by our College Data Analytics TeamA large number of students will not be asked to pay the complete price tag of a school. Rather, they are presented a financial aid deal that includes a mix of loans, grants, scholarships, and possibly work-study opportunities. The total cost of going to Idaho State University can seem overpowering, but remember that the majority of students are given some form of financial assistance.
What financial aid options can ISU offer you, and what will you qualify for? Keep reading for more information. Scroll down to learn just how much financial aid will be open to you.
How much aid you qualify for depends largely on your family’s financial circumstances. The information provided on this page can help you determine how much aid you may receive from Idaho State University.
Colleges use loans, grants, scholarships and work-study to minimize what students actually pay out of pocket. However, some types of aid are more desirable than others, and some students will receive more than others.
Looking at the entering class at Idaho State University, 95% of first-time, full-time freshmen received some form of financial aid roughly 1547 new students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 91% | $9,217 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 80% | $6,453 |
| Federal Pell grants | 40% | $5,308 |
| State/local grants | 29% | $3,448 |
| Federal student loans | 26% | $5,357 |
Grants and scholarships are the most valuable form of aid because, unlike loans, they never have to be repaid. Across the undergraduate body at ISU, around 51% of undergraduate students received gift aid averaging $8,931 (across approximately 5341 recipients).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 51% | $8,931 |
| Federal Pell grants | 28% | $5,035 |
| Federal student loans | 23% | $6,906 |
For on-campus title-IV students, average grant aid came to $9,334.
Need-based aid means lower-income families typically pay far less than the sticker price suggests.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $15,159 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $16,984 |
| Over $75,000 | $20,735 |
The numbers above are post-aid net prices, so they already account for grants and scholarships.
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 | $12,193 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $17,324 |
For a customized cost estimate, visit ISU’s official net price calculator: www.isu.edu/financialaid/consumer-information/net-price-calculator/.
The middle student in the debt distribution at ISU owes $12,500 of federal student loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $12,500 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $20,039 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $212.45/mo |
Under a standard ten-year plan, the median graduate’s monthly payment lands near the figure above.
The median alone does not show how widely outcomes vary across the student body. The figures below chart the debt distribution at ISU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,200 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $28,819 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $45,750 |
The figures below break down median federal debt by income tier, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $13,000 |
| Middle income | $12,755 |
| High income | $11,033 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Median Debt
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,500 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $11,000 |
| Independent students | $14,937 |
These indicators are derived from the underlying debt data and summarize the overall picture at ISU.
Stafford loans are the federal government’s primary direct undergraduate lending program. The aggregate figures below show how active the program is at ISU:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 40057 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $996,414,739 |
Military-affiliated students can tap the Post-9/11 GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance.
GI Bill volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 236 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $1,805,845 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $7,652 |
DoD Tuition Assistance activity
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 25 |
| Total DoD amount | $77,984 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $3,119 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.