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 total cost of going to Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute can seem overwhelming, but bear in mind that many students are given some form of financial aid.
What financial aid options can RPI offer, and what will you qualify for? Keep reading for more information. Keep scrolling to see 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 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
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.
At Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, 95% of first-time, full-time freshmen received some form of financial aid approximately 1481 new students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 95% | $43,517 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 95% | $41,605 |
| Federal Pell grants | 20% | $5,832 |
| State/local grants | 17% | $2,624 |
| Federal student loans | 59% | $5,238 |
Grants and scholarships are the most valuable form of aid because, unlike loans, they never have to be repaid. At this school, roughly 92% of undergrads got grants or scholarships worth on average $41,577 (across roughly 5451 students).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 92% | $41,577 |
| Federal Pell grants | 20% | $5,708 |
| Federal student loans | 51% | $6,167 |
Title-IV recipients living on campus saw average grant aid of $46,176.
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 | $22,600 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $25,129 |
| Over $75,000 | $38,406 |
The numbers above are post-aid net prices, so they already account for grants and scholarships.
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 | $36,228 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $33,139 |
For a personalized estimate based on your family’s financial situation, use RPI’s net price calculator: npc.collegeboard.org/student/app/rpi.
The median student at RPI graduates with $21,995 in federal loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $21,995 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $23,750 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $251.79/mo |
At a typical 10-year repayment schedule, the median graduate would pay about the monthly figure above.
A single median figure conceals how much debt outcomes differ student to student. Use the percentiles below to see the debt range at RPI.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $17,000 |
| 75th percentile | $35,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $39,349 |
How much a student borrows depends heavily on family income, first-gen status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $23,250 |
| Middle income | $21,500 |
| High income | $21,250 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Median Debt
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $22,869 |
| Continuing-generation students | $21,250 |
Dependent vs Independent Students
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $21,750 |
| Independent students | $25,000 |
A handful of calculated indicators summarize the debt outlook at RPI.
Most undergraduate borrowing runs through the federal Stafford loan program. The aggregate figures below show how active the program is at RPI:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 13352 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $223,024,543 |
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 | 51 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $1,892,878 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $37,115 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.