by our College Data Analytics TeamThe majority 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 sum total of attendance at University of San Diego can sound tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students get some type of financial help.
What financial assistance options will USD offer you, and what will you qualify for? Read on for more information. Keep going to find out just how much financial aid will be open to you.
The amount of financial aid and scholarships you are eligible for will vary depending on your family’s income. The figures below will help you estimate the aid you might receive from University of San Diego.
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.
At University of San Diego, 87% of the incoming full-time class was awarded financial aid around 1077 freshmen).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 84% | $40,965 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 84% | $37,484 |
| Federal Pell grants | 23% | $5,630 |
| State/local grants | 16% | $9,320 |
| Federal student loans | 34% | $5,181 |
Gift aid — grants and scholarships — beats loans every time because none of it has to be repaid. At USD, approximately 75% of undergraduates were awarded grant or scholarship aid averaging $37,818 (across roughly 4277 awardees).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 75% | $37,818 |
| Federal Pell grants | 21% | $5,722 |
| Federal student loans | 32% | $6,414 |
Title-IV recipients living on campus saw average grant aid of $48,355.
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 | $17,776 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $19,100 |
| Over $75,000 | $41,561 |
Remember these are net prices — what families pay after gift aid, not before.
After grants and scholarships come off the published price, what remains is the net price — the best estimate of true out-of-pocket cost.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $30,365 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $31,265 |
To project your own net price, use USD’s online cost calculator: www.sandiego.edu/admissions/undergraduate/tuition-financial-aid/net-price-calculator.php.
The median student at USD graduates with $19,019 of cumulative federal debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $19,019 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $22,940 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $243.2/mo |
Spreading the median graduate debt over a standard 10-year repayment schedule works out to roughly the monthly payment shown above.
A single median figure conceals how much debt outcomes differ student to student. The figures below chart the debt distribution at USD.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $11,250 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $33,500 |
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 | $20,010 |
| Middle income | $19,911 |
| High income | $18,000 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $20,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,750 |
Dependent vs Independent Students
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $19,068 |
| Independent students | $18,750 |
These indicators are derived from the underlying debt data and summarize the overall picture at USD.
Most undergraduate borrowing runs through the federal Stafford loan program. The annual Stafford volume below reflects program activity at USD:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 23505 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $692,586,198 |
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 | 469 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $13,322,588 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $28,406 |
DoD program volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 14 |
| Total DoD amount | $33,000 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $2,357 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.