Cost & financial aid brief
Brandeis University Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid
How much does Brandeis University cost after financial aid?
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, Brandeis University reported that first-year recipients with need had an average 97% of need met in the 2025-26 academic year. The average need-based grant was $61,952, and the average package was $65,635.
It determined 387 first-year students had need, and 268 had it fully met. Merit aid in the 2025-26 academic year went to 149 first-year students, averaging $18,791.
The published cost is $86,448 (an average across living arrangements); average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $35,736, with $50,712 offset by aid. Aid covers about 59% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.
From the lowest to the highest family-income band, average net prices are $13,363, $15,135, $20,536, $26,784, and $54,885, showing lower prices in the lower bands.
The published cost of attendance at Brandeis University is $86,448, an average across living arrangements. Tuition and fees are $68,080, and room and board are $19,944.
Azimuth ranks the university #1,300 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 $13,363, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $20,536, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $54,885.
The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $41,522. Aid covers about 59% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, bringing the overall average net price to $35,736.
That is $8,365 above the $27,371 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Borrowers who finish carry a median of $25,648 in federal student loans, $1,449 above the peer median of $24,199.
94.5% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $35,451 in Parent PLUS loans.
If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $291 a month.
Student loans: what does repayment look like?
Federal borrowing is widespread at Brandeis University, where 94.5% of federal aid recipients take federal loans and the median federal student loan debt at completion is $25,648. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $24,199, leaving Brandeis’s median $1,449 above it.
For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $35,451. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 33% of graduates borrowed from any source, with an average cumulative amount of $28,880 per borrower.
This included 31% of graduates with federal loans averaging $17,646. Of graduates, 6% had private loans averaging $63,913.
For a reader weighing cost against outcomes, Brandeis University posts median earnings of $76,742 four years after completion, placing the figure in the 85th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $217 less than expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level.
Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, sits in the 54th percentile. The earnings scenarios run from $57,215 in the downside case to $108,662 in the upside case, with $76,742 as the typical scenario.
Median federal student loan debt at completion is $25,648, above the $24,199 median at comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,449. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $291 a month if repaid over ten years. High earnings and debt above the peer median point in different directions.
For parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $35,451, separate from federal student borrowing. For student borrowers with median federal debt, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $291 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
- $35,451
- Estimated parent payment
- $450/mo
| Income | Risk level |
|---|---|
| $35,000 | High pressure |
| $50,000 | High pressure |
| $75,000 | High pressure |
| $100,000 | High pressure |
| $150,000 | Safe |
| $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
- $25,648
- Institution Parent PLUS debt
- $35,451
Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.
- Estimated student payment · monthly
- $291/mo
- Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
- $450/mo
- Modeled student + parent payments
- $741/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 $76,742, with a $22,590 annual allowance for basic expenses:
6.4% 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.