Cost & financial aid brief
Drury University Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid
How much does Drury University cost after financial aid?
Aid covers about 57% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, leaving a sticker-to-net gap of $28,015. The pattern across income bands is relatively flat: the lowest band pays $18,759 on average, while the highest band pays $24,458, a spread of $5,699.
This suggests a pattern in which the deepest discounts do not go to the lowest-income families.
Drury University pairs a published cost of attendance of $48,846 (an average across living arrangements) with comparatively strong affordability standing. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $18,759 for the lowest family-income band, $15,769 for the lower-middle band, $17,552 for the middle band, $20,558 for the upper-middle band, and $24,458 for the highest band.
The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $5,699. Azimuth ranks the university #656 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.
Aid saves the average recipient $28,015 against the published cost and covers about 57% of that cost; the average net price across all aid recipients is $20,831. That average is $1,516 below the peer median net price of $22,347 for comparable institutions (same type and size).
Tuition and fees are $36,745, with room and board listed at $12,272. The lower after-aid average and peer comparison point in the same direction on price.
Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt at completion is $20,979, and 78.6% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. The peer median debt at comparable institutions (same type and size) is $25,000, placing the university $4,021 below that figure.
That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $238 a month if repaid over ten years. Median Parent PLUS borrowing is $26,668.
Student loans: what does repayment look like?
Borrowers who complete a degree at Drury University leave with a median of $20,979 in federal student loans. That is $4,021 below the $25,000 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).
Federal borrowing is common here, with 78.6% of federal aid recipients taking federal loans. Parents who borrow through the Parent PLUS program hold a separate median of $26,668.
At Drury University, the investment picture is shaped by earnings that trail expectation and debt that runs below the peer median. Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $47,568.
That figure sits at the 14th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $4,824 less than the model expects for similar students.
That outcome falls at the 37th percentile nationally. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the university's program mix, range from $41,970 in a downside case to $72,586 in an upside case, with $47,568 as the typical outcome.
On the borrowing side, the median federal student debt at completion is $20,979, which is $4,021 below the peer median. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $238 a month if repaid over ten years.
The return picture is mixed: earnings land below the model's expectation, but debt also runs below the peer median.
Among the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $26,668. For student borrowers, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $238 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
- $26,668
- Estimated parent payment
- $339/mo
| Income | Risk level |
|---|---|
| $35,000 | High pressure |
| $50,000 | High pressure |
| $75,000 | High pressure |
| $100,000 | Caution |
| $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
- $20,979
- Institution Parent PLUS debt
- $26,668
Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.
- Estimated student payment · monthly
- $238/mo
- Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
- $339/mo
- Modeled student + parent payments
- $577/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 $47,568, with a $22,590 annual allowance for basic expenses:
11.4% of income above the allowance · Good
- Excellent Under 8%
- Good 8–under 12% · selected scenario
- 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.