Cost & financial aid brief
Bowdoin College Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid
How much does Bowdoin College cost after financial aid?
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that for the 2025-26 academic year, first-year students with need received an average need-based grant of $70,186. Bowdoin College met 100% of need on average for those students, and their average total package was $72,262.
268 first-year students were determined to have need, and all 268 had it fully met. 17 students received an average of $1,000 in merit aid.
For the average aid recipient, grants and scholarships cut the published cost by $70,702, covering about 83% of the sticker price. Net prices fall sharply for lower incomes.
Families earning under $30,000 pay $3,145, those at $30,001–$48,000 pay $2,800, and those over $110,000 pay $35,196. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $32,051.
The published cost of attendance at Bowdoin College is $85,100 (an average across living arrangements). Azimuth ranks the college #455 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.
After grants and scholarships, the average net price for aid recipients from families earning under $30,000 is $3,145, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $9,007, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $35,196. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $32,051.
Aid covers about 83% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, leaving an of $14,398 across all bands. That is $7,949 below the $22,347 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).
Borrowers who finish carry a median of $18,500 in federal student loans, which is $6,500 below the $25,000 median for comparable institutions. About 64.4% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.
Parents who borrow through the separate Parent PLUS program hold a median of $52,337. If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $210 a month.
Student loans: what does repayment look like?
Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $79,722. That figure sits in the 89th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
The earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from $50,850 on the downside to $122,645 on the upside, with a typical scenario of $79,722. On the debt side, the median federal student loan of $18,500 sits below the peer median.
That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $210 a month if repaid over ten years.
For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $52,337. For student borrowers, the median federal debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $210 a month if repaid over ten years.
Repayment figures are in the Financial GPS card below. Borrowing populations and model assumptions.
Parent loans: what can the family afford?
How Parent PLUS borrowing affects families
- Median Parent PLUS debt
- $52,337
- Estimated parent payment
- $665/mo
| Income | Risk level |
|---|---|
| $35,000 | High pressure |
| $50,000 | High pressure |
| $75,000 | High pressure |
| $100,000 | High pressure |
| $150,000 | Caution |
| $200,000 | Safe |
The model holds the parent balance fixed and varies parent income. Read the assumptions and limits.
Student and parent loans: the monthly payments
Financial GPS
What does repayment look like?
- Institution median student debt
- $18,500
- Institution Parent PLUS debt
- $52,337
Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.
- Estimated student payment · monthly
- $210/mo
- Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
- $665/mo
- Modeled student + parent payments
- $875/mo
Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.
Student payment as a share of available income
At median graduate earnings of $79,722, with a $22,590 annual allowance for basic expenses:
4.4% of income above the allowance · Excellent
- Excellent Under 8% · selected scenario
- Good 8–under 12%
- Concerning 12–20%
- 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.
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
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.
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.
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.