by our College Data Analytics TeamA large number of students will not be asked to pay 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 sum total of attendance at Worcester Polytechnic Institute can sound overwhelming, but bear in mind that many students get some type of financial aid.
What financial assistance options will WPI offer, and what will you qualify for? Read on for more information. Keep reading to learn what amount of financial assistance will be accessible 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 Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
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. Bear in mind that not all aid is equal, and the amount any one student receives can vary widely.
For freshmen starting at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 100% of first-time, full-time freshmen received some form of financial aid some 1357 first-years).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 100% | $31,545 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 100% | $30,331 |
| Federal Pell grants | 14% | $5,529 |
| State/local grants | 8% | $3,300 |
| Federal student loans | 58% | $5,300 |
Unlike loans, grants and scholarships are gift aid that does not need to be paid back, making them the most desirable form of assistance. At this school, some 96% of undergrads got grants or scholarships worth on average $30,806 (covering around 5245 students).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 96% | $30,806 |
| Federal Pell grants | 12% | $5,501 |
| Federal student loans | 52% | $6,433 |
On-campus students receiving title-IV aid were awarded grants averaging $35,608.
The figures below show the average net price — cost after all grant and scholarship aid — broken out by family income.
| Family Income | Average Net Price |
|---|---|
| $0 – $48,000 | $23,259 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $26,987 |
| Over $75,000 | $48,919 |
Each amount is the average cost remaining once grant aid is subtracted, by income band.
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 | $43,071 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $43,273 |
For a personalized estimate based on your family’s financial situation, use WPI’s net price tool: www.wpi.edu/admissions/tuition-aid/financial-need/net-price-calculator.
Graduating students at WPI carry a median federal student debt of $26,978 of federal student loans.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $26,978 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $27,000 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $286.24/mo |
Under a standard ten-year plan, the median graduate’s monthly payment lands near the figure above.
The numbers below show the full range, not just the middle of the distribution. These percentiles trace how cumulative federal debt is spread among borrowers at WPI.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $7,500 |
| 25th percentile | $17,500 |
| 75th percentile | $30,000 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $32,500 |
Outcomes differ by income bracket, by first-generation status, and by whether a student is financially dependent.
Median Debt by Income Bracket
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $27,000 |
| Middle income | $27,000 |
| High income | $26,902 |
By First-Generation Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $26,500 |
| Continuing-generation students | $27,000 |
Dependent vs Independent Students
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $27,000 |
| Independent students | $21,886 |
The figure below distills the debt data into a single burden category for WPI.
The Stafford program is the federal direct-loan vehicle most undergraduates use. The annual Stafford volume below reflects program activity at WPI:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 9651 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $161,441,519 |
Military-affiliated students can tap the Post-9/11 GI Bill and DoD Tuition Assistance.
GI Bill volume
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 47 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $1,072,622 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $22,822 |
Active-duty Tuition Assistance recipients
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| DoD Tuition Assistance recipients | 1 |
| Total DoD amount | $500 |
| Average DoD amount per recipient | $500 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.