by our College Data Analytics TeamMost students are not billed 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 Mercer University can seem tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students are given some form of financial help.
What financing options does Mercer offer you, and what will you qualify for? Keep scrolling for more information. Read on to discover just how much financial aid could be open to you.
Eligibility for aid and scholarships is driven mostly by your household’s income and need. Read on to get a sense of the financial assistance available at Mercer University.
Financial assistance, available as scholarships, loans, and work-study, is a way schools lower the price of attendance so many students can enroll. However, some types of aid are more desirable than others, and some students will receive more than others.
At Mercer University, 100% of entering full-time freshmen got some type of financial assistance roughly 1013 freshmen).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 100% | $33,808 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 100% | $26,131 |
| Federal Pell grants | 36% | $6,043 |
| State/local grants | 83% | $6,282 |
| Federal student loans | 62% | $5,562 |
Unlike loans, grants and scholarships are gift aid that does not need to be paid back, making them the most desirable form of assistance. Across the undergraduate body at Mercer, around 94% of undergraduates were awarded an average grant or scholarship of $25,862 (covering around 4517 undergraduates).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 94% | $25,862 |
| Federal Pell grants | 35% | $5,883 |
| Federal student loans | 62% | $7,557 |
For on-campus title-IV students, average grant aid came to $34,357.
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 | $19,592 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $21,797 |
| Over $75,000 | $25,469 |
The numbers above are post-aid net prices, so they already account for grants and scholarships.
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 | $23,847 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $22,350 |
To project your own net price, use Mercer’s net price calculator: mercer.studentaidcalculator.com/survey.aspx.
Graduating students at Mercer carry a median federal student debt of $17,655 in federal loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $17,655 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $24,199 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $256.55/mo |
That monthly figure reflects the median graduate debt repaid on a standard 10-year federal schedule.
The numbers below show the full range, not just the middle of the distribution. The four reference points below map the debt distribution at Mercer.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,904 |
| 25th percentile | $9,750 |
| 75th percentile | $31,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $41,975 |
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 | $18,538 |
| Middle income | $18,500 |
| High income | $15,750 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,352 |
| Continuing-generation students | $16,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Students
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $16,750 |
| Independent students | $19,000 |
The figure below distills the debt data into a single burden category for Mercer.
The Stafford program is the federal direct-loan vehicle most undergraduates use. The annual Stafford volume below reflects program activity at Mercer:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 37834 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $1,577,700,430 |
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 | 221 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $3,067,022 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $13,878 |
DoD program volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 43 |
| Total DoD amount | $102,743 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $2,389 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.