by our College Data Analytics TeamMany students will never be charged the full sticker price of a school. Rather, they are offered a financial aid plan that includes a mix of loans, grants, scholarships, and possibly work-study opportunities. The price tag of going to Sterling College can appear overpowering, but remember that the majority of students obtain some kind of financial assistance.
Just what financing solutions does Sterling deliver, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Keep scrolling for answers. Keep going to see just how much financial aid could be open to you.
How much aid you qualify for depends largely on your family’s financial circumstances. Continue reading to find information to help you understand just how much assistance you can expect to receive from Sterling College.
Colleges use loans, grants, scholarships and work-study to minimize what students actually pay out of pocket. However, some types of aid are more desirable than others, and some students will receive more than others.
For incoming first-year students at Sterling College, 100% of first-time, full-time freshmen received some form of financial aid approximately 7 new students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 100% | $32,556 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 100% | $28,086 |
| Federal Pell grants | 43% | $6,562 |
| State/local grants | 100% | $1,620 |
| Federal student loans | 29% | $7,244 |
The best aid is gift aid: grants and scholarships that carry no repayment obligation. At Sterling, approximately 85% of undergrads got grants or scholarships worth on average $30,596 (across roughly 66 students).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 85% | $30,596 |
| Federal Pell grants | 45% | $6,263 |
| Federal student loans | 37% | $6,979 |
For on-campus title-IV students, average grant aid came to $32,556.
Need-based aid means lower-income families typically pay far less than the sticker price suggests.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $13,954 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $23,122 |
| Over $75,000 | $35,893 |
The numbers above are post-aid net prices, so they already account for grants and scholarships.
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 | $21,854 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $30,785 |
To get a personalized net price estimate, try Sterling’s net price tool: www.sterlingcollege.edu/financial-aid.
Graduating students at Sterling carry a median federal student debt of $13,625 in federal student debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $13,625 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $23,000 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $243.84/mo |
At a typical 10-year repayment schedule, the median graduate would pay about the monthly figure above.
Percentiles reveal the spread — half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles. The four reference points below map the debt distribution at Sterling.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 25th percentile | $6,500 |
| 75th percentile | $26,140 |
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 | $16,596 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,125 |
A handful of calculated indicators summarize the debt outlook at Sterling.
The Stafford program is the federal direct-loan vehicle most undergraduates use. Below is the annual Stafford program activity at Sterling:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 468 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $6,954,685 |
Military-affiliated students can tap the Post-9/11 GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance.
GI Bill volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 0 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $0 |
Active-duty Tuition Assistance recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 0 |
| Total DoD amount | $0 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.