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 Helms College can seem tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students are given some form of financial help.
What financial assistance options will Helms College offer you, and what will you qualify for? Read on for more information. Keep reading to find out what amount of financial assistance will be accessible to you.
How much aid you qualify for depends largely on your family’s financial circumstances. Continue reading to find information to help you understand just how much assistance you can expect to receive from Helms College.
Through a mix of loans, grants, work-study and scholarships, schools bring down the effective cost so more students can attend. Keep in mind that certain forms of assistance are more beneficial than others, and aid amounts differ from student to student.
At Helms College, 90% of entering full-time freshmen got some type of financial assistance some 27 incoming students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 83% | $5,328 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 7% | $1,140 |
| Federal Pell grants | 70% | $5,515 |
| State/local grants | 0% | — |
| Federal student loans | 73% | $6,273 |
The best aid is gift aid: grants and scholarships that carry no repayment obligation. At Helms College, around 76% of undergraduates were awarded grant or scholarship aid averaging $3,726 (across roughly 114 students).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 76% | $3,726 |
| Federal Pell grants | 67% | $3,802 |
| Federal student loans | 61% | $5,625 |
Title-IV recipients living on campus saw average grant aid of $4,933.
Need-based aid means lower-income families typically pay far less than the sticker price suggests.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $20,323 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $22,727 |
| Over $75,000 | $26,400 |
These figures reflect what title-IV aid recipients pay after grant and scholarship aid is applied.
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 | $25,358 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $21,117 |
For an estimate tailored to your family circumstances, see Helms College’s NPC: helms.edu/wp-content/netPrice/npcalc.htm.
A typical borrower at Helms College leaves with $8,208 in federal student debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $8,208 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $9,500 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $100.72/mo |
At a typical 10-year repayment schedule, the median graduate would pay about the monthly figure above.
The numbers below show the full range, not just the middle of the distribution. Use the percentiles below to see the debt range at Helms College.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,167 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $10,457 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $13,875 |
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 | $7,913 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,208 |
| Continuing-generation students | $9,289 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $8,208 |
| Independent students | $8,718 |
The figure below distills the debt data into a single burden category for Helms College.
Stafford loans make up the bulk of federal direct lending to undergraduates. The annual Stafford volume below reflects program activity at Helms College:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 1172 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $11,793,872 |
The GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance are the main federal aid routes for veterans and service members.
Post-9/11 GI Bill recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 36 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $284,095 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $7,892 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.