by our College Data Analytics TeamMost students will not be asked to pay 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 Western Governors University can appear overpowering, but remember that the majority of students obtain some kind of financial assistance.
Just what financial assistance solutions will WGU provide, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Read on for answers. Read on to see what amount of financial assistance could be accessible to you.
The amount of financial aid you can receive varies from person to person and will depend on your family’s economic situation. The information provided on this page can help you determine how much aid you may receive from Western Governors 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.
At Western Governors University, 72% of entering full-time freshmen got some type of financial assistance approximately 1466 students).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 58% | $5,455 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 4% | $1,289 |
| Federal Pell grants | 57% | $5,144 |
| State/local grants | 6% | $3,361 |
| Federal student loans | 51% | $4,389 |
Because grants and scholarships do not have to be repaid, they are the most sought-after type of financial aid. Here, roughly 43% of undergraduates were awarded an average grant or scholarship of $5,054 (across approximately 58738 awardees).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 43% | $5,054 |
| Federal Pell grants | 39% | $4,734 |
| Federal student loans | 43% | $5,947 |
On-campus students receiving title-IV aid were awarded grants averaging $4,180.
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 | $9,501 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $10,222 |
| Over $75,000 | $13,950 |
Each amount is the average cost remaining once grant aid is subtracted, by income band.
Net price is the cost remaining after grant and scholarship aid is subtracted from the sticker price, and it is the most useful single number for estimating real cost.
| Cohort | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| On-campus title-IV students | $12,548 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $10,442 |
For an estimate tailored to your family circumstances, see WGU’s net price tool: www.wgu.edu/tuition_financial_aid/net_price_calculator.
A typical borrower at WGU leaves with $8,318 of federal student loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $8,318 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $11,116 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $117.85/mo |
At a typical 10-year repayment schedule, the median graduate would pay about the monthly figure above.
Percentiles reveal the spread — half of all borrowers fall between the 25th and 75th percentiles. The four reference points below map the debt distribution at WGU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $1,815 |
| 25th percentile | $4,040 |
| 75th percentile | $16,058 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $27,653 |
The figures below break down median federal debt by income tier, first-generation status, and dependency.
By Family Income
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $7,219 |
| Middle income | $8,540 |
| High income | $9,602 |
First-Generation Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $8,246 |
| Continuing-generation students | $8,588 |
Dependent vs Independent Students
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $6,500 |
| Independent students | $8,589 |
These indicators are derived from the underlying debt data and summarize the overall picture at WGU.
The Stafford program is the federal direct-loan vehicle most undergraduates use. These figures summarize annual Stafford program activity at WGU:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 292965 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $4,366,114,988 |
GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance are the two federal aid programs targeted at military-affiliated students.
Post-9/11 GI Bill activity
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 10778 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $41,340,957 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $3,836 |
DoD Tuition Assistance activity
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 8249 |
| Total DoD amount | $26,481,051 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $3,210 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.