by our College Data Analytics TeamThe majority 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 Oberlin College can sound overwhelming, but bear in mind that many students get some type of financial aid.
What financial assistance options will Oberlin offer, and what will you qualify for? Read on for more information. Keep scrolling 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. Continue reading to find information to help you understand just how much assistance you can expect to receive from Oberlin College.
Colleges use loans, grants, scholarships and work-study to minimize what students actually pay out of pocket. Note that some aid is more valuable than the rest, and individual awards are far from uniform.
Among first-time, full-time freshmen at Oberlin College, 99% of the incoming full-time class was awarded financial aid around 773 freshmen).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 99% | $35,780 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 99% | $35,065 |
| Federal Pell grants | 10% | $5,605 |
| State/local grants | 2% | $3,258 |
| Federal student loans | 28% | $4,801 |
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 Oberlin, around 97% of undergraduates were awarded an average grant or scholarship of $37,626 (among about 2865 undergraduates).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 97% | $37,626 |
| Federal Pell grants | 10% | $5,628 |
| Federal student loans | 31% | $6,158 |
Among title-IV aid recipients living on campus, grant and scholarship aid averaged $48,759.
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 | $15,953 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $18,011 |
| Over $75,000 | $46,251 |
These figures reflect what title-IV aid recipients pay after grant and scholarship aid is applied.
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 | $38,645 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $39,184 |
For a customized cost estimate, visit Oberlin’s online cost calculator: collegepricecalculator.com/Oberlin.
The median federal debt load at Oberlin comes to $19,500 of federal student loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $19,500 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $26,000 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $275.64/mo |
The 10-year payment estimate assumes a standard federal repayment plan and the median graduate debt amount.
Percentiles reveal the spread — half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles. Use the percentiles below to see the debt range at Oberlin.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $12,000 |
| 75th percentile | $29,431 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $36,038 |
Debt outcomes are not uniform — they shift with income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $14,878 |
| Middle income | $21,265 |
| High income | $19,500 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Median Debt
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,325 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,500 |
The figure below distills the debt data into a single burden category for Oberlin.
The Stafford program is the federal direct-loan vehicle most undergraduates use. The annual Stafford volume below reflects program activity at Oberlin:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 5919 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $89,746,985 |
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 | $425,409 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $42,541 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.