by our College Data Analytics TeamMany 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 total price of attendance at Rice University can feel overpowering, but remember that the majority of students receive some sort of financial assistance.
What financial assistance options will Rice offer, and what will you qualify for? Read on for more information. Read on to see just how much financial aid could be open to you.
The amount of financial aid you can receive varies from person to person and will depend on your family’s economic situation. Read on to get a sense of the financial assistance available at Rice University.
Financial aid, in the form of loans, grants, work-study, and scholarships, is one way colleges reduce the cost of attendance so most students can actually afford to attend. Keep in mind that certain forms of assistance are more beneficial than others, and aid amounts differ from student to student.
At Rice University, 64% of entering full-time freshmen got some type of financial assistance (about 721 first-years).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 56% | $56,199 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 56% | $53,802 |
| Federal Pell grants | 18% | $6,321 |
| State/local grants | 5% | $4,655 |
| Federal student loans | 6% | $5,188 |
Unlike loans, grants and scholarships are gift aid that does not need to be paid back, making them the most desirable form of assistance. Across the undergraduate body at Rice, roughly 61% of undergraduate students received gift aid averaging $54,440 (among about 2794 undergraduates).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 61% | $54,440 |
| Federal Pell grants | 17% | $6,008 |
| Federal student loans | 6% | $6,202 |
On-campus students receiving title-IV aid were awarded grants averaging $66,418.
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 | $3,386 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $2,495 |
| Over $75,000 | $35,456 |
Remember these are net prices — what families pay after gift aid, not before.
The net price represents the average annual cost a title-IV-receiving student pays after grant aid is subtracted from the full cost of attendance.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $13,370 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $14,125 |
For a personalized estimate based on your family’s financial situation, use Rice’s net price tool: financialaid.rice.edu/calculate-my-cost.
A typical borrower at Rice leaves with $9,716 of federal borrowing.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $9,716 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $11,000 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $116.62/mo |
At a typical 10-year repayment schedule, the median graduate would pay about the monthly figure above.
The numbers below show the full range, not just the middle of the distribution. Use the percentiles below to see the debt range at Rice.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,114 |
| 25th percentile | $5,784 |
| 75th percentile | $18,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $26,763 |
Debt outcomes are not uniform — they shift with income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Debt by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $6,500 |
| Middle income | $11,192 |
| High income | $9,804 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,893 |
| Continuing-generation students | $10,000 |
Federal data publishes pre-calculated indicators that summarize debt outcomes. Rice.
The Stafford loan program is the largest source of federal direct loans to undergraduates. Below is the annual Stafford program activity at Rice:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 5423 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $112,130,360 |
Veterans and active-duty service members may qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill or DoD Tuition Assistance.
Post-9/11 GI Bill recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 131 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $4,730,721 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $36,112 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.