by our College Data Analytics TeamMost students are not billed the full, advertised sticker price of a school. Instead, they will be given a financial aid offer that will include a combination of scholarships, grants, loans, and work-study. The total cost of going to Southwestern Michigan College can seem overwhelming, but bear in mind that many students are given some form of financial aid.
Just what financial assistance solutions will SMC deliver, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Read on for answers. Read on 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 Southwestern Michigan College.
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. Bear in mind that not all aid is equal, and the amount any one student receives can vary widely.
For incoming first-year students at Southwestern Michigan College, 94% of first-year full-time students received aid of some kind roughly 441 incoming students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 94% | $8,166 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 59% | $2,118 |
| Federal Pell grants | 59% | $5,977 |
| State/local grants | 63% | $4,424 |
| Federal student loans | 20% | $4,879 |
Grants and scholarships are the most valuable form of aid because, unlike loans, they never have to be repaid. Here, roughly 60% of undergraduate students received gift aid averaging $6,768 (for some 1172 undergraduates).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 60% | $6,768 |
| Federal Pell grants | 38% | $5,064 |
| Federal student loans | 16% | $5,194 |
For students living on campus and receiving title-IV aid, grants averaged $9,611.
Need-based aid means lower-income families typically pay far less than the sticker price suggests.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $5,384 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $6,722 |
| Over $75,000 | $13,493 |
These figures reflect what title-IV aid recipients pay after grant and scholarship aid is applied.
The net price represents the average annual cost a title-IV-receiving student pays after grant aid is subtracted from the full cost of attendance.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $5,978 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $6,463 |
For an estimate tailored to your family circumstances, see SMC’s official net price calculator: www.swmich.edu/cost-aid/cost/.
A typical borrower at SMC leaves with $5,500 in federal student debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $5,500 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $10,959 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $116.18/mo |
That monthly figure reflects the median graduate debt repaid on a standard 10-year federal schedule.
The median alone does not show how widely outcomes vary across the student body. Use the percentiles below to see the debt range at SMC.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,012 |
| 25th percentile | $3,564 |
| 75th percentile | $12,599 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $19,352 |
Debt outcomes are not uniform — they shift with income, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $5,500 |
| Middle income | $6,500 |
| High income | $5,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $5,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $7,525 |
Dependent vs Independent Students
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $5,500 |
| Independent students | $9,500 |
The Department of Education computes summary indicators that describe debt outcomes at a glance. SMC.
Most undergraduate borrowing runs through the federal Stafford loan program. Below is the annual Stafford program activity at SMC:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 5349 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $52,786,136 |
Veterans and active-duty service members may qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill or DoD Tuition Assistance.
GI Bill volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 13 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $44,205 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $3,400 |
Active-duty Tuition Assistance recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 3 |
| Total DoD amount | $6,300 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $2,100 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.