vehicle most undergraduates use. The totals below capture Stafford lending at FIU:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 113563 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $3,200,183,454 |
The GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance are the main federal aid routes for veterans and service members.
Post-9/11 GI Bill activity
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 630 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $5,028,809 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $7,982 |
DoD Tuition Assistance activity
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 130 |
| Total DoD amount | $364,989 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $2,808 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.