by our College Data Analytics TeamMany 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 Purdue University-Main Campus can sound tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students get some type of financial help.
Just what financial aid solutions can Purdue provide, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Keep reading for answers. Read on to see just how much financial aid could be open to you.
How much aid you qualify for depends largely on your family’s financial circumstances. Use the information below to understand how much financial assistance you may get from Purdue University-Main Campus.
Colleges use loans, grants, scholarships and work-study to minimize what students actually pay out of pocket. Bear in mind that not all aid is equal, and the amount any one student receives can vary widely.
Among first-time, full-time freshmen at Purdue University-Main Campus, 59% of the incoming full-time class was awarded financial aid around 5507 students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 40% | $11,294 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 37% | $8,003 |
| Federal Pell grants | 13% | $5,650 |
| State/local grants | 11% | $7,557 |
| Federal student loans | 25% | $5,116 |
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 Purdue, about 43% of undergrads got grants or scholarships worth on average $10,408 (for some 17320 awardees).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 43% | $10,408 |
| Federal Pell grants | 13% | $5,671 |
| Federal student loans | 22% | $6,136 |
For students living on campus and receiving title-IV aid, grants averaged $9,991.
How much a family pays depends heavily on income, because most aid is awarded on the basis of financial need.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $5,373 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $7,507 |
| Over $75,000 | $20,360 |
Remember these are net prices — what families pay after gift aid, not before.
Net price is the cost remaining after grant and scholarship aid is subtracted from the sticker price, and it is the most useful single number for estimating real cost.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $14,600 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $13,945 |
For an estimate tailored to your family circumstances, see Purdue’s net price calculator: www.purdue.edu/dfa/cost/calculator.
A typical borrower at Purdue leaves with $15,000 of federal student loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $15,000 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $19,500 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $206.73/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 figures below chart the debt distribution at Purdue.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,326 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $26,623 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,000 |
The figures below break down median federal debt by income tier, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,000 |
| Middle income | $13,125 |
| High income | $16,750 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,245 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,000 |
| Independent students | $13,641 |
The Department of Education computes summary indicators that describe debt outcomes at a glance. Purdue.
The Stafford program is the federal direct-loan vehicle most undergraduates use. The annual Stafford volume below reflects program activity at Purdue:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 66223 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $1,326,167,780 |
Military-affiliated students can tap the Post-9/11 GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance.
GI Bill volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 515 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $5,244,147 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $10,183 |
Active-duty Tuition Assistance recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 162 |
| Total DoD amount | $571,043 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $3,525 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.