by our College Data Analytics TeamMany students will not be asked to pay 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 Sarah Lawrence College can seem tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students are given some form of financial help.
What financial assistance options will Sarah Lawrence offer you, and what will you qualify for? Read on for more information. Keep scrolling to see just how much financial aid could be open to you.
Your financial aid package, which may contain grants and scholarships, will be determined on your financial need. The figures below will help you estimate the aid you might receive from Sarah Lawrence College.
Aid such as grants, loans, work-study, and scholarships helps colleges decrease the real cost of attendance for most students. Bear in mind that not all aid is equal, and the amount any one student receives can vary widely.
Among first-time, full-time freshmen at Sarah Lawrence College, 91% of the incoming full-time class was awarded financial aid around 374 incoming students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 90% | $38,838 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 90% | $37,852 |
| Federal Pell grants | 12% | $6,016 |
| State/local grants | 4% | $3,073 |
| Federal student loans | 43% | $5,298 |
Unlike loans, grants and scholarships are gift aid that does not need to be paid back, making them the most desirable form of assistance. At Sarah Lawrence, some 85% of undergraduates were awarded an average grant or scholarship of $37,938 (across roughly 1299 recipients).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 85% | $37,938 |
| Federal Pell grants | 12% | $5,207 |
| Federal student loans | 40% | $6,383 |
Among title-IV aid recipients living on campus, grant and scholarship aid averaged $41,030.
Since aid is largely need-based, the real cost of attendance falls steeply for lower-income families.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $22,382 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $25,790 |
| Over $75,000 | $20,120 |
Each figure is the net price after grants and scholarships, not the published sticker price.
After grants and scholarships come off the published price, what remains is the net price — the best estimate of true out-of-pocket cost.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $41,437 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $21,132 |
To get a personalized net price estimate, try Sarah Lawrence’s NPC: npc.collegeboard.org/student/app/sarahlawrence.
The median student at Sarah Lawrence graduates with $19,500 of federal student loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $19,500 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $27,000 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $286.24/mo |
Under a standard ten-year plan, the median graduate’s monthly payment lands near the figure above.
A single median figure conceals how much debt outcomes differ student to student. The four reference points below map the debt distribution at Sarah Lawrence.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $6,500 |
| 75th percentile | $19,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $28,553 |
Outcomes differ by income bracket, by first-generation status, and by whether a student is financially dependent.
Debt by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $16,000 |
| Middle income | $23,765 |
| High income | $19,463 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $20,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,750 |
Federal data publishes pre-calculated indicators that summarize debt outcomes. Sarah Lawrence.
The Stafford program is the federal direct-loan vehicle most undergraduates use. Below is the annual Stafford program activity at Sarah Lawrence:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 4974 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $107,778,290 |
The GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance are the main federal aid routes for veterans and service members.
Post-9/11 GI Bill activity
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 12 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $414,100 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $34,508 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.