by our College Data Analytics TeamA lot 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 price tag of going to Georgia Southern University can appear tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students obtain some kind of financial help.
Just what financial aid solutions can GaSou provide, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Keep reading for answers. Read on to see how much school funding could be available to you.
Eligibility for aid and scholarships is driven mostly by your household’s income and need. Continue reading to find information to help you understand just how much assistance you can expect to receive from Georgia Southern 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. Keep in mind that certain forms of assistance are more beneficial than others, and aid amounts differ from student to student.
Among first-time, full-time freshmen at Georgia Southern University, 91% of entering full-time freshmen got some type of financial assistance (about 4195 first-years).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 90% | $8,994 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 30% | $5,818 |
| Federal Pell grants | 41% | $5,936 |
| State/local grants | 73% | $5,337 |
| Federal student loans | 41% | $5,125 |
Gift aid — grants and scholarships — beats loans every time because none of it has to be repaid. At GaSou, about 76% of undergrads got grants or scholarships worth on average $7,682 (across roughly 16999 awardees).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 76% | $7,682 |
| Federal Pell grants | 36% | $5,694 |
| Federal student loans | 36% | $5,968 |
Title-IV recipients living on campus saw average grant aid of $9,163.
How much a family pays depends heavily on income, because most aid is awarded on the basis of financial need.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $13,458 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $15,149 |
| Over $75,000 | $20,087 |
Each figure is the net price after grants and scholarships, not the published sticker price.
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 | $15,267 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $16,531 |
To project your own net price, use GaSou’s NPC: georgiasouthern.clearcostcalculator.com/student/default/netpricecalculator/survey.
A typical borrower at GaSou leaves with $15,250 in federal loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $15,250 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $23,250 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $246.49/mo |
Spreading the median graduate debt over a standard 10-year repayment schedule works out to roughly the monthly payment shown above.
The median alone does not show how widely outcomes vary across the student body. Use the percentiles below to see the debt range at GaSou.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $26,427 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,750 |
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 | $15,838 |
| Middle income | $15,250 |
| High income | $15,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Students
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,032 |
| Independent students | $15,750 |
The figure below distills the debt data into a single burden category for GaSou.
Most undergraduate borrowing runs through the federal Stafford loan program. Below is the annual Stafford program activity at GaSou:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 94673 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $2,027,265,563 |
If you are a veteran or active-duty service member, the GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance are the primary federal programs you can use at this school.
Post-9/11 GI Bill activity
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 803 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $3,282,472 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $4,088 |
Active-duty Tuition Assistance recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 162 |
| Total DoD amount | $298,897 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $1,845 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.