by our College Data Analytics TeamThe majority 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 sum total of attendance at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts can sound overwhelming, but bear in mind that many students get some type of financial aid.
Just what financing solutions does MCLA provide, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Keep scrolling for answers. Read on to learn what amount of financial assistance will be accessible to you.
The amount of financial aid and scholarships you are eligible for will vary depending on your family’s income. Read on to get a sense of the financial assistance available at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.
Financial assistance, available as scholarships, loans, and work-study, is a way schools lower the price of attendance so many students can enroll. Some kinds of aid are clearly preferable to others, and outcomes differ across students.
At Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, 100% of first-time, full-time freshmen received some form of financial aid (about 189 incoming students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 99% | $9,045 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 99% | $4,533 |
| Federal Pell grants | 43% | $5,568 |
| State/local grants | 34% | $5,373 |
| Federal student loans | 90% | $4,022 |
The best aid is gift aid: grants and scholarships that carry no repayment obligation. Across the undergraduate body at MCLA, around 82% of undergrads got grants or scholarships worth on average $9,946 (covering around 689 awardees).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 82% | $9,946 |
| Federal Pell grants | 41% | $5,505 |
| Federal student loans | 61% | $7,275 |
Among title-IV aid recipients living on campus, grant and scholarship aid averaged $9,958.
Need-based aid means lower-income families typically pay far less than the sticker price suggests.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $15,460 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $16,421 |
| Over $75,000 | $21,765 |
Each figure is the net price after grants and scholarships, not the published sticker price.
The net price represents the average annual cost a title-IV-receiving student pays after grant aid is subtracted from the full cost of attendance.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $16,068 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $18,920 |
For a customized cost estimate, visit MCLA’s net price tool: www.mcla.edu/admission-aid/paying-for-college/financial-aid/calculator_2023.inc.
Graduating students at MCLA carry a median federal student debt of $15,750 of federal student loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $15,750 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $23,750 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $251.79/mo |
The 10-year payment estimate assumes a standard federal repayment plan and the median graduate debt amount.
A single median figure conceals how much debt outcomes differ student to student. The four reference points below map the debt distribution at MCLA.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $6,598 |
| 75th percentile | $26,668 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,105 |
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 | $17,000 |
| Middle income | $15,115 |
| High income | $15,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,725 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,750 |
| Independent students | $15,531 |
The figure below distills the debt data into a single burden category for MCLA.
Stafford loans are the federal government’s primary direct undergraduate lending program. The aggregate figures below show how active the program is at MCLA:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 6877 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $116,741,719 |
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 | 10 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $101,836 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $10,184 |
DoD program volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 0 |
| Total DoD amount | $0 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.