by our College Data Analytics TeamA lot 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 price tag of going to Valparaiso University can appear tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students obtain some kind of financial help.
Just what financial aid solutions can Valpo provide, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Keep reading for answers. Keep going to learn what amount of financial assistance will be accessible to you.
Eligibility for aid and scholarships is driven mostly by your household’s income and need. The figures below will help you estimate the aid you might receive from Valparaiso University.
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. Note that some aid is more valuable than the rest, and individual awards are far from uniform.
Looking at the entering class at Valparaiso University, 100% of new full-time first-years were awarded at least some aid (about 594 freshmen).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 100% | $37,548 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 100% | $32,045 |
| Federal Pell grants | 35% | $5,724 |
| State/local grants | 30% | $10,348 |
| Federal student loans | 53% | $5,355 |
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, around 96% of the undergraduate population received grant aid that averaged $35,947 (across approximately 2173 undergraduates).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 96% | $35,947 |
| Federal Pell grants | 27% | $5,761 |
| Federal student loans | 52% | $6,691 |
Title-IV recipients living on campus saw average grant aid of $39,859.
Need-based aid means lower-income families typically pay far less than the sticker price suggests.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $14,790 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $18,420 |
| Over $75,000 | $25,761 |
Each figure is the net price after grants and scholarships, not the published sticker price.
Net price is the average annual cost after grants and scholarships are subtracted from the published cost of attendance — the figure closest to what a typical aid-receiving student actually pays.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $18,578 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $21,583 |
For an estimate tailored to your family circumstances, see Valpo’s official net price calculator: www.valpo.edu/student-financial-services/planning/.
Graduating students at Valpo carry a median federal student debt of $22,133 in federal student debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $22,133 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $26,942 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $285.63/mo |
The 10-year payment estimate assumes a standard federal repayment plan and the median graduate debt amount.
The median alone does not show how widely outcomes vary across the student body. These percentiles trace how cumulative federal debt is spread among borrowers at Valpo.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $11,500 |
| 75th percentile | $30,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,750 |
Median debt varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $22,500 |
| Middle income | $22,500 |
| High income | $21,500 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $22,148 |
| Continuing-generation students | $21,998 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $22,125 |
| Independent students | $22,154 |
The Department of Education computes summary indicators that describe debt outcomes at a glance. Valpo.
Stafford loans are the federal government’s primary direct undergraduate lending program. The annual Stafford volume below reflects program activity at Valpo:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 14374 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $423,204,011 |
Veterans and active-duty service members may qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill or DoD Tuition Assistance.
Post-9/11 GI Bill recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 22 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $586,082 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $26,640 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.