Bethune-Cookman University Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid

For the average aid recipient, the difference between published cost and average net price is $17,734. Aid covers about 60% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported an average 66% of need met among first-year aid recipients with need. Average need-based grants were $17,034, and average packages were $19,832.

Of 667 first-year students determined to have financial need, 40 had need fully met. In the 2024-25 academic year, merit aid went to 33 first-year students and averaged $10,832.

Across the income bands, average net prices are $10,896, $11,487, $14,346, $17,882, and $18,654, from the lowest to highest band. Lower prices at lower family incomes show a pattern of more aid directed toward those bands, not an individual aid promise.

The published cost of attendance at Bethune-Cookman University is $29,764, so aid makes a large difference to the price families face. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $10,896 for the lowest family-income band, $11,487 for the lower-middle band, $14,346 for the middle band, $17,882 for the upper-middle band, and $18,654 for the highest band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $7,758. Azimuth ranks the university #655 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 60% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an average offset of $17,734. Across aid recipients, the average net price is $12,030, alongside published tuition and fees of $14,794 and room and board of $10,396.

That average net price is $15,341 below the peer median of $27,371 at comparable institutions (same type and size). The aid offset and lower peer price point in the same direction.

For borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $31,000, and 92.8% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. The peer median debt is $24,199 at comparable institutions (same type and size), putting the university $6,801 above that figure.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $352 a month if repaid over ten years. Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $29,770.

Median federal student loan debt for borrowers who complete is $31,000. Nearly all undergraduates borrow through federal programs: the borrower share is 92.8%.

That median sits $6,801 above the peer median of $24,199 for comparable institutions (same type and size). Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $29,770.

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported that 82% of graduates borrowed from any source, including 81% with federal loans averaging $29,686. Average cumulative borrowing was $32,105 per borrower. Private loans averaged $21,886 among the 10% of graduates who held them.

For Bethune-Cookman University, the investment picture pairs low earnings four years after completion with earnings that exceed the model's expectation. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn median earnings of $46,007 four years after completion.

Azimuth places that earnings figure in the 11th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, offer a separate measure.

Graduates earn about $2,099 more than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth places that measure in the 63rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios put earnings at $34,284 in a downside case, $46,007 in a typical case, and $63,744 in an upside case. Median federal debt of $31,000 is $6,801 above the $24,199 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $352 a month if repaid over ten years. The return picture is mixed: earnings exceed the model, but the debt comparison is less favorable.

Parent borrowers have median Parent PLUS borrowing of $29,770, a separate population from student federal-loan borrowers. For borrowers with median federal student debt, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $352 a month if repaid over ten years.

Sources and reporting periods: methodology.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, 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.