Cost & financial aid brief
Worcester Polytechnic Institute Tuition, Costs & Financial Aid
How much does WPI cost after financial aid?
Aid narrows the listed price for the average recipient, but costs remain substantially different by family-income band. Aid covers about 45% of the published cost for the average aid recipient.
Against a published cost of $78,679 (an average across living arrangements), average aid savings of $35,608 leave an average net price of $43,071. The lower end of the income range has average net prices of $24,018 and $24,452, compared with $49,716 for the highest band.
This pattern shows aid is more concentrated at lower listed family incomes, though these are band averages rather than individual offers.
Worcester Polytechnic Institute has a published cost of attendance of $78,679 (an average across living arrangements), with aid recipients facing markedly different prices across family-income bands. Average net price, what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships, is $24,018 in the lowest family-income band, $24,452 in the lower-middle family-income band, $32,350 in the middle family-income band, $37,753 in the upper-middle family-income band, and $49,716 in the highest family-income band.
The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $25,698. Azimuth ranks Worcester Polytechnic Institute #1,383 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions.
For the average aid recipient, aid covers about 45% of the published cost, or $35,608 against the sticker price. Across all aid recipients, the average net price is $43,071.
The peer median, the middle value for comparable institutions (same type and size), is $27,371, placing the university's average net price $15,700 above that benchmark. Published tuition and fees are $60,965, so the aid offset still leaves a price above the comparable-institution median.
Among borrowers who completed, median federal student loan debt at completion is $27,000, and 98.3% of federal aid recipients borrow federal loans. The peer median federal debt is $24,199 at comparable institutions (same type and size), with the university's median $2,801 above it.
Median Parent PLUS borrowing among parent borrowers is $53,567. The median federal student debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years.
Student loans: what does repayment look like?
At Worcester Polytechnic Institute, federal borrowing reaches 98.3% of federal aid recipients, making debt a common part of the cost picture. Among completers with federal loans, median federal student loan debt at completion is $27,000.
At comparable institutions (same type and size), the peer median federal debt is $24,199; the university's median stands $2,801 above it. For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing is $53,567.
At Worcester Polytechnic Institute, the earnings picture is strong even though median debt is higher than at comparable institutions. Median earnings are $105,724 four years after completion.
Azimuth places that figure in the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Earnings beyond expectations, the gap between what graduates earn and what expects for similar students, provide another measure.
Graduates earn about $18,684 more than the model expects for similar students. Azimuth places that measure in the 95th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.
Earnings scenarios run from $72,550 in the downside case to $124,733 in the upside case, with $105,724 as the typical scenario. Median federal debt is $27,000, or $2,801 above the peer median of $24,199; that debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $307 a month if repaid over ten years. High earnings sit alongside debt above the peer median.
For the separate parent-borrower population, median Parent PLUS borrowing at Worcester Polytechnic Institute was $53,567. For completers with median federal student debt, that debt 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
- $53,567
- Estimated parent payment
- $681/mo
| Income | Risk level |
|---|---|
| $35,000 | High pressure |
| $50,000 | High pressure |
| $75,000 | High pressure |
| $100,000 | High pressure |
| $150,000 | Caution |
| $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
- $53,567
Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.
- Estimated student payment · monthly
- $307/mo
- Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
- $681/mo
- Modeled student + parent payments
- $988/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 $105,724, with a $22,590 annual allowance for basic expenses:
4.4% of income above the allowance · Excellent
- Excellent Under 8% · selected scenario
- Good 8–under 12%
- 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.