by our College Data Analytics TeamMany 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 sum total of attendance at University of South Alabama can sound tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students get some type of financial help.
Just what financial aid solutions can USA deliver, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Keep reading for answers. Keep reading to see what amount of financial assistance could be accessible to you.
The amount of financial aid you can receive varies from person to person and will depend on your family’s economic situation. The figures below will help you estimate the aid you might receive from University of South Alabama.
Colleges use loans, grants, scholarships and work-study to minimize what students actually pay out of pocket. Note that some aid is more valuable than the rest, and individual awards are far from uniform.
Among first-time, full-time freshmen at University of South Alabama, 97% of new full-time first-years were awarded at least some aid around 1849 incoming students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 96% | $9,329 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 93% | $6,159 |
| Federal Pell grants | 44% | $6,127 |
| State/local grants | 3% | $2,129 |
| Federal student loans | 50% | $10,366 |
Grants and scholarships are the most valuable form of aid because, unlike loans, they never have to be repaid. Across the undergraduate body at USA, some 78% of the undergraduate population received grant aid that averaged $8,989 (across approximately 6979 awardees).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 78% | $8,989 |
| Federal Pell grants | 38% | $5,983 |
| Federal student loans | 47% | $10,850 |
For students living on campus and receiving title-IV aid, grants averaged $7,828.
How much a family pays depends heavily on income, because most aid is awarded on the basis of financial need.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $10,656 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $13,528 |
| Over $75,000 | $21,596 |
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 | $17,648 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $15,142 |
For an estimate tailored to your family circumstances, see USA’s online cost calculator: www.southalabama.edu/departments/finaid/netpricecalculator/.
The median federal debt load at USA comes to $17,750 of federal student loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $17,750 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $24,929 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $264.29/mo |
At a typical 10-year repayment schedule, the median graduate would pay about the monthly figure above.
The numbers below show the full range, not just the middle of the distribution. Use the percentiles below to see the debt range at USA.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $6,125 |
| 75th percentile | $27,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $40,000 |
The figures below break down median federal debt by income tier, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,750 |
| Middle income | $17,508 |
| High income | $16,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $18,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $17,202 |
Dependent vs Independent Students
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $17,000 |
| Independent students | $20,000 |
A handful of calculated indicators summarize the debt outlook at USA.
Most undergraduate borrowing runs through the federal Stafford loan program. The totals below capture Stafford lending at USA:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 55018 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $1,573,902,905 |
GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance are the two federal aid programs targeted at military-affiliated students.
GI Bill volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 298 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $2,967,710 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $9,959 |
DoD program volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 28 |
| Total DoD amount | $66,500 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $2,375 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.