by our College Data Analytics TeamThe majority of students will never be charged 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 Connecticut State University can sound tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students get some type of financial help.
Just what financial aid solutions can WestConn deliver, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Keep reading for answers. Read on to learn how much school funding will be available to you.
Eligibility for aid and scholarships is driven mostly by your household’s income and need. Read on to get a sense of the financial assistance available at Western Connecticut State University.
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 Western Connecticut State University, 86% of first-time, full-time freshmen received some form of financial aid roughly 594 students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 86% | $12,870 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 77% | $5,008 |
| Federal Pell grants | 39% | $5,724 |
| State/local grants | 13% | $4,012 |
| Federal student loans | 56% | $5,256 |
Because grants and scholarships do not have to be repaid, they are the most sought-after type of financial aid. At WestConn, roughly 62% of undergraduates were awarded grant or scholarship aid averaging $7,954 (among about 2198 undergraduates).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 62% | $7,954 |
| Federal Pell grants | 35% | $5,338 |
| Federal student loans | 49% | $6,245 |
Among title-IV aid recipients living on campus, grant and scholarship aid averaged $7,273.
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 | $16,837 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $16,343 |
| Over $75,000 | $21,923 |
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 | $17,604 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $18,617 |
For a personalized estimate based on your family’s financial situation, use WestConn’s online cost calculator: www.wcsu.edu/admissions/netprice/.
A typical borrower at WestConn leaves with $17,002 in federal loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $17,002 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $24,147 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $256.0/mo |
Under a standard ten-year plan, the median graduate’s monthly payment lands near the figure above.
Percentiles reveal the spread — half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles. The figures below chart the debt distribution at WestConn.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,000 |
| 25th percentile | $6,808 |
| 75th percentile | $27,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $34,500 |
How much a student borrows depends heavily on family income, first-gen status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $18,661 |
| Middle income | $17,000 |
| High income | $15,750 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $17,501 |
| Continuing-generation students | $15,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Students
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $16,407 |
| Independent students | $19,750 |
A handful of calculated indicators summarize the debt outlook at WestConn.
Most undergraduate borrowing runs through the federal Stafford loan program. These figures summarize annual Stafford program activity at WestConn:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 17309 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $318,221,109 |
Military-affiliated students can tap the Post-9/11 GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance.
Post-9/11 GI Bill activity
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 61 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $535,258 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $8,775 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.