by our College Data Analytics TeamA large number of students are not billed the full, advertised sticker price of a school. Instead, they will be given a financial aid offer that will include a combination of scholarships, grants, loans, and work-study. The total price of attendance at Iowa State University can feel tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students receive some sort of financial help.
Just what financial assistance solutions will Iowa State provide, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Read on for answers. Keep reading to find out just how much financial aid will be open to you.
Eligibility for aid and scholarships is driven mostly by your household’s income and need. The information provided on this page can help you determine how much aid you may receive from Iowa State University.
Colleges use loans, grants, scholarships and work-study to minimize what students actually pay out of pocket. Some kinds of aid are clearly preferable to others, and outcomes differ across students.
At Iowa State University, 89% of new full-time first-years were awarded at least some aid roughly 5148 students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 77% | $10,791 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 75% | $9,608 |
| Federal Pell grants | 18% | $5,486 |
| State/local grants | 1% | $4,629 |
| Federal student loans | 45% | $5,126 |
Unlike loans, grants and scholarships are gift aid that does not need to be paid back, making them the most desirable form of assistance. At Iowa State, around 73% of undergrads got grants or scholarships worth on average $10,270 (across approximately 18472 undergraduates).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 73% | $10,270 |
| Federal Pell grants | 19% | $5,452 |
| Federal student loans | 43% | $5,945 |
For on-campus title-IV students, average grant aid came to $5,429.
The figures below show the average net price — cost after all grant and scholarship aid — broken out by family income.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $12,049 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $14,289 |
| Over $75,000 | $21,191 |
Remember these are net prices — what families pay after gift aid, not before.
The net price strips out grant and scholarship aid from the sticker price to show roughly what families really pay.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $18,589 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $18,165 |
For a customized cost estimate, visit Iowa State’s online cost calculator: www.financialaid.iastate.edu/getting-started/cost/net-price-calculator/.
The middle student in the debt distribution at Iowa State owes $18,750 of cumulative federal debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $18,750 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $22,869 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $242.45/mo |
The 10-year payment estimate assumes a standard federal repayment plan and the median graduate debt amount.
Looking only at the median can be misleading because it hides the spread. The figures below chart the debt distribution at Iowa State.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,166 |
| 25th percentile | $8,250 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,500 |
Debt outcomes are not uniform — they shift with income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Debt by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,500 |
| Middle income | $18,420 |
| High income | $19,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $18,630 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $18,750 |
| Independent students | $20,770 |
A handful of calculated indicators summarize the debt outlook at Iowa State.
Stafford loans make up the bulk of federal direct lending to undergraduates. Below is the annual Stafford program activity at Iowa State:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 77148 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $1,607,868,176 |
Veterans and active-duty service members may qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill or DoD Tuition Assistance.
GI Bill volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 356 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $3,321,366 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $9,330 |
Active-duty Tuition Assistance recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 125 |
| Total DoD amount | $507,333 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $4,059 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.