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 Southern Illinois University-Carbondale can seem overwhelming, but bear in mind that many students are given some form of financial aid.
Just what financing solutions does SIUC provide, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Keep scrolling for answers. Scroll down to discover 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. Read on to get a sense of the financial assistance available at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale.
Financial assistance, available as scholarships, loans, and work-study, is a way schools lower the price of attendance so many students can enroll. Keep in mind that certain forms of assistance are more beneficial than others, and aid amounts differ from student to student.
Looking at the entering class at Southern Illinois University-Carbondale, 98% of entering full-time freshmen got some type of financial assistance approximately 1551 new students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 95% | $13,610 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 81% | $5,667 |
| Federal Pell grants | 52% | $5,990 |
| State/local grants | 52% | $9,856 |
| Federal student loans | 56% | $5,182 |
Gift aid — grants and scholarships — beats loans every time because none of it has to be repaid. At this school, approximately 83% of undergraduates were awarded an average grant or scholarship of $13,341 (covering around 6762 recipients).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 83% | $13,341 |
| Federal Pell grants | 39% | $6,099 |
| Federal student loans | 45% | $6,633 |
Title-IV recipients living on campus saw average grant aid of $15,032.
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 | $12,612 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $12,574 |
| Over $75,000 | $23,343 |
Remember these are net prices — what families pay after gift aid, not before.
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 | $13,297 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $16,177 |
For a personalized estimate based on your family’s financial situation, use SIUC’s NPC: siu.studentaidcalculator.com/survey.aspx.
The middle student in the debt distribution at SIUC owes $17,750 of cumulative federal debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $17,750 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $21,543 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $228.39/mo |
That monthly figure reflects the median graduate debt repaid on a standard 10-year federal schedule.
A single median figure conceals how much debt outcomes differ student to student. Use the percentiles below to see the debt range at SIUC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,750 |
| 25th percentile | $6,538 |
| 75th percentile | $26,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,500 |
The figures below break down median federal debt by income tier, first-generation status, and dependency.
Debt by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $19,750 |
| Middle income | $17,500 |
| High income | $15,000 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,750 |
Dependent vs Independent Students
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $17,000 |
| Independent students | $18,750 |
The figure below distills the debt data into a single burden category for SIUC.
Stafford loans are the federal government’s primary direct undergraduate lending program. The totals below capture Stafford lending at SIUC:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 63392 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $1,582,991,576 |
Military-affiliated students can tap the Post-9/11 GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance.
GI Bill volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 306 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $2,971,286 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $9,710 |
Active-duty Tuition Assistance recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 107 |
| Total DoD amount | $243,799 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $2,278 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.