by our College Data Analytics TeamA large number of students are not billed 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 University of Massachusetts-Lowell can seem overwhelming, but bear in mind that many students are given some form of financial aid.
What financial aid options can UMass Lowell offer you, and what will you qualify for? Keep reading for more information. Scroll down to see 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 Massachusetts-Lowell.
Aid such as grants, loans, work-study, and scholarships helps colleges decrease the real cost of attendance for most students. However, some types of aid are more desirable than others, and some students will receive more than others.
Looking at the entering class at University of Massachusetts-Lowell, 92% of first-time, full-time freshmen received some form of financial aid some 1861 incoming students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 82% | $15,098 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 79% | $9,322 |
| Federal Pell grants | 37% | $5,467 |
| State/local grants | 46% | $6,491 |
| Federal student loans | 64% | $5,013 |
Gift aid — grants and scholarships — beats loans every time because none of it has to be repaid. Here, approximately 64% of undergraduate students received gift aid averaging $13,518 (covering around 7743 recipients).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 64% | $13,518 |
| Federal Pell grants | 30% | $5,041 |
| Federal student loans | 53% | $6,087 |
For on-campus title-IV students, average grant aid came to $13,623.
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 | $10,775 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $13,743 |
| Over $75,000 | $25,282 |
Remember these are net prices — what families pay after gift aid, not before.
Net price is the cost remaining after grant and scholarship aid is subtracted from the sticker price, and it is the most useful single number for estimating real cost.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $17,163 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $18,627 |
For a personalized estimate based on your family’s financial situation, use UMass Lowell’s NPC: uml.studentaidcalculator.com/welcome.aspx.
Graduating students at UMass Lowell carry a median federal student debt of $18,250 in federal student debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $18,250 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $23,704 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $251.3/mo |
That monthly figure reflects the median graduate debt repaid on a standard 10-year federal schedule.
The median alone does not show how widely outcomes vary across the student body. The percentiles below describe the cumulative federal debt distribution for borrowers at UMass Lowell.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,654 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,400 |
Median debt varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Debt by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,500 |
| Middle income | $18,629 |
| High income | $17,750 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Median Debt
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Students
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $17,750 |
| Independent students | $18,750 |
Federal data publishes pre-calculated indicators that summarize debt outcomes. UMass Lowell.
Stafford loans are the federal government’s primary direct undergraduate lending program. These figures summarize annual Stafford program activity at UMass Lowell:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 41131 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $808,906,962 |
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 | 227 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $2,498,707 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $11,008 |
DoD Tuition Assistance activity
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 28 |
| Total DoD amount | $77,570 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $2,770 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.