by our College Data Analytics TeamMany students will not be asked to pay 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 price of attendance at University of Northern Iowa can feel overpowering, but remember that the majority of students receive some sort of financial assistance.
Just what financial aid solutions can UNI provide, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Keep reading for answers. Read on to learn what amount of financial assistance will be accessible to you.
The amount of financial aid and scholarships you are eligible for will vary depending on your family’s income. The information provided on this page can help you determine how much aid you may receive from University of Northern Iowa.
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. 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 University of Northern Iowa, 84% of the incoming full-time class was awarded financial aid (about 1292 new students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 83% | $5,865 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 80% | $3,722 |
| Federal Pell grants | 26% | $5,299 |
| State/local grants | 7% | $3,596 |
| Federal student loans | 46% | $5,006 |
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 this school, approximately 69% of undergraduate students received gift aid averaging $7,415 (for some 5350 students).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 69% | $7,415 |
| Federal Pell grants | 27% | $5,144 |
| Federal student loans | 46% | $5,963 |
For students living on campus and receiving title-IV aid, grants averaged $6,377.
Because need-based aid scales with family income, what students actually pay differs sharply across income brackets.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $10,653 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $12,775 |
| Over $75,000 | $16,271 |
Each figure is the net price after grants and scholarships, not the published sticker price.
The net price represents the average annual cost a title-IV-receiving student pays after grant aid is subtracted from the full cost of attendance.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $15,901 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $14,609 |
To project your own net price, use UNI’s NPC: admissions.uni.edu/financial-aid/resources/net-price-calculator.
A typical borrower at UNI leaves with $16,486 of federal student loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $16,486 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $19,691 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $208.76/mo |
That monthly figure reflects the median graduate debt repaid on a standard 10-year federal schedule.
Percentiles reveal the spread — half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles. These percentiles trace how cumulative federal debt is spread among borrowers at UNI.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,750 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $25,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,000 |
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 | $15,131 |
| Middle income | $16,667 |
| High income | $16,721 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $16,750 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,782 |
Dependent vs Independent Students
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $16,241 |
| Independent students | $18,798 |
These indicators are derived from the underlying debt data and summarize the overall picture at UNI.
Stafford loans make up the bulk of federal direct lending to undergraduates. The aggregate figures below show how active the program is at UNI:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 37900 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $673,786,853 |
Military-affiliated students can tap the Post-9/11 GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance.
GI Bill volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 81 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $664,070 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $8,198 |
Active-duty Tuition Assistance recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 49 |
| Total DoD amount | $188,500 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $3,847 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.