by our College Data Analytics TeamMost students will never be charged the full sticker price of a school. Rather, they are offered a financial aid plan that includes a mix of loans, grants, scholarships, and possibly work-study opportunities. The sum total of attendance at Montana State University can sound overwhelming, but bear in mind that many students get some type of financial aid.
Just what financial assistance solutions will MSU Bozeman provide, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Read on for answers. Keep scrolling to discover how much school funding could be available to you.
Eligibility for aid and scholarships is driven mostly by your household’s income and need. Use the information below to understand how much financial assistance you may get from Montana 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. Note that some aid is more valuable than the rest, and individual awards are far from uniform.
At Montana State University, 90% of new full-time first-years were awarded at least some aid some 2939 first-years).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 83% | $11,763 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 80% | $10,909 |
| Federal Pell grants | 17% | $5,640 |
| State/local grants | 8% | $1,016 |
| Federal student loans | 37% | $5,185 |
Grants and scholarships are the most valuable form of aid because, unlike loans, they never have to be repaid. Here, around 69% of undergraduate students received gift aid averaging $8,543 (for some 10324 awardees).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 69% | $8,543 |
| Federal Pell grants | 16% | $5,619 |
| Federal student loans | 31% | $6,193 |
For on-campus title-IV students, average grant aid came to $3,406.
Because need-based aid scales with family income, what students actually pay differs sharply across income brackets.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $16,935 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $18,812 |
| Over $75,000 | $23,665 |
These figures reflect what title-IV aid recipients pay after grant and scholarship aid is applied.
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 | $22,499 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $20,593 |
For an estimate tailored to your family circumstances, see MSU Bozeman’s net price tool: www.montana.edu/admissions/tuitioncalc/.
Graduating students at MSU Bozeman carry a median federal student debt of $13,748 of cumulative federal debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $13,748 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $22,500 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $238.54/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. Use the percentiles below to see the debt range at MSU Bozeman.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $26,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $36,500 |
The figures below break down median federal debt by income tier, first-generation status, and dependency.
Debt by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $15,538 |
| Middle income | $14,175 |
| High income | $12,018 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,250 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Students
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,500 |
| Independent students | $19,000 |
The figure below distills the debt data into a single burden category for MSU Bozeman.
Stafford loans make up the bulk of federal direct lending to undergraduates. The totals below capture Stafford lending at MSU Bozeman:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 37774 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $670,109,448 |
Military-affiliated students can tap the Post-9/11 GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance.
Post-9/11 GI Bill activity
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 389 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $2,308,013 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $5,933 |
DoD program volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 21 |
| Total DoD amount | $58,844 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $2,802 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.