by our College Data Analytics TeamThe majority of students will never be charged 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 Yale University can appear overpowering, but remember that the majority of students obtain some kind of financial assistance.
Just what financial aid solutions can Yale deliver, and just what are you going to be eligible for? Keep reading for answers. Keep going to see what amount of financial assistance could be accessible to you.
The amount of financial aid and scholarships you are eligible for will vary depending on your family’s income. Continue reading to find information to help you understand just how much assistance you can expect to receive from Yale University.
Financial assistance, available as scholarships, loans, and work-study, is a way schools lower the price of attendance so many students can enroll. Bear in mind that not all aid is equal, and the amount any one student receives can vary widely.
For incoming first-year students at Yale University, 59% of first-year full-time students received aid of some kind (about 973 freshmen).
| Type of Aid | % of Freshmen Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 56% | $65,892 |
| Institutional grants & scholarships | 56% | $63,074 |
| Federal Pell grants | 22% | $5,929 |
| State/local grants | 0% | — |
| Federal student loans | 4% | $5,119 |
The best aid is gift aid: grants and scholarships that carry no repayment obligation. Across the undergraduate body at Yale, some 57% of undergraduate students received gift aid averaging $62,236 (for some 3873 undergraduates).
| Award | % of Undergrads Receiving | Average Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Grant or scholarship aid (all sources) | 57% | $62,236 |
| Federal Pell grants | 20% | $5,696 |
| Federal student loans | 5% | $6,016 |
Title-IV recipients living on campus saw average grant aid of $64,523.
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 | $22,863 |
| $30,001 – $75,000 | $20,387 |
| Over $75,000 | $40,809 |
These figures reflect what title-IV aid recipients pay after grant and scholarship aid is applied.
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 | $23,777 |
| Off-campus title-IV students | $27,818 |
For a personalized estimate based on your family’s financial situation, use Yale’s NPC: admissions.yale.edu/estimate-your-cost.
The middle student in the debt distribution at Yale owes $11,648 of cumulative federal debt.
| Metric | Amount |
|---|---|
| Median federal debt (all student-aid borrowers) | $11,648 |
| Median federal debt (graduates only) | $12,975 |
| Typical 10-year monthly payment (graduates) | $137.56/mo |
Spreading the median graduate debt over a standard 10-year repayment schedule works out to roughly the monthly payment shown above.
The numbers below show the full range, not just the middle of the distribution. Use the percentiles below to see the debt range at Yale.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $3,984 |
| 25th percentile | $6,500 |
| 75th percentile | $19,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $26,959 |
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 | $8,294 |
| Middle income | $7,500 |
| High income | $12,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Median Debt
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $9,790 |
| Continuing-generation students | $12,000 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $11,598 |
| Independent students | $12,475 |
The Department of Education computes summary indicators that describe debt outcomes at a glance. Yale.
The Stafford loan program is the largest source of federal direct loans to undergraduates. The aggregate figures below show how active the program is at Yale:
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Stafford loan recipients | 16039 |
| Total Stafford loan amount | $512,862,445 |
Veterans and active-duty service members may qualify for the Post-9/11 GI Bill or DoD Tuition Assistance.
Post-9/11 GI Bill activity
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| GI Bill recipients | 109 |
| Total GI Bill amount | $4,051,994 |
| Average GI Bill amount per recipient | $37,174 |
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.