by our College Data Analytics TeamThe majority of 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 Western Carolina University can sound tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students get some type of financial help.
What financing options does WCU offer, and what will you qualify for? Keep scrolling for more information. Keep scrolling to see how much school funding could be available to you.
How much aid you qualify for depends largely on your family’s financial circumstances. Use the information below to understand how much financial assistance you may get from Western Carolina University.
Through a mix of loans, grants, work-study and scholarships, schools bring down the effective cost so more students can attend. Note that some aid is more valuable than the rest, and individual awards are far from uniform.
At Western Carolina University, 90% of entering full-time freshmen got some type of financial assistance (about 1873 freshmen).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 81% | $5,993 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 78% | $2,590 |
| Federal Pell grants | 40% | $5,634 |
| State/local grants | 32% | $1,601 |
| Federal student loans | 57% | $4,521 |
Unlike loans, grants and scholarships are gift aid that does not need to be paid back, making them the most desirable form of assistance. Here, about 65% of undergraduates were awarded an average grant or scholarship of $6,267 (across approximately 6516 undergraduates).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 65% | $6,267 |
| Federal Pell grants | 35% | $5,359 |
| Federal student loans | 44% | $5,618 |
Among title-IV aid recipients living on campus, grant and scholarship aid averaged $6,677.
Because need-based aid scales with family income, what students actually pay differs sharply across income brackets.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $9,222 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $11,822 |
| Over $75,000 | $16,616 |
These figures reflect what title-IV aid recipients pay after grant and scholarship aid is applied.
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 | $13,315 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $12,579 |
To project your own net price, use WCU’s NPC: www.wcu.edu/apply/financial-aid/facts-and-resources/npcalc.html.
A typical borrower at WCU leaves with $15,348 of federal student loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $15,348 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $21,868 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $231.84/mo |
At a typical 10-year repayment schedule, the median graduate would pay about the monthly figure above.
A single median figure conceals how much debt outcomes differ student to student. Use the percentiles below to see the debt range at WCU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,500 |
| 25th percentile | $6,998 |
| 75th percentile | $25,983 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $31,249 |
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 | $14,731 |
| Middle income | $16,180 |
| High income | $15,250 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,864 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,966 |
Dependent vs Independent Students
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $15,796 |
| Independent students | $14,139 |
A handful of calculated indicators summarize the debt outlook at WCU.
Stafford loans are the federal government’s primary direct undergraduate lending program. The annual Stafford volume below reflects program activity at WCU:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 32740 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $614,179,275 |
Military-affiliated students can tap the Post-9/11 GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance.
GI Bill volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 133 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $532,722 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $4,005 |
DoD program volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 44 |
| Total DoD amount | $80,872 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $1,838 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.