by our College Data Analytics TeamThe majority 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 price tag of going to Illinois State University can appear overpowering, but remember that the majority of students obtain some kind of financial assistance.
Just what financial assistance solutions will Illinois State provide, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Read on for answers. Keep scrolling to see what amount of financial assistance could be accessible to you.
Your financial aid package, which may contain grants and scholarships, will be determined on your financial need. Read on to get a sense of the financial assistance available at Illinois State 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. However, some types of aid are more desirable than others, and some students will receive more than others.
Looking at the entering class at Illinois State University, 98% of the incoming full-time class was awarded financial aid some 4037 students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 96% | $12,974 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 94% | $6,444 |
| Federal Pell grants | 39% | $5,935 |
| State/local grants | 52% | $7,681 |
| Federal student loans | 48% | $5,040 |
The best aid is gift aid: grants and scholarships that carry no repayment obligation. Across the undergraduate body at Illinois State, about 83% of undergrads got grants or scholarships worth on average $12,056 (across approximately 15354 awardees).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 83% | $12,056 |
| Federal Pell grants | 32% | $5,636 |
| Federal student loans | 43% | $6,065 |
Title-IV recipients living on campus saw average grant aid of $14,911.
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 | $11,470 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $14,075 |
| Over $75,000 | $26,021 |
Each figure is the net price after grants and scholarships, not the published sticker price.
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 | $19,398 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $18,996 |
For a personalized estimate based on your family’s financial situation, use Illinois State’s net price calculator: financialaid.illinoisstate.edu/paying.
A typical borrower at Illinois State leaves with $15,750 of cumulative federal debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $15,750 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $20,482 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $217.14/mo |
The 10-year payment estimate assumes a standard federal repayment plan and the median graduate debt amount.
Percentiles reveal the spread — half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles. The figures below chart the debt distribution at Illinois State.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $8,000 |
| 75th percentile | $26,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $30,920 |
Outcomes differ by income bracket, by first-generation status, and by whether a student is financially dependent.
Debt by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $16,500 |
| Middle income | $15,200 |
| High income | $15,845 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,012 |
Dependent vs Independent Students
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,500 |
| Independent students | $19,000 |
The Department of Education computes summary indicators that describe debt outcomes at a glance. Illinois State.
Most undergraduate borrowing runs through the federal Stafford loan program. The aggregate figures below show how active the program is at Illinois State:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 62780 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $1,033,257,199 |
GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance are the two federal aid programs targeted at military-affiliated students.
Post-9/11 GI Bill activity
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 168 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $1,681,306 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $10,008 |
Active-duty Tuition Assistance recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 0 |
| Total DoD amount | $0 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.