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Cost & financial aid brief

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# Wheaton College (Massachusetts) Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid

Updated October 21, 2026

[Overview](/school/wheaton-college-massachusetts/)Cost & aid[Outcomes](/school/wheaton-college-massachusetts/outcomes/)[Admissions](/school/wheaton-college-massachusetts/admissions/)[Majors](/school/wheaton-college-massachusetts/majors/)[Similar schools](/school/wheaton-college-massachusetts/similar/)

**On this page**+

## How much does Wheaton College (Massachusetts) cost after financial aid?

Wheaton College (Massachusetts) has an average [net price](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/) of $29,822, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, and that price is above the peer median after aid. The published cost of attendance is $79,311, an average across living arrangements.

On-campus tuition and fees are $63,960, and room and board are $16,200. For the average aid recipient, financial aid offsets $49,489 of the published price.

At comparable institutions, meaning those in the same type and size, the peer median net price is $22,347, placing this college $7,475 above it. Azimuth ranks the college #1,281 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

A higher price after aid than at comparable colleges and that affordability placement point in the same direction.

Affordability is the weakest pillar for Wheaton College (Massachusetts), and Azimuth places it at the 9th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid recipients pay an average of $29,822 after grants and scholarships, $7,475 above the peer median of $22,347 for comparable institutions (same type and size).

Aid recipients earning under $30,000 pay $20,076 on average, and those earning over $110,000 pay $33,956. Borrowers who finish carry a median of $26,000 in federal loans, $1,000 above the peer median of $25,000.

Costs and borrowing both run above their peer medians, and affordability is the weakest pillar.

At Wheaton College (Massachusetts), aid recipients in the lowest family-income band have the lowest average [net price](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/). Families earning under thirty thousand dollars average $20,076, compared with $21,528 for those earning thirty thousand one dollars through forty-eight thousand dollars and $28,299 for those earning forty-eight thousand one dollars through seventy-five thousand dollars.

The average is $28,639 for the seventy-five thousand one dollars through one hundred ten thousand dollars band and $33,956 above that range. Pell Grants reach 22.2% of undergraduates, providing financial-access context for the lowest band. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $13,880.

Average net price by family income

**$0–30K**
$20,076

**$30–48K**
$21,528

**$48–75K**
$28,299

**$75–110K**
$28,639

**$110K+**
$33,956

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Overall average annual net price: **$29,822**. After grants and scholarships, including living costs. [Source and coverage](#cost-data-notes).

Aid covers about 62% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, indicating a large average reduction from the sticker price. That figure is an average, not a promise of a particular grant package, and published charges remain the starting point before grants and scholarships.

The reported pricing pattern puts the lowest average [net price](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/)s in the lower-income bands, moves upward through the middle bands, and places the highest average price in the upper-income band. This is a pattern of aid reaching lower-income recipients more heavily in the reported averages, rather than an indication that every family within a band receives the same support.

Families with similar incomes can still have different aid packages because these figures summarize groups rather than individual offers.

For families weighing Wheaton College (Massachusetts), the published cost of attendance is $79,311 (an average across living arrangements) before aid. Average [net price](/analysis/is-college-worth-it-part-1-the-net-price-illusion/), what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $20,076 in the lowest family-income band, $21,528 in the lower-middle band, $28,299 in the middle band, $28,639 in the upper-middle band, and $33,956 in the highest band.

The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $13,880. Azimuth ranks the university #1,281 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Aid covers about 62% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an average savings of $49,489. Across all aid recipients, the average net price is $29,822, which is $7,475 above the peer median of $22,347 at comparable institutions (same type and size).

Published tuition and fees are $63,960, and room and board are $16,200. Federal borrowing is widespread here: 97.3% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans.

Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt is $26,000, compared with $25,000 at comparable institutions (same type and size), leaving Wheaton $1,000 above that figure. That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $295 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median [Parent PLUS](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) borrowing for parent borrowers is $58,410.

## Student loans: what does repayment look like?

At Wheaton College (Massachusetts), federal borrowing is widespread: 97.3% of federal aid recipients take federal loans. Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt at completion is $26,000.

Comparable institutions (same type and size) have a peer median federal debt of $25,000; the university's median is $1,000 above that figure. For the separate parent-borrower population, median [Parent PLUS](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) borrowing is $58,410.

For borrowers, Wheaton College (Massachusetts) pairs an estimated monthly payment of $295 with earnings that sit near those of comparable institutions. Federally aided completers who are working and not enrolled earn median $57,982 four years after completion.

Azimuth places those earnings in the 43rd percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $55,915, with Wheaton’s figure $2,067 above it.

The program-mix earnings scenarios span $44,650 in the downside case, $57,982 in the typical case, and $76,319 in the upside case. Median federal student loan debt at completion is $26,000, $1,000 above the $25,000 peer median.

That debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $295 a month if repaid over ten years.

Parent borrowing is a separate part of the cost picture at Wheaton College (Massachusetts): the median [Parent PLUS](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/) amount for parent borrowers is $58,410. For student borrowers, median federal debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $295 a month if repaid over ten years.

[Repayment figures](#combined-borrowing) are in the Financial GPS card below. [Borrowing populations and model assumptions](#cost-data-notes).

## Parent loans: what can the family afford?

[How Parent PLUS borrowing affects families](/analysis/ou-what-happens-when-parents-borrow-too/)

**Median Parent PLUS debt**
$58,410

**Estimated parent payment**
$742/mo

Modeled Parent PLUS pressure by income

| Household income | Share of income above basic expenses | Risk level |
| --- | --- | --- |
| $35,000 | No room | High pressure |
| $50,000 | No room | High pressure |
| $75,000 | 43.7% | High pressure |
| $100,000 | 19.6% | High pressure |
| $150,000 | 9.3% | Caution |
| $200,000 | 6.1% | Caution |

The 10-year payment on the median Parent PLUS balance, as a share of household income above basic expenses ($54,640 a year: 200% of the 2026 federal poverty guideline for a household of three). No room is High pressure. [Open the parent tool for your own numbers](/financial-gps/?tool=parent&school=wheaton-college-massachusetts#parent-tool). [Read the assumptions and limits](#cost-data-notes).

## Student and parent loans: the monthly payments

Financial GPS

### What does repayment look like?

**Institution median student debt**
$26,000

**Institution Parent PLUS debt**
$58,410

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

**Estimated student payment · monthly**
$295/mo

**Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly**
$742/mo

**Modeled student + parent payments**
$1,037/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 $57,982, with a $23,940 annual allowance for basic expenses:

**10.4%** of income above the allowance · Good

1.  Excellent Under 8%
2.  Good 8–under 12% · selected scenario
3.  Concerning 12–20%
4.  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, $23,940, uses the published framework’s 2026 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.

[Read the framework and its limits](/analysis/financial-gps-framework/).

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.

[Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS](/financial-gps/?tool=student&school=wheaton-college-massachusetts#student-tool)

## Data & methodology

Sources and reporting periods: [methodology](/methodology/).

Analysis and methodology by [Daniel Rogers](/about/#founder), 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](/about/).

**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](https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/data/).

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.