by our College Data Analytics TeamMost students will never be charged 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 cost of going to Santa Fe Community College can seem overpowering, but remember that the majority of students are given some form of financial assistance.
Just what financial aid solutions can SFCC deliver, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Keep reading for answers. Scroll down to learn what amount of financial assistance will be accessible to you.
How much aid you qualify for depends largely on your family’s financial circumstances. The figures below will help you estimate the aid you might receive from Santa Fe Community College.
Colleges use loans, grants, scholarships and work-study to minimize what students actually pay out of pocket. Keep in mind that certain forms of assistance are more beneficial than others, and aid amounts differ from student to student.
At Santa Fe Community College, 69% of entering full-time freshmen got some type of financial assistance (about 125 first-years).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 69% | $6,343 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 13% | $667 |
| Federal Pell grants | 48% | $6,718 |
| State/local grants | 57% | $1,651 |
| Federal student loans | 2% | $6,763 |
Unlike loans, grants and scholarships are gift aid that does not need to be paid back, making them the most desirable form of assistance. Here, approximately 24% of undergraduates were awarded an average grant or scholarship of $5,106 (across roughly 825 awardees).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 24% | $5,106 |
| Federal Pell grants | 17% | $5,156 |
| Federal student loans | 1% | $7,221 |
Title-IV recipients living on campus saw average grant aid of $7,338.
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 | $8,647 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $9,950 |
These figures reflect what title-IV aid recipients pay after grant and scholarship aid is applied.
Net price is the average annual cost after grants and scholarships are subtracted from the published cost of attendance — the figure closest to what a typical aid-receiving student actually pays.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $11,067 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $9,215 |
For a customized cost estimate, visit SFCC’s net price tool: www.sfcc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/index.html.
Graduating students at SFCC carry a median federal student debt of $9,604 of federal student loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $9,604 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $13,236 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $140.32/mo |
Spreading the median graduate debt over a standard 10-year repayment schedule works out to roughly the monthly payment shown above.
Percentiles reveal the spread — half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles. The four reference points below map the debt distribution at SFCC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,000 |
| 25th percentile | $4,189 |
| 75th percentile | $19,813 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $34,615 |
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 | $10,250 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $10,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Students
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $11,261 |
The figure below distills the debt data into a single burden category for SFCC.
Most undergraduate borrowing runs through the federal Stafford loan program. The totals below capture Stafford lending at SFCC:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 3803 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $58,061,590 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.