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 price of attendance at Sonoma State University can feel overpowering, but remember that the majority of students receive some sort of financial assistance.
Just what financial assistance solutions will SSU deliver, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Read on for answers. Keep reading to see just how much financial aid could be open 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 Sonoma State University.
Colleges use loans, grants, scholarships and work-study to minimize what students actually pay out of pocket. Some kinds of aid are clearly preferable to others, and outcomes differ across students.
For freshmen starting at Sonoma State University, 87% of first-time, full-time freshmen received some form of financial aid some 783 new students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 83% | $9,094 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 76% | $4,140 |
| Federal Pell grants | 35% | $5,655 |
| State/local grants | 59% | $3,963 |
| Federal student loans | 27% | $4,695 |
Grants and scholarships are the most valuable form of aid because, unlike loans, they never have to be repaid. At this school, roughly 67% of undergrads got grants or scholarships worth on average $10,379 (among about 3644 awardees).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 67% | $10,379 |
| Federal Pell grants | 36% | $5,340 |
| Federal student loans | 27% | $6,309 |
Among title-IV aid recipients living on campus, grant and scholarship aid averaged $11,763.
Need-based aid means lower-income families typically pay far less than the sticker price suggests.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $10,042 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $11,905 |
| Over $75,000 | $20,078 |
These figures reflect what title-IV aid recipients pay after grant and scholarship aid is applied.
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 | $12,885 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $13,801 |
For a customized cost estimate, visit SSU’s online cost calculator: financialaid.sonoma.edu/cost-attendance/net-price-calculator.
Graduating students at SSU carry a median federal student debt of $13,000 in federal loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $13,000 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $16,705 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $177.1/mo |
The 10-year payment estimate assumes a standard federal repayment plan and the median graduate debt amount.
Looking only at the median can be misleading because it hides the spread. The four reference points below map the debt distribution at SSU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $5,768 |
| 75th percentile | $23,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $29,000 |
Debt outcomes are not uniform — they shift with income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,000 |
| Middle income | $13,000 |
| High income | $14,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $13,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $12,875 |
| Independent students | $13,725 |
The Department of Education computes summary indicators that describe debt outcomes at a glance. SSU.
Stafford loans make up the bulk of federal direct lending to undergraduates. The annual Stafford volume below reflects program activity at SSU:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 21425 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $383,412,523 |
GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance are the two federal aid programs targeted at military-affiliated students.
GI Bill volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 52 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $312,523 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $6,010 |
DoD program volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 0 |
| Total DoD amount | $0 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.