What Does it Cost to Attend College of Saint Benedict?

For female students looking for the best of both worlds, attending the College of Saint Benedict is a great way to get the personalized attention of a liberal arts college with the resources of a larger university. As a pair of single-sex colleges, the College of Saint Benedict has a unique partnership with St. John’s University, which allows CSB students to take advantage of everything a university has to offer without compromising on a Catholic learning environment.

Naturally, you might be worried about the costs of a unique educational program like that of the College of Saint Benedict and if your student will actually be getting “two educations for the price of one.” We’re going to break down everything you need to know to determine if you can make your student’s dream school a reality.

Why College Costs are Highly Variable

Before we get into the nuts and bolts of what it costs to attend the College of Saint Benedict, you should know that the cost of a college education varies from student to student, even when attending the same school. Although we’ll talk about the list price, or total cost of attendance, later, you should know that the list price is itself an average of what students pay, which means there’s variability even when it comes to that number.

Luckily, very few students pay the full list price at any college because most students qualify for some type of financial aid. For most students, this means that they’ll need to consider how government aid, institutional aid, and merit scholarships affect the cost to their family.

Once you’ve taken these factors into account, you’ll be able to figure out what your net cost is, or the price that your family will have to pay out of pocket or through loans. The net cost will help you determine if a school makes financial sense for your family, and there are ways that you can further reduce your net cost, which we’ll cover later in this post.

College of Saint Benedict’s List Price

Although we call it the list price, most schools call it the “cost of attendance.” The cost of attendance includes all of the costs associated with a college education, from the obvious tuition and fees, to the more variable room, board, and miscellaneous costs of living.

As we mentioned earlier, the cost of attendance is an average, but it’s still a good place to start when considering how different types of aid will reduce this cost. Because the College of Saint Benedict is a private college, in-state and out-of-state students have the same cost of attendance. For the 2016-2017 year, the total cost of attendance was $55,206.

Although most families don’t pay the full list price, there are some households that do. In general, high-income households, where the combined income exceeds $175,000, are most likely to pay the full list price. The exception to this is when the student qualifies for some sort of institutional merit aid.

What is the Price with Financial Aid?

If most families don’t pay the full list price, then you may be wondering what the average family pays once need-based financial aid is factored in. The average net cost for both in-state and out-of-state students was $47,019.

Cost Based on Household Income

Although the average price even after need-based aid may seem high, there is a difference on what the average family pays based on their household income. Students from lower-income families will qualify for more need-based aid, which helps make college more accessible. Here’s a breakdown of what you could expect to pay.

What is the Merit Aid Net Price? What is the Average Net Price for Students Without Need?

The above numbers roughly include government aid, which only gives need-based aid to students, and need-based aid from the institution itself. But if your household income is close to or above that $175,000 mark, you may end up paying close to the full price.

However, the College of Saint Benedict has a pretty generous merit aid policy. Of students who have no need, 88.9% receive some form of merit aid, which is well above the typical top 30% most schools have. On average, the merit aid award size for students was $17,708.

There’s a good chance that your student will qualify for some form of merit aid at any household income level. For students who don’t qualify for need-based aid, merit aid will reduce your anticipated net cost to around $37,498. Because of its generous merit aid policy, the College of Saint Benedict ranks 114th in a pool of over 1000 schools we analyzed.

Loans and Debt

Of course, even with merit and need-based aid, most students still have to find ways to cover their remaining college costs. At the College of Saint Benedict, about 18% of their undergraduate students have loans, and the average size of the federal loan was $5,338.

Outcomes

Given the financial investment your family makes when you send your student to college, you’ll want to consider the outcomes for that school. Although your student’s individual efforts are the biggest factor in determining how likely they are to graduate, statistics can give you an idea of how supportive that school’s environment is.

At the College of Saint Benedict, about 82% of their students graduate within 6 years. After ten years, CSB alumni have an average salary of $52,600.

Local Cost of Living Considerations

If you’re sending your student to a school in another state or another city, you’ll want to compare how the cost of living differs from where you live and know that this will impact some of your student’s costs. The College of Saint Benedict is located in the friendly small town of St. Joseph, Minnesota. Its cost of living index is 96.7, which means that it is about 3.3% cheaper than the national average. Not bad!

The College of Saint Benedict requires that full-time students live on-campus. The most common cost for student housing is $5,464.00 for the year, although there are more expensive options (with bigger rooms and more amenities) available.

Many students hope to offset some of their costs of living by working part-time. While it’s unlikely that a part-time job will be able to cover the remaining cost of attendance, it can certainly reduce your family’s net cost. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the minimum wage in Minnesota is $9.86, and the average hourly wage across all occupations is $25.35.

Other Ways to Save

Every family wants to minimize their student’s dependence on loans, so finding ways that your family can save will ease any stress that you and your student have about finances.

One of the best ways that you can save is to encourage your student to search for and apply for scholarships. You can start by browsing the scholarships available through the College of Saint Benedict’s website; although some of these scholarships are awarded based on the admissions application, others require additional applications.

In addition, you can look for private scholarships hosted by nonprofit organizations or corporations. One example of this is the prestigious National Merit Scholarship, which uses the junior-year PSAT as a qualifying test. You can learn more about this scholarship in our post How to Qualify for the National Merit Scholarship Program. You can also work with your student’s school counselor to find additional scholarships unique to your area.

Wrapping It Up

We hope that you’ve found that sending your student to their dream school is a lot more doable than you first anticipated. By sourcing a varied portfolio of funding, your student can reduce your net cost significantly and minimize loans.

If you’re looking for personalized guidance about college affordability, we’ve got you covered. As part of our College Applications Program, our Finances tool shows students the ROI of different schools and majors and help students identify scholarships to apply for. On average, our students earn about $83,000 in scholarships, which can cover the cost of a year of college at virtually any school. Find out if working with our Financial Aid Tools is right for your family!

For more information about financial aid, check out these posts:

How to Maximize Your Child’s Merit Aid Eligibility

Parents: 12 Must-Know College Financial Aid Terms

FAFSA, CSS Profile, IDOC, Oh My: A Guide to Financial Aid

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