by our College Data Analytics TeamMany 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 University of California-San Diego can seem overwhelming, but bear in mind that many students are given some form of financial aid.
Just what financial aid solutions can UCSD deliver, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Keep reading for answers. Keep scrolling to discover what amount of financial assistance could be accessible to you.
Eligibility for aid and scholarships is driven mostly by your household’s income and need. Use the information below to understand how much financial assistance you may get from University of California-San Diego.
Financial assistance, available as scholarships, loans, and work-study, is a way schools lower the price of attendance so many students can enroll. Bear in mind that not all aid is equal, and the amount any one student receives can vary widely.
At University of California-San Diego, 66% of entering full-time freshmen got some type of financial assistance roughly 4627 students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 59% | $25,757 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 54% | $11,860 |
| Federal Pell grants | 37% | $6,058 |
| State/local grants | 52% | $12,861 |
| Federal student loans | 24% | $4,158 |
Gift aid — grants and scholarships — beats loans every time because none of it has to be repaid. At UCSD, around 59% of undergraduates were awarded an average grant or scholarship of $23,806 (for some 19860 awardees).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 59% | $23,806 |
| Federal Pell grants | 34% | $5,824 |
| Federal student loans | 21% | $4,526 |
For students living on campus and receiving title-IV aid, grants averaged $26,231.
Since aid is largely need-based, the real cost of attendance falls steeply for lower-income families.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $7,631 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $9,035 |
| Over $75,000 | $23,423 |
Each amount is the average cost remaining once grant aid is subtracted, by income band.
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 | $12,470 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $12,150 |
For a personalized estimate based on your family’s financial situation, use UCSD’s online cost calculator: fas.ucsd.edu/forms-and-resources/financial-aid-estimator/index.html.
The median student at UCSD graduates with $14,778 of federal student loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $14,778 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $15,500 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $164.33/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 four reference points below map the debt distribution at UCSD.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,159 |
| 25th percentile | $9,200 |
| 75th percentile | $23,800 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $29,000 |
Debt outcomes are not uniform — they shift with income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Debt by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $14,552 |
| Middle income | $14,800 |
| High income | $14,792 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Median Debt
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $14,799 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,700 |
Dependent vs Independent Students
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $14,750 |
| Independent students | $14,800 |
These indicators are derived from the underlying debt data and summarize the overall picture at UCSD.
The Stafford program is the federal direct-loan vehicle most undergraduates use. The annual Stafford volume below reflects program activity at UCSD:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 52879 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $950,341,872 |
Military-affiliated students can tap the Post-9/11 GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance.
Post-9/11 GI Bill recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 178 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $3,440,649 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $19,329 |
Active-duty Tuition Assistance recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 0 |
| Total DoD amount | $0 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.