What Does it Cost to Attend Stonehill College?

Placing in the top 20% of U.S. colleges and universities according to the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education 2019 Collge Rankings, Stonehill College was slotted at 192 out of more than 1,000 institutions. Additionally, Stonehill was named to the Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education’s list of the 100 best liberal arts universities, positioning itself at 72. With praise like this, it’s no surprise that high-achieving high school students are anxious to attend Stonehill College.

Leading to Stonehill’s high ranking are a variety of notable factors, including its low student-to-professor ratio, academic excellence, a gorgeous suburban campus that offers easy access to both Boston and Providence, and its high-percentage of graduates who find rewarding careers after college. Another thing that sticks out when looking at Stonehill is its cost.

If Stonehill College is on your high schooler’s list of schools they hope to attend—but seems too expensive at first glance—you’ll be excited to learn that most students do not pay full price for college.

Why Do College Costs Vary So Much?

The cost of college is highly variable and reflective of the unique situation of each individual student. Affecting the cost of college is a number of factors like the financial situation of a student’s family and the number of merit awards a student earns. Because of this, the list price of a college like Stonehill may not be indicative of what you will actually pay.

Federal, local, and state government aid, institutional aid, and merit awards all work to reduce the cost of college and make net cost a more effective metric for measuring how much a student will pay for school. Net cost calculates all of the aid received by a student through grants and scholarships and subtracts them from the list price of an institution to show what a student will really have to pay either out of pocket or through loans.

What is the List Price at Stonehill College?

List price—or as colleges sometimes call it, “the cost of attendance”—is the total price of tuition, room, and board at a school. The list price of Stonehill in 2016-2017 was $57,560. Stonehill is a private college, so in- and out-of-state students pay the same price.

Keep in mind, very few students end up paying full price at Stonehill College. Students who do pay list price are typically from high-earning families with incomes greater than $175,000 a year who fall outside of the top 30% of accepted applicants academically.

What is the Net Cost of Attending Stonehill?

The amount of financial aid a student receives can have a dramatic effect on college costs. Financial aid net price deducts the financial aid a student receives from the list price of an institution to produce a number that more accurately shows the anticipated college expense. The average net cost of Stonehill College when considering financial aid is $51,601.

What is the Income-Based Cost of Attending Stonehill?

The annual income of a student’s family plays a large role in determining the amount of financial aid they receive. The breakdown of net cost at Stonehill College by family income is as follows:

How Much Merit Aid is Awarded at Stonehill College?

Merit aid is awarded for excellence in activities like academics, athletics, art, and music, as well as for pursuits like community service, volunteering, and leadership. Given without regard for a student’s financial situation, merit aid is another way to minimize the expense of higher education.

Stonehill College is extremely munificent with merit aid—it ranked 112th on a CollegeVine survey of over 1,000 colleges and universities for merit aid generosity. 93.2% of Stonehill students without financial need receive merit aid, with the average award being $17,490. Stonehill College’s generosity with merit aid brings the average net price of the college to $40,040 for students who don’t qualify for financial aid.

How Many Students Take Out Loans to Attend Stonehill College?

Even after financial aid and a generous merit award from Stonehill, many students will need to take out loans to cover the cost of the college. 43% of Stonehill students take out loans, on average taking out $7,216 in federal student loans. Bear in mind, many students will also take out private loans or have a family member take a loan out on their behalf.

Student Outcomes

A college degree requires a large investment of both time and money, so it’s reasonable to wonder what you can expect the return on investment (ROI) to be. Student outcomes are a good place to look for a better understanding of the ROI of a particular institution. Stonehill graduates 79% of its undergraduates within six years and the average Stonehill alum earns an average salary of $60,800 ten years after graduation—both of which are considerably higher than the national averages.

Local Area Cost Considerations

Located in Easton, Massachusetts, Stonehill College is approximately 30 miles from two notable northeastern cities: Boston and Providence. The cost of living index (a number used to demonstrate the expense of living in a specific location) of Easton is 137.5 according to Sperling’s Best Places. Although Easton’s cost of living index makes it 37.5% more expensive than the national average, it’s in line with the state of Massachusetts’ 139 cost of living index.

Stonehill is a residential college and believes that students studying and living together are responsible for the institution’s tight-knit community. 90% of Stonehill students live on campus for the entirety of their time at the college, in housing ranging from corridor-style halls to townhouses. For students who choose to live off campus, here is what you can expect to pay for an apartment in Easton:

• Studio: $786
• One-bedroom: $889
• Two-bedroom: $1,060
• Three-bedroom: $1,328

If you’re looking to compare the cost of living off campus to the expense of living on campus, the price of room and board at Stonehill for 2019-2020 is $16,518.

Other Ways to Pay for College

A part-time job is a popular way for college students to cover some of the cost of college while enrolled in school. The minimum wage in Massachusetts is $12.00/hour, making it one of 29 states (and Washington, D.C.) that have a minimum wage above the federally mandated $7.25. Given Stonehill’s proximity to Rhode Island, it’s conceivable some students may find work there. Rhode Island’s minimum wage also exceeds the federal one at $10.50/hour.

For students who wish to work while remaining on campus, Stonehill College offers its Student Employment Program (SEP). Funded by the college, the SEP program is available to students who don’t qualify for the Federal Work-Study Program.

Scholarships are another great way for students to reduce the price of college. As we covered earlier, Stonehill is very generous in awarding merit aid and offers a diverse group of merit-based scholarships for everything from academics to athletics to graduating from particular Catholic high schools. Stonehill maintains a list of available awards on the scholarships page of its website.  

Private scholarships provide students to further cut costs on college and supplement any aid awarded from the institution. According to Stonehill, their students received over $1 million in private scholarships last year. One such scholarship Stonehill-bound students should consider is the National Merit Scholarship Program. One of the largest scholarship programs in the country, the program gives one-time awards to top scorers on the PSAT/NMSQT. Find out more about this prestigious program in our post How to Qualify for the National Merit Scholarship Program.

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