by our College Data Analytics TeamA large number of 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 price tag of going to Vassar College can appear overwhelming, but bear in mind that many students obtain some kind of financial aid.
What financial aid options can Vassar offer, and what will you qualify for? Keep reading for more information. Keep scrolling to see how much school funding could be available to you.
The amount of financial aid you can receive varies from person to person and will depend on your family’s economic situation. Use the information below to understand how much financial assistance you may get from Vassar College.
Aid such as grants, loans, work-study, and scholarships helps colleges decrease the real cost of attendance for most students. Some kinds of aid are clearly preferable to others, and outcomes differ across students.
Among first-time, full-time freshmen at Vassar College, 72% of the incoming full-time class was awarded financial aid approximately 496 new students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 55% | $57,443 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 54% | $55,514 |
| Federal Pell grants | 18% | $5,604 |
| State/local grants | 11% | $3,102 |
| Federal student loans | 40% | $3,758 |
Grants and scholarships are the most valuable form of aid because, unlike loans, they never have to be repaid. At Vassar, roughly 57% of undergraduates were awarded grant or scholarship aid averaging $54,250 (across approximately 1465 undergraduates).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 57% | $54,250 |
| Federal Pell grants | 19% | $5,562 |
| Federal student loans | 39% | $4,849 |
On-campus students receiving title-IV aid were awarded grants averaging $48,076.
Need-based aid means lower-income families typically pay far less than the sticker price suggests.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $17,565 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $22,781 |
| Over $75,000 | $49,486 |
The numbers above are post-aid net prices, so they already account for grants and scholarships.
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 | $39,343 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $38,182 |
For a customized cost estimate, visit Vassar’s net price calculator: npc.collegeboard.org/student/app/vassar.
A typical borrower at Vassar leaves with $17,500 in federal student debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $17,500 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $18,625 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $197.46/mo |
The 10-year payment estimate assumes a standard federal repayment plan and the median graduate debt amount.
The numbers below show the full range, not just the middle of the distribution. The percentiles below describe the cumulative federal debt distribution for borrowers at Vassar.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,250 |
| 25th percentile | $7,450 |
| 75th percentile | $20,250 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $24,350 |
Debt outcomes are not uniform — they shift with income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Debt by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,851 |
| Middle income | $15,597 |
| High income | $19,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Median Debt
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $18,500 |
The Department of Education computes summary indicators that describe debt outcomes at a glance. Vassar.
The Stafford loan program is the largest source of federal direct loans to undergraduates. The annual Stafford volume below reflects program activity at Vassar:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 4542 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $54,690,066 |
Military-affiliated students can tap the Post-9/11 GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance.
GI Bill volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 28 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $440,917 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $15,747 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.