by our College Data Analytics TeamThe majority of 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 total cost of going to Texas Christian University can seem overpowering, but remember that the majority of students are given some form of financial assistance.
Just what financial assistance solutions will TCU deliver, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Read on for answers. Read on to find out how much school funding will be available 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 Texas Christian 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. Some kinds of aid are clearly preferable to others, and outcomes differ across students.
Among first-time, full-time freshmen at Texas Christian University, 89% of new full-time first-years were awarded at least some aid roughly 2202 first-years).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 80% | $34,975 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 80% | $33,125 |
| Federal Pell grants | 16% | $5,884 |
| State/local grants | 14% | $4,475 |
| Federal student loans | 25% | $5,103 |
Gift aid — grants and scholarships — beats loans every time because none of it has to be repaid. Across the undergraduate body at TCU, some 81% of undergrads got grants or scholarships worth on average $32,812 (covering around 8883 undergraduates).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 81% | $32,812 |
| Federal Pell grants | 14% | $5,824 |
| Federal student loans | 25% | $6,424 |
Among title-IV aid recipients living on campus, grant and scholarship aid averaged $39,944.
How much a family pays depends heavily on income, because most aid is awarded on the basis of financial need.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $14,156 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $15,696 |
| Over $75,000 | $46,601 |
Remember these are net prices — what families pay after gift aid, not before.
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 | $36,660 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $33,531 |
For a personalized estimate based on your family’s financial situation, use TCU’s online cost calculator: financialaid.tcu.edu/cost/net-price-calculator.php.
The median federal debt load at TCU comes to $19,000 of federal borrowing.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $19,000 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $21,500 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $227.94/mo |
Under a standard ten-year plan, the median graduate’s monthly payment lands near the figure above.
The numbers below show the full range, not just the middle of the distribution. The figures below chart the debt distribution at TCU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $8,750 |
| 75th percentile | $26,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,000 |
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 | $20,000 |
| Middle income | $18,959 |
| High income | $18,750 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $19,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $18,500 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $18,500 |
| Independent students | $25,000 |
These indicators are derived from the underlying debt data and summarize the overall picture at TCU.
The Stafford program is the federal direct-loan vehicle most undergraduates use. The totals below capture Stafford lending at TCU:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 18813 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $421,918,295 |
GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance are the two federal aid programs targeted at military-affiliated students.
Post-9/11 GI Bill recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 349 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $12,730,874 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $36,478 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.