by our College Data Analytics TeamA lot of 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 price tag of going to Southern Methodist University can appear tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students obtain some kind of financial help.
Just what financial assistance solutions will SMU deliver, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Read on for answers. Keep reading to find out just how much financial aid will be open to you.
Eligibility for aid and scholarships is driven mostly by your household’s income and need. The figures below will help you estimate the aid you might receive from Southern Methodist University.
Financial aid, in the form of loans, grants, work-study, and scholarships, is one way colleges reduce the cost of attendance so most students can actually afford to attend. However, some types of aid are more desirable than others, and some students will receive more than others.
Looking at the entering class at Southern Methodist University, 71% of the incoming full-time class was awarded financial aid some 1125 new students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 67% | $37,520 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 67% | $35,554 |
| Federal Pell grants | 13% | $5,755 |
| State/local grants | 14% | $4,354 |
| Federal student loans | 25% | $5,019 |
Because grants and scholarships do not have to be repaid, they are the most sought-after type of financial aid. At this school, approximately 68% of the undergraduate population received grant aid that averaged $37,410 (covering around 4869 undergraduates).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 68% | $37,410 |
| Federal Pell grants | 13% | $5,457 |
| Federal student loans | 21% | $5,982 |
For students living on campus and receiving title-IV aid, grants averaged $44,714.
The figures below show the average net price — cost after all grant and scholarship aid — broken out by family income.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $24,468 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $21,577 |
| Over $75,000 | $53,628 |
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 | $40,892 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $41,778 |
To get a personalized net price estimate, try SMU’s net price tool: www.smu.edu/EnrollmentServices/FinancialAid/NetPriceCalculator.
A typical borrower at SMU leaves with $15,311 in federal student debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $15,311 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $19,500 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $206.73/mo |
Spreading the median graduate debt over a standard 10-year repayment schedule works out to roughly the monthly payment shown above.
The numbers below show the full range, not just the middle of the distribution. The four reference points below map the debt distribution at SMU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $8,250 |
| 75th percentile | $26,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,000 |
How much a student borrows depends heavily on family income, first-gen status, and dependency.
Debt by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $17,000 |
| Middle income | $17,500 |
| High income | $14,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Median Debt
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $17,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Students
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,000 |
| Independent students | $17,845 |
The figure below distills the debt data into a single burden category for SMU.
The Stafford loan program is the largest source of federal direct loans to undergraduates. The aggregate figures below show how active the program is at SMU:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 21169 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $650,860,867 |
The GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance are the main federal aid routes for veterans and service members.
Post-9/11 GI Bill recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 219 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $6,046,381 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $27,609 |
Active-duty Tuition Assistance recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 10 |
| Total DoD amount | $19,000 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $1,900 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.