Cost & financial aid brief
DePauw University Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid
How much does DePauw University cost after financial aid?
For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 70% of the published cost. The sticker-to-net gap described above is an average across aid recipients, rather than an amount any particular family should expect.
Pricing differs by family income: the lowest and next-lowest bands have lower average net prices than the next-highest and highest bands, while the middle band sits below the next-lowest band. That ordering shows a pattern of larger average aid offsets in the lower-income bands, not a promise about an individual award.
Published charges remain the starting point before grants and scholarships, and the after-aid price depends on the family-income band.
At DePauw University, the published cost of attendance is $74,320 (an average across living arrangements), making the price after aid the central affordability question. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $11,820 in the lowest family-income band; $13,957 in the lower-middle band; $12,979 in the middle band; $21,774 in the upper-middle band; and $31,225 in the highest band.
The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $19,405, and Azimuth ranks the university #994 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 70% of the published cost, offsetting $52,056 against the sticker price.
Across all aid recipients, the average net price is $22,264. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $22,347, with DePauw’s average $83 below it.
Published tuition and fees are $59,070, alongside $15,330 for room and board. Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt at completion is $27,000.
That is $2,000 above the $25,000 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Federal loans are borrowed by 94.5% of federal aid recipients, and that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years.
Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $35,134.
Student loans: what does repayment look like?
Borrowing is a common part of the picture at DePauw University, where 94.5% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Among completers who borrowed, median federal student loan debt is $27,000.
Comparable institutions (same type and size) have a peer median federal debt of $25,000, placing DePauw’s median $2,000 above that figure. For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $35,134.
In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 83% of graduates borrowed from any source, averaging $25,565 in cumulative debt per borrower. Of those graduates, 70% had federal loans averaging $20,864.
Private loans were held by 9% of graduates, averaging $49,787 per private borrower.
DePauw University presents a favorable earnings picture, though borrowers finish with debt above the comparable-institution benchmark. Among federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled, median earnings are $70,091 four years after completion.
Azimuth places that earnings figure in the 76th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings scenarios range from $47,219 in the downside scenario to $101,372 in the upside scenario, with $70,091 as the typical scenario.
Median federal student loan debt at completion is $27,000, which is $2,000 above the $25,000 median at comparable institutions of the same type and size. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years.
The above-peer earnings standing and higher-than-peer borrowing point in different directions for the investment picture.
For parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $35,134. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 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
- $35,134
- Estimated parent payment
- $446/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
- $27,000
- Institution Parent PLUS debt
- $35,134
Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.
- Estimated student payment · monthly
- $307/mo
- Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
- $446/mo
- Modeled student + parent payments
- $753/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 $70,091, with a $22,590 annual allowance for basic expenses:
7.8% 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.