by our College Data Analytics TeamA large number of students will never be charged 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 sum total of attendance at Washington University in St Louis can sound overwhelming, but bear in mind that many students get some type of financial aid.
What financing options does WUSTL offer, and what will you qualify for? Keep scrolling for more information. Read on to find out just how much financial aid will be open to you.
Your financial aid package, which may contain grants and scholarships, will be determined on your financial need. The figures below will help you estimate the aid you might receive from Washington University in St Louis.
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. However, some types of aid are more desirable than others, and some students will receive more than others.
For freshmen starting at Washington University in St Louis, 56% of first-time, full-time freshmen received some form of financial aid around 1018 incoming students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 49% | $66,080 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 47% | $63,036 |
| Federal Pell grants | 21% | $5,916 |
| State/local grants | 9% | $3,233 |
| Federal student loans | 6% | $5,054 |
Gift aid — grants and scholarships — beats loans every time because none of it has to be repaid. At WUSTL, approximately 46% of undergraduates were awarded grant or scholarship aid averaging $55,678 (covering around 3803 awardees).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 46% | $55,678 |
| Federal Pell grants | 18% | $5,621 |
| Federal student loans | 12% | $6,271 |
Title-IV recipients living on campus saw average grant aid of $66,702.
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 | $3,096 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $2,101 |
| Over $75,000 | $36,885 |
The numbers above are post-aid net prices, so they already account for grants and scholarships.
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 | $21,786 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $22,117 |
For a personalized estimate based on your family’s financial situation, use WUSTL’s online cost calculator: npc.collegeboard.org/app/washustl/.
The middle student in the debt distribution at WUSTL owes $15,000 in federal loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $15,000 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $17,500 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $185.53/mo |
Spreading the median graduate debt over a standard 10-year repayment schedule works out to roughly the monthly payment shown above.
Looking only at the median can be misleading because it hides the spread. These percentiles trace how cumulative federal debt is spread among borrowers at WUSTL.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $5,500 |
| 25th percentile | $10,000 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $35,610 |
Outcomes differ by income bracket, by first-generation status, and by whether a student is financially dependent.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $9,459 |
| Middle income | $9,500 |
| High income | $17,415 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $12,999 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,500 |
Dependent vs Independent Students
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,000 |
| Independent students | $16,662 |
A handful of calculated indicators summarize the debt outlook at WUSTL.
Stafford loans make up the bulk of federal direct lending to undergraduates. The annual Stafford volume below reflects program activity at WUSTL:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 21551 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $739,383,408 |
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 | 98 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $3,127,426 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $31,913 |
Active-duty Tuition Assistance recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 0 |
| Total DoD amount | $0 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.