by our College Data Analytics TeamA lot of students will not be asked to pay the complete price tag of a school. Rather, they are presented a financial aid deal that includes a mix of loans, grants, scholarships, and possibly work-study opportunities. The total cost of going to University of Hawaii at Hilo can seem overwhelming, but bear in mind that many students are given some form of financial aid.
What financing options does UH Hilo offer, and what will you qualify for? Keep scrolling for more information. Scroll down to discover what amount of financial assistance could be accessible to you.
Your financial aid package, which may contain grants and scholarships, will be determined on your financial need. The information provided on this page can help you determine how much aid you may receive from University of Hawaii at Hilo.
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.
Among first-time, full-time freshmen at University of Hawaii at Hilo, 88% of first-time, full-time freshmen received some form of financial aid roughly 305 new students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 81% | $7,918 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 78% | $4,406 |
| Federal Pell grants | 44% | $5,889 |
| State/local grants | 9% | $3,581 |
| Federal student loans | 39% | $5,064 |
Unlike loans, grants and scholarships are gift aid that does not need to be paid back, making them the most desirable form of assistance. At UH Hilo, around 67% of undergraduates were awarded an average grant or scholarship of $8,475 (covering around 1635 students).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 67% | $8,475 |
| Federal Pell grants | 40% | $5,434 |
| Federal student loans | 30% | $6,786 |
On-campus students receiving title-IV aid were awarded grants averaging $9,317.
The figures below show the average net price — cost after all grant and scholarship aid — broken out by family income.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $9,295 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $11,350 |
| Over $75,000 | $16,858 |
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 | $11,856 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $12,063 |
To project your own net price, use UH Hilo’s official net price calculator: hilo.hawaii.edu/financialaid/netprice/.
A typical borrower at UH Hilo leaves with $12,500 of cumulative federal debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $12,500 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $20,500 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $217.33/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. Use the percentiles below to see the debt range at UH Hilo.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,215 |
| 25th percentile | $5,500 |
| 75th percentile | $24,880 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $34,426 |
Median debt varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $14,600 |
| Middle income | $12,500 |
| High income | $10,375 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $13,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $11,105 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $10,250 |
| Independent students | $19,267 |
Federal data publishes pre-calculated indicators that summarize debt outcomes. UH Hilo.
The Stafford program is the federal direct-loan vehicle most undergraduates use. The aggregate figures below show how active the program is at UH Hilo:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 10431 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $260,512,900 |
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 | 65 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $456,408 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $7,022 |
Active-duty Tuition Assistance recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 4 |
| Total DoD amount | $13,672 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $3,418 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.