Cost & financial aid brief
Purdue University Fort Wayne Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid
How much does Purdue University Fort Wayne cost after financial aid?
Aid covers about 41% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, a savings of $9,012 against the sticker price. The average net price is lowest for families earning under $30,000, at $8,306, and highest for those earning over $110,000, at $20,224.
The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $11,918, a pattern that concentrates aid toward lower-income families. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 887 first-year students were determined to have financial need in the 2025-26 academic year.
Of those, 73 had their need fully met. The average need-based grant for recipients was $8,344, and the average share of need met was 57%.
The average need-based aid package, which may include loans and work, was $13,168. In the 2025-26 academic year, 339 first-year students received merit awards averaging $1,895.
The published cost of attendance is $22,183. For affordability, Azimuth ranks Purdue University Fort Wayne #262 among nonprofit four-year institutions.
After grants and scholarships, families earning under $30,000 average $8,306, those at $30,001-$48,000 average $8,703, and those at $48,001-$75,000 average $12,444. Those at $75,001-$110,000 average $18,430, and those over $110,000 average $20,224, a distance of $11,918 from bottom to top.
Grants and scholarships lower the price by $9,012 for the average aid recipient. The average net price across all aid recipients is $13,171, $897 below the median for comparable institutions (same type and size), $14,068.
Borrowers who finish carry a median of $21,500 in federal student loans, $271 above the peer median of $21,229. About 76.1% of federal aid recipients take federal loans.
Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $12,362 in Parent PLUS loans. If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month.
Student loans: what does repayment look like?
Most federal aid recipients at Purdue University Fort Wayne borrow: 76.1% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Among those who complete, the median federal student debt is $21,500.
That median sits $271 above the peer median of $21,229 for comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, the median debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month.
Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $12,362. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported borrowing figures for 267 bachelor's graduates who started as first-time students.
2% of them borrowed from any source, with an average cumulative debt of $19,914 per borrower. 2% of graduates held federal loans, averaging $18,088 per federal borrower.
Affordability is the pillar that stands out at Purdue University Fort Wayne, and the investment picture follows from that. Graduates earn a median of $56,455 four years after completion, a figure that sits in the 37th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
Graduates earn about $976 less than expects for similar students, effectively at the expected level. That places the gap at the 51st percentile.
Earnings scenarios, estimated from the university's program mix, range from $42,762 in a downside case to $80,286 in an upside case, with $56,455 as the typical outcome. Borrowers who finish carry a median of $21,500 in federal student loans, $271 above the $21,229 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).
That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $244 a month if repaid over ten years.
Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $12,362. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $244.
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
- $12,362
- Estimated parent payment
- $157/mo
| Income | Risk level |
|---|---|
| $35,000 | High pressure |
| $50,000 | High pressure |
| $75,000 | Caution |
| $100,000 | Safe |
| $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
- $21,500
- Institution Parent PLUS debt
- $12,362
Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.
- Estimated student payment · monthly
- $244/mo
- Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
- $157/mo
- Modeled student + parent payments
- $401/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 $56,455, with a $22,590 annual allowance for basic expenses:
8.6% 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.