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Cost & financial aid brief

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# Bethel University (IN) Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid

Updated September 27, 2026

[Overview](/school/bethel-university-in/)Cost & aid[Outcomes](/school/bethel-university-in/outcomes/)[Admissions](/school/bethel-university-in/admissions/)[Majors](/school/bethel-university-in/majors/)[Similar schools](/school/bethel-university-in/similar/)

**On this page**+

## How much does Bethel University (IN) cost after financial aid?

Bethel University offers a lower average net cost for aid recipients than comparable schools, a relative strength in its price picture. The university’s published cost of attendance is $43,885 (an average across living arrangements), alongside on-campus $34,600 in tuition and fees and $11,140 for room and board.

Its average [net price](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/), what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $18,610, with $25,275 offset from the sticker price on average. At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median net price is $22,347; Bethel University is below that figure by $3,737.

Azimuth ranks the university #593 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. The lower net price relative to peers and its affordability standing point in the same direction.

Affordability is the strongest pillar at Bethel University, sitting in the 58th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The average [net price](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/) is what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships.

After grants and scholarships, aid recipients pay an average of $18,610, which is $3,737 below the median at comparable institutions (same type and size). The median federal debt for completers who borrowed is $25,000, a figure level with the peer median.

For aid recipients from families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $17,580; for those from families earning over $110,000, it is $25,871.

Costs after grants and scholarships are lowest for the two middle family-income bands, rather than following a straight decline as income falls. In ascending income order, average [net price](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/) is $17,580 for the lowest band, $12,572 for the next band, $12,673 for the middle band, $18,645 for the next-highest band, and $25,871 for the highest band.

Pell Grants go to 33.5% of undergraduates, providing financial-access context for the lowest band. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $8,291.

Average net price by family income

**$0–30K**
$17,580

**$30–48K**
$12,572

**$48–75K**
$12,673

**$75–110K**
$18,645

**$110K+**
$25,871

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Overall average annual net price: **$18,610**. After grants and scholarships, including living costs. [Source and coverage](#cost-data-notes).

Aid covers about 58% of the published cost for the average aid recipient. That is an average rather than a promise for any particular family, and published charges remain the starting point before grants and scholarships are applied.

The pattern across income bands is not a straight line. The lowest band, under $30,000, averages $17,580, while the $30,001–$48,000 band averages $12,572 — the lowest figure in the table.

The middle bands sit at $12,673 and $18,645, and families earning over $110,000 average $25,871. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $8,291, which is narrower than the sticker-to-net gap for the average recipient.

The aid structure concentrates its largest reductions in the middle of the income range rather than at the very bottom.

Sticker cost at Bethel University is $43,885 (an average across living arrangements), but aid-recipient prices differ across family-income bands. The average [net price](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/), what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $17,580 in the lowest band, $12,572 in the lower-middle band, $12,673 in the middle band, $18,645 in the upper-middle band, and $25,871 in the highest band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $8,291. Azimuth ranks the university #593 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 58% of the published cost, an average savings of $25,275 against the sticker price. Tuition and fees are $34,600.

Across all aid recipients, the average net price is $18,610, which is $3,737 below the peer median of $22,347 for comparable institutions (same type and size). The overall price and average aid offset point in the same direction.

Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt at completion is $25,000. It is level with the peer median of $25,000 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

93.6% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. Median [Parent PLUS](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) borrowing is $15,256.

The median federal debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years. The [Financial GPS tool](/analysis/financial-gps-framework/) offers personalized scenarios including Parent PLUS.

## Student loans: what does repayment look like?

Borrowers who complete at Bethel University leave with a median of $25,000 in federal student loan debt, a figure that excludes [Parent PLUS](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) and private loans. At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median federal debt is $25,000.

Bethel’s median is level with the peer median. For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $15,256.

The school’s federal debt level therefore aligns with its peer benchmark, although the figures do not cover every loan type.

The return picture at Bethel University is mixed: federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn median earnings of $53,289 four years after completion. Azimuth places that earnings level in the 27th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

[Earnings beyond expectations](/analysis/a-value-added-approach-to-college-outcomes/), the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, offer a separate modeled measure. Graduates earn about $182 more than the model expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.

Azimuth places this measure in the 55th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The program-mix scenarios range from $41,191 in the downside case to $75,261 in the upside case, with the typical scenario matching the reported median.

Median federal debt is $25,000, close to the peer median, and that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years. Near-expected modeled earnings alongside peer-level debt leave a mixed return picture.

For the separate population of parent borrowers, median [Parent PLUS](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) borrowing is $15,256. For borrowers with median federal debt, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $284 a month if repaid over ten years.

The [Financial GPS tool](/analysis/financial-gps-framework/) offers personalized family cost analysis based on household costs and borrowing choices.

Financial GPS

### What does repayment look like?

**Institution median student debt**
$25,000

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

**Estimated student payment · monthly**
$284/mo

Student and parent loans are separate debts. Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

#### Student payment as a share of available income

At median graduate earnings of $53,289, with a $22,590 annual allowance for basic expenses:

**11.1%** of income above the allowance · Good

1.  Excellent Under 8%
2.  Good 8–under 12%**▲**
3.  Concerning 12–20%
4.  High risk Over 20%

How this estimate works

These are modeled earnings scenarios, not observed earnings percentiles. Annual student payments ÷ (earnings − basic-expense allowance). The starting allowance, $22,590, uses the published framework’s 2024 baseline; it is not a current local living-cost estimate. Change it for your budget, including taxes and other obligations. This combines school-level figures for illustration, not a typical individual’s budget or an official school rating. Parent PLUS is separate.

[Read the framework and its limits](/analysis/financial-gps-framework/).

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

[Borrowing populations and model assumptions](#cost-data-notes).

## Parent loans: what can the family afford?

[How Parent PLUS borrowing affects families](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/)

**Median Parent PLUS debt**
$15,256

**Estimated parent payment**
$194/mo

Modeled Parent PLUS pressure by income

| Income | Risk level |
| --- | --- |
| $35,000 | High pressure |
| $50,000 | High pressure |
| $75,000 | High pressure |
| $100,000 | Safe |
| $150,000 | Safe |
| $200,000 | Safe |

The model holds the parent balance fixed and varies parent income. [Read the assumptions and limits](#cost-data-notes).

## Student and parent loans: the monthly payments

Financial GPS

### What does repayment look like?

**Institution median student debt**
$25,000

**Institution Parent PLUS debt**
$15,256

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

**Estimated student payment · monthly**
$284/mo

**Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly**
$194/mo

**Modeled student + parent payments**
$478/mo

#### Student payment as a share of available income

At median graduate earnings of $53,289, with a $22,590 annual allowance for basic expenses:

**11.1%** of income above the allowance · Good

1.  Excellent Under 8%
2.  Good 8–under 12%**▲**
3.  Concerning 12–20%
4.  High risk Over 20%

How this estimate works

These are modeled earnings scenarios, not observed earnings percentiles. Annual student payments ÷ (earnings − basic-expense allowance). The starting allowance, $22,590, uses the published framework’s 2024 baseline; it is not a current local living-cost estimate. Change it for your budget, including taxes and other obligations. This combines school-level figures for illustration, not a typical individual’s budget or an official school rating. Parent PLUS is separate.

[Read the framework and its limits](/analysis/financial-gps-framework/).

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

## Data & methodology

A missing figure does not mean zero. Sources and reporting periods: [methodology](/methodology/).

Analysis and methodology by [Daniel Rogers](/about/#founder), founder of College Azimuth.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Figure notes link to sources and limitations. [About College Azimuth](/about/).

**Net price and borrowing.** The 2023–24 income-band averages include living costs and cover eligible first-time, full-time aid recipients; public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. They are not individual aid offers. Peer matching supplies overall net prices, not matched income-band averages. [College Scorecard data and documentation](https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/data/).

A personal student-risk assessment also needs your major and borrowing plan; these school-level illustrations do not assign you a personal risk zone.

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates. Private-loan figures from the Common Data Set are separate from these federal repayment illustrations.