by our College Data Analytics TeamThe majority of 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 Sweet Briar College can seem tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students are given some form of financial help.
What financial aid options can Sweet Briar offer you, and what will you qualify for? Keep reading for more information. Scroll down to see 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 Sweet Briar 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. Some kinds of aid are clearly preferable to others, and outcomes differ across students.
For incoming first-year students at Sweet Briar College, 99% of the incoming full-time class was awarded financial aid (about 137 new students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 99% | $22,387 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 96% | $18,607 |
| Federal Pell grants | 31% | $5,651 |
| State/local grants | 49% | $5,000 |
| Federal student loans | 41% | $5,207 |
The best aid is gift aid: grants and scholarships that carry no repayment obligation. At Sweet Briar, approximately 99% of undergraduates were awarded grant or scholarship aid averaging $21,233 (among about 460 awardees).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 99% | $21,233 |
| Federal Pell grants | 31% | $5,691 |
| Federal student loans | 47% | $6,549 |
On-campus students receiving title-IV aid were awarded grants averaging $26,140.
Need-based aid means lower-income families typically pay far less than the sticker price suggests.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $17,460 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $19,525 |
| Over $75,000 | $29,816 |
Each figure is the net price after grants and scholarships, not the published sticker price.
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 | $17,758 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $23,383 |
For a personalized estimate based on your family’s financial situation, use Sweet Briar’s online cost calculator: [tcc.ruffalonl.com/Sweet Briar College/Freshman-Students](https://tcc.ruffalonl.com/Sweet Briar College/Freshman-Students).
The median federal debt load at Sweet Briar comes to $21,000 in federal student debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $21,000 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $27,000 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $286.24/mo |
Under a standard ten-year plan, the median graduate’s monthly payment lands near the figure above.
Percentiles reveal the spread — half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles. The figures below chart the debt distribution at Sweet Briar.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,149 |
| 25th percentile | $6,000 |
| 75th percentile | $31,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $41,000 |
The figures below break down median federal debt by income tier, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $24,219 |
| Middle income | $21,500 |
| High income | $19,500 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $23,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $19,750 |
Federal data publishes pre-calculated indicators that summarize debt outcomes. Sweet Briar.
Stafford loans are the federal government’s primary direct undergraduate lending program. Below is the annual Stafford program activity at Sweet Briar:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 1845 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $28,036,750 |
Veterans and active-duty service members may qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill or DoD Tuition Assistance.
Post-9/11 GI Bill recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 8 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $147,456 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $18,432 |
DoD program volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 11 |
| Total DoD amount | $48,828 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $4,439 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.