Cost & financial aid brief
Wabash College Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid
How much does Wabash College cost after financial aid?
The sticker-to-net gap for the average aid recipient is $40,808, but the size of that reduction differs across family incomes. In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported first-year need-based aid for the the 2025-26 academic year.
Students determined to have need received an average need-based grant of $47,705 and an average need-based package of $54,438. On average, 94% of need was met for those aided students.
Of the 264 first-year students, 166 were determined to have financial need, and 105 had their need fully met. The university also awarded merit aid to 97 students, averaging $39,105.
The pattern across the federal income bands shows the lowest average net price in the $30,001–$48,000 band at $13,526, while the highest band averages $30,511. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $13,925.
The published cost of attendance at Wabash College is $65,144, an average across living arrangements. Tuition and fees are $50,800, and room and board are $14,400.
Azimuth ranks the university #1,020 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 $16,586, for those earning $48,001 to $75,000 it is $18,175, and for those earning over $110,000 it is $30,511.
The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $13,925. Aid covers about 63% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, leaving an average net price of $24,336 across all bands.
That is $1,989 above the $22,347 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). Borrowers who finish carry a median of $27,000 in federal student loans, $2,000 above the median for comparable institutions ($25,000).
95.9% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. Parents who borrow hold a separate median of $28,000 in Parent PLUS loans.
If repaid over ten years, the median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month.
Student loans: what does repayment look like?
Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $68,626. That median is in the 74th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
The median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $55,915. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, span a downside of $52,018 to an upside of $86,264.
The typical earnings scenario is $68,626. Borrowers who finish carry a median of $27,000 in federal loans.
That median is $2,000 above the peer median. If repaid over ten years, that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month.
For the separate population of parent borrowers, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $28,000. For student borrowers, the median federal debt of $27,000 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
- $28,000
- Estimated parent payment
- $356/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
- $27,000
- Institution Parent PLUS debt
- $28,000
Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.
- Estimated student payment · monthly
- $307/mo
- Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
- $356/mo
- Modeled student + parent payments
- $663/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 $68,626, with a $22,590 annual allowance for basic expenses:
8.0% 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.