by our College Data Analytics TeamMany students will never be charged 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 Governors State University can seem overpowering, but remember that the majority of students are given some form of financial assistance.
Just what financial assistance solutions will GSU deliver, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Read on for answers. Keep scrolling to discover how much school funding could be available to you.
Your financial aid package, which may contain grants and scholarships, will be determined on your financial need. Continue reading to find information to help you understand just how much assistance you can expect to receive from Governors State University.
Financial assistance, available as scholarships, loans, and work-study, is a way schools lower the price of attendance so many students can enroll. Bear in mind that not all aid is equal, and the amount any one student receives can vary widely.
For freshmen starting at Governors State University, 88% of the incoming full-time class was awarded financial aid approximately 218 incoming students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 81% | $11,455 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 44% | $1,865 |
| Federal Pell grants | 59% | $5,598 |
| State/local grants | 68% | $7,275 |
| Federal student loans | 36% | $5,153 |
The best aid is gift aid: grants and scholarships that carry no repayment obligation. Across the undergraduate body at GSU, roughly 72% of undergraduates were awarded grant or scholarship aid averaging $11,149 (covering around 1833 recipients).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 72% | $11,149 |
| Federal Pell grants | 54% | $5,246 |
| Federal student loans | 38% | $7,041 |
For students living on campus and receiving title-IV aid, grants averaged $11,898.
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 | $8,742 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $9,419 |
| Over $75,000 | $12,736 |
Remember these are net prices — what families pay after gift aid, not before.
Net price is the average annual cost after grants and scholarships are subtracted from the published cost of attendance — the figure closest to what a typical aid-receiving student actually pays.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $12,329 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $9,477 |
To get a personalized net price estimate, try GSU’s official net price calculator: www.govst.edu/netprice.htm.
A typical borrower at GSU leaves with $14,000 of federal borrowing.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $14,000 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $18,618 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $197.38/mo |
That monthly figure reflects the median graduate debt repaid on a standard 10-year federal schedule.
The numbers below show the full range, not just the middle of the distribution. The percentiles below describe the cumulative federal debt distribution for borrowers at GSU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $6,250 |
| 75th percentile | $24,300 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $34,554 |
The figures below break down median federal debt by income tier, first-generation status, and dependency.
Debt by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $15,702 |
| Middle income | $13,000 |
| High income | $13,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,750 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $11,250 |
| Independent students | $18,000 |
Federal data publishes pre-calculated indicators that summarize debt outcomes. GSU.
The Stafford loan program is the largest source of federal direct loans to undergraduates. The annual Stafford volume below reflects program activity at GSU:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 19718 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $607,248,121 |
The GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance are the main federal aid routes for veterans and service members.
GI Bill volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 32 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $354,287 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $11,071 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.