by our College Data Analytics TeamMost students are not billed 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 Wichita State University can appear tremendous, but do not forget that almost all students obtain some kind of financial help.
What financing options does WSU offer you, and what will you qualify for? Keep scrolling for more information. Read on to discover how much school funding could be available to you.
The amount of financial aid and scholarships you are eligible for will vary depending on your family’s income. Use the information below to understand how much financial assistance you may get from Wichita State University.
Through a mix of loans, grants, work-study and scholarships, schools bring down the effective cost so more students can attend. Keep in mind that certain forms of assistance are more beneficial than others, and aid amounts differ from student to student.
Among first-time, full-time freshmen at Wichita State University, 92% of new full-time first-years were awarded at least some aid (about 1580 freshmen).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 89% | $8,125 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 80% | $4,602 |
| Federal Pell grants | 44% | $5,696 |
| State/local grants | 33% | $2,799 |
| Federal student loans | 41% | $6,580 |
Gift aid — grants and scholarships — beats loans every time because none of it has to be repaid. At WSU, approximately 60% of undergraduates were awarded grant or scholarship aid averaging $7,537 (among about 7728 awardees).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 60% | $7,537 |
| Federal Pell grants | 31% | $5,352 |
| Federal student loans | 32% | $7,507 |
Among title-IV aid recipients living on campus, grant and scholarship aid averaged $8,586.
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 | $10,980 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $12,494 |
| Over $75,000 | $18,262 |
Remember these are net prices — what families pay after gift aid, not before.
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 | $13,194 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $13,776 |
To project your own net price, use WSU’s net price tool: webapps.wichita.edu/netprice/.
Graduating students at WSU carry a median federal student debt of $14,700 in federal loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $14,700 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $20,500 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $217.33/mo |
That monthly figure reflects the median graduate debt repaid on a standard 10-year federal schedule.
A single median figure conceals how much debt outcomes differ student to student. The four reference points below map the debt distribution at WSU.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,000 |
| 25th percentile | $5,617 |
| 75th percentile | $26,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $38,268 |
Debt outcomes are not uniform — they shift with income, first-generation status, and dependency.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $15,303 |
| Middle income | $14,304 |
| High income | $14,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Median Debt
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $15,000 |
| Continuing-generation students | $13,937 |
Dependency-Status Comparison
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $13,750 |
| Independent students | $17,500 |
Federal data publishes pre-calculated indicators that summarize debt outcomes. WSU.
Stafford loans are the federal government’s primary direct undergraduate lending program. These figures summarize annual Stafford program activity at WSU:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 44977 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $1,052,663,439 |
If you are a veteran or active-duty service member, the GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance are the primary federal programs you can use at this school.
GI Bill volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 345 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $2,663,250 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $7,720 |
DoD program volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 62 |
| Total DoD amount | $209,794 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $3,384 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.