by our College Data Analytics TeamA large number 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 sum total of attendance at Northern Illinois University can sound tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students get some type of financial help.
Just what financial aid solutions can NIU provide, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Keep reading for answers. Read on to discover what amount of financial assistance could be accessible to you.
The amount of financial aid you can receive varies from person to person and will depend on your family’s economic situation. Continue reading to find information to help you understand just how much assistance you can expect to receive from Northern Illinois University.
Financial assistance, available as scholarships, loans, and work-study, is a way schools lower the price of attendance so many students can enroll. Keep in mind that certain forms of assistance are more beneficial than others, and aid amounts differ from student to student.
For freshmen starting at Northern Illinois University, 99% of new full-time first-years were awarded at least some aid (about 2158 new students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 98% | $14,387 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 96% | $6,121 |
| Federal Pell grants | 60% | $5,696 |
| State/local grants | 62% | $7,478 |
| Federal student loans | 53% | $5,139 |
Gift aid — grants and scholarships — beats loans every time because none of it has to be repaid. At this school, about 86% of undergraduate students received gift aid averaging $12,589 (covering around 9747 students).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 86% | $12,589 |
| Federal Pell grants | 47% | $5,475 |
| Federal student loans | 47% | $6,544 |
On-campus students receiving title-IV aid were awarded grants averaging $15,460.
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 | $9,332 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $11,014 |
| Over $75,000 | $19,925 |
Each figure is the net price after grants and scholarships, not the published sticker price.
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 | $13,391 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $12,909 |
For an estimate tailored to your family circumstances, see NIU’s official net price calculator: www.niu.edu/bursar/tuition/estimator.shtml.
A typical borrower at NIU leaves with $16,250 in federal loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $16,250 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $22,162 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $234.95/mo |
Under a standard ten-year plan, the median graduate’s monthly payment lands near the figure above.
The median alone does not show how widely outcomes vary across the student body. The percentiles below describe the cumulative federal debt distribution for borrowers at NIU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,750 |
| 25th percentile | $8,517 |
| 75th percentile | $27,644 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $37,991 |
Outcomes differ by income bracket, by first-generation status, and by whether a student is financially dependent.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,000 |
| Middle income | $16,000 |
| High income | $15,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,000 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,000 |
| Independent students | $20,344 |
The Department of Education computes summary indicators that describe debt outcomes at a glance. NIU.
Stafford loans make up the bulk of federal direct lending to undergraduates. Below is the annual Stafford program activity at NIU:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 67855 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $1,477,104,703 |
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 | 154 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $1,437,691 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $9,336 |
DoD Tuition Assistance activity
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 5 |
| Total DoD amount | $6,750 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $1,350 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.