by our College Data Analytics TeamA large number of students will never be charged 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 The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga can seem tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students are given some form of financial help.
Just what financial assistance solutions will UT Chattanooga deliver, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Read on for answers. Keep reading to discover what amount of financial assistance could be accessible to you.
The amount of financial aid you can receive varies from person to person and will depend on your family’s economic situation. Continue reading to find information to help you understand just how much assistance you can expect to receive from The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.
Through a mix of loans, grants, work-study and scholarships, schools bring down the effective cost so more students can attend. Keep in mind that certain forms of assistance are more beneficial than others, and aid amounts differ from student to student.
For incoming first-year students at The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga, 96% of the incoming full-time class was awarded financial aid some 2260 incoming students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 92% | $10,038 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 58% | $4,207 |
| Federal Pell grants | 37% | $5,785 |
| State/local grants | 82% | $5,627 |
| Federal student loans | 43% | $5,129 |
Because grants and scholarships do not have to be repaid, they are the most sought-after type of financial aid. At UT Chattanooga, around 81% of the undergraduate population received grant aid that averaged $9,999 (across roughly 8135 students).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 81% | $9,999 |
| Federal Pell grants | 33% | $5,676 |
| Federal student loans | 37% | $6,188 |
Among title-IV aid recipients living on campus, grant and scholarship aid averaged $11,224.
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 | $9,011 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $11,083 |
| Over $75,000 | $17,012 |
The numbers above are post-aid net prices, so they already account for grants and scholarships.
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 | $14,265 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $12,817 |
For an estimate tailored to your family circumstances, see UT Chattanooga’s net price tool: utc.studentaidcalculator.com/survey.aspx.
Graduating students at UT Chattanooga carry a median federal student debt of $12,000 in federal loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $12,000 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $19,500 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $206.73/mo |
The 10-year payment estimate assumes a standard federal repayment plan and the median graduate debt amount.
The numbers below show the full range, not just the middle of the distribution. The figures below chart the debt distribution at UT Chattanooga.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $2,900 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $24,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,000 |
Debt outcomes are not uniform — they shift with income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,500 |
| Middle income | $11,750 |
| High income | $12,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,013 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,000 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $11,670 |
| Independent students | $14,729 |
These indicators are derived from the underlying debt data and summarize the overall picture at UT Chattanooga.
The Stafford loan program is the largest source of federal direct loans to undergraduates. These figures summarize annual Stafford program activity at UT Chattanooga:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 33549 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $634,342,706 |
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 | 232 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $1,983,789 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $8,551 |
Active-duty Tuition Assistance recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 3 |
| Total DoD amount | $8,250 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $2,750 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.