by our College Data Analytics TeamHere is what you can expect to pay at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, from sticker cost of attendance and projected degree cost to net price, debt at graduation, and aid breakdowns.
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The total published cost of attendance at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute stands at about $79,934.00 per academic year.
Cost is shown below as the full sticker price, the average net price after aid, and the low-income net price.
| Tuition and fees | $64,081.00 |
| + Room, board & other expenses | $15,853.00 |
| Total cost | $79,934.00 |
| That is 144% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $79,934.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$46,176.00 |
| Net price | $33,758.00 |
| That is 3% above the national average net price. |
| Total cost | $79,934.00 |
| − Grants and scholarships | −$58,326.00 |
| Net price | $21,608.00 |
| That is 34% below the national average net price. | |
| Explore each piece on the tuition & fees page plus living costs. |
The reported cost series has been increasing by roughly 3.1% per year; the projections below compound that across a degree. These tables carry the cost across a degree for three cases: low-income w/ aid, average aid, and no aid. The repayment figures use a ten-year loan at 6.8%.
| Projected 4-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 3.1% | 3.1% | 3.1% |
| Freshman year | $22,271.00 | $34,794.00 | $82,387.00 |
| Senior year | $24,386.00 | $38,097.00 | $90,209.00 |
| Total 4-year net price | $93,271.00 | $145,717.00 | $345,035.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $35,533.00 | $55,513.00 | $131,446.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $1,073.00 | $1,677.00 | $3,971.00 |
| Total amount paid | $128,804.00 | $201,229.00 | $476,481.00 |
| Projected 2-year net costs | Low Income w/ Aid | w/ Average Aid | No Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual growth rate | 3.1% | 3.1% | 3.1% |
| Freshman year | $22,271.00 | $34,794.00 | $82,387.00 |
| Senior year | $22,955.00 | $35,862.00 | $84,916.00 |
| Total 2-year net price | $45,226.00 | $70,656.00 | $167,304.00 |
| 10-year loan interest @ 6.8% | $17,229.00 | $26,917.00 | $63,737.00 |
| Total monthly payment | $520.00 | $813.00 | $1,925.00 |
| Total amount paid | $62,456.00 | $97,574.00 | $231,040.00 |
See the full net-price breakdown in the net-price section.
Net price strips out grant and scholarship aid to show what families really pay. This is the more honest cost figure for most families, since it accounts for institutional and federal aid.
| Average net price (on-campus) | $36,228.00 |
| Average net price (off-campus) | $33,139.00 |
Net price varies sharply by family income, dropping as need-based aid grows. Here is the average net price for each family-income range:
| Family income | Average net price |
|---|---|
| Under $30,000 | $21,009.00 |
| $30,000 to $48,000 | $24,670.00 |
| $48,001 to $75,000 | $25,624.00 |
| $75,001 to $110,000 | $33,615.00 |
| Over $110,000 | $39,583.00 |
For a personalized estimate, try the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Net Price Calculator, or get in touch with the financial aid office.
For the grant-and-scholarship detail behind these figures, see the financial aid page.
Median graduate debt at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute comes to $21,995.00, landing it in the Moderate ($20-30k) debt-burden bucket.
The percentile spread of debt at graduation is shown below:
| Percentile | Debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| 10th | $5,500.00 |
| 25th | $17,000.00 |
| Median (50th) | $21,995.00 |
| 75th | $35,000.00 |
| 90th | $39,349.00 |
The gap between 10th and 90th percentile borrowers gives a sense of how uneven debt outcomes are.
Read the complete debt breakdown on the student-loan-debt breakdown.
Debt at graduation is far from uniform across income levels. The figures below split graduating borrowers into three income brackets:
| Family income | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| Low income | $23,250.00 |
| Middle income | $21,500.00 |
| High income | $21,250.00 |
Graduates from lower-income families carry $2,000.00 in additional median debt versus high-income graduates.
Debt at graduation often differs for first-generation students.
| Student group | Median debt at graduation |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $22,869.00 |
| Continuing-generation students | $21,250.00 |
First-gen students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute carry $1,619.00 more median debt than continuing-generation peers.
Pell Grants are the federal government’s primary need-based undergraduate aid program. Looking at Pell recipients versus non-recipients tells us how debt is distributed across need.
The gap between Pell-eligible and non-Pell median debt at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute amounts to $2,750.00. This school is flagged by the Department of Education for Pell-related debt inequity.
The default-rate classification at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is Low (<5%).
| Window | Cohort default rate |
|---|---|
| 2-year | 1.4% |
For scale, federal Stafford loan disbursements at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute amount to $223,024,543.00 covering 13,352 disbursements.
Veterans and active-duty service members may qualify for substantial federal education benefits including the GI Bill and Tuition Assistance from the Department of Defense.
| GI Bill recipients | 51 |
| Avg GI Bill amount | $37,115.00 |
For the full rundown of veteran and military benefits, see the veterans benefits detail.
Use the figures above as a launch point, then think through Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the questions below are worth your time:
For a closer look at any of these topics, follow the links below:
Data sources. Figures on this page draw from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), and MediaFactual editorial review. Net-price calculator and financial-aid office links are taken from the institution’s own published data.