Tufts University Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid

Aid makes a large reduction from the published price for the average recipient, but the remaining cost depends heavily on family income. Aid covers about 55% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, leaving a sticker-to-net gap of $48,302.

Average net price is $11,284 in the lowest income band and $58,570 in the highest band, with $9,811, $14,923, and $23,311 across the intervening bands. This pattern shows lower average net prices at lower family incomes, rather than a uniform discount from the published cost.

At Tufts University, the published cost of attendance is $88,300 (an average across living arrangements), so aid makes a large difference to the price families face. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $11,284 for families earning under thirty thousand dollars; $9,811 for families earning from thirty thousand and one dollars through forty-eight thousand dollars; $14,923 for families earning from forty-eight thousand and one dollars through seventy-five thousand dollars; $23,311 for families earning from seventy-five thousand and one dollars through one hundred ten thousand dollars; and $58,570 for families earning over one hundred ten thousand dollars.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $47,286, and Azimuth ranks the university #1,275 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 55% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, offsetting $48,302 against the sticker price and leaving an average net price of $39,998 across aid recipients.

The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $27,371; the university’s average is $12,627 above that figure. Published tuition and fees are $70,704, with room and board at $18,588.

Aid reduces the listed price substantially, yet the average price for aid recipients remains above the comparable-school median. Among federal-loan borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $16,250, and 74.6% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

The median at comparable institutions (same type and size) is $24,199, placing the university $7,949 below that figure. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $185 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing among parent borrowers is $38,325.

Federal borrowing at Tufts University ends below the comparable-institution benchmark for completers. Median federal student loan debt at completion is $16,250, which is $7,949 below the $24,199 peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Federal loans are used by 74.6% of federal aid recipients. For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $38,325.

In its 2024-25 Common Data Set, the university reported that 26% of graduates borrowed from any source, with average cumulative borrowing of $25,584 per borrower. That figure includes 25% of graduates with federal loans, averaging $15,190 per federal borrower.

It also includes 4% of graduates with private loans, averaging $64,668 per private borrower.

Tufts University presents a mixed return picture: observed earnings are high, while the model result is less favorable. Graduates working and not enrolled have median earnings of $97,474 four years after completion.

Azimuth places that earnings figure in the 96th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what the model expects for similar students, offers a separate model-based measure.

Graduates earn about $7,804 less than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth places that measure in the 26th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Earnings scenarios place earnings at $60,388 in a downside case, $97,474 in a typical case, and $138,417 in an upside case. Median federal debt is $16,250, compared with $24,199 at comparable institutions (same type and size); it is $7,949 below the peer median.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $185 a month if repaid over ten years. High observed earnings and lower debt point one way, but earnings beyond expectations point another.

Among the separate population of Parent PLUS parent borrowers, median borrowing was $38,325. For student borrowers at the median federal debt level, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $185 a month if repaid over ten years.

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.