by our College Data Analytics TeamMost students are not billed the complete price tag of a school. Rather, they are presented a financial aid deal that includes a mix of loans, grants, scholarships, and possibly work-study opportunities. The total cost of going to Rochester Institute of Technology can seem overpowering, but remember that the majority of students are given some form of financial assistance.
What financial aid options can RIT offer, and what will you qualify for? Keep reading for more information. Keep reading to find out how much school funding will be available to you.
The amount of financial aid and scholarships you are eligible for will vary depending on your family’s income. The figures below will help you estimate the aid you might receive from Rochester Institute of Technology.
Through a mix of loans, grants, work-study and scholarships, schools bring down the effective cost so more students can attend. Some kinds of aid are clearly preferable to others, and outcomes differ across students.
At Rochester Institute of Technology, 99% of first-time, full-time freshmen received some form of financial aid (about 3024 first-years).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 98% | $35,077 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 98% | $32,551 |
| Federal Pell grants | 32% | $5,602 |
| State/local grants | 21% | $3,459 |
| Federal student loans | 61% | $5,189 |
Grants and scholarships are the most valuable form of aid because, unlike loans, they never have to be repaid. At RIT, some 90% of undergraduates were awarded grant or scholarship aid averaging $29,523 (across approximately 12672 undergraduates).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 90% | $29,523 |
| Federal Pell grants | 27% | $5,839 |
| Federal student loans | 53% | $6,228 |
Among title-IV aid recipients living on campus, grant and scholarship aid averaged $39,720.
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 | $24,759 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $25,384 |
| Over $75,000 | $33,586 |
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 | $34,906 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $29,694 |
To project your own net price, use RIT’s official net price calculator: npc.collegeboard.org/app/rit.
Graduating students at RIT carry a median federal student debt of $20,872 in federal loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $20,872 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $26,778 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $283.89/mo |
The 10-year payment estimate assumes a standard federal repayment plan and the median graduate debt amount.
The numbers below show the full range, not just the middle of the distribution. These percentiles trace how cumulative federal debt is spread among borrowers at RIT.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $12,000 |
| 75th percentile | $32,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $39,582 |
Median debt varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Debt by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $22,243 |
| Middle income | $22,250 |
| High income | $20,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Median Debt
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $21,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $20,385 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $20,500 |
| Independent students | $23,759 |
The figure below distills the debt data into a single burden category for RIT.
The Stafford loan program is the largest source of federal direct loans to undergraduates. Below is the annual Stafford program activity at RIT:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 40220 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $782,044,196 |
Military-affiliated students can tap the Post-9/11 GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance.
GI Bill volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 153 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $5,258,583 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $34,370 |
DoD Tuition Assistance activity
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 4 |
| Total DoD amount | $12,750 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $3,188 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.