What Does it Cost to Attend the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology?

In 2016, CNN reported that the average American family was paying over $100,000 out of pocket for a degree from a private four-year college. While this number may seem shocking, tuition prices have only continued to grow in recent years. As college costs rise, so does the amount of financial planning that families do.

Predicting college costs isn’t easy, though. Many factors go into determining just how much your family will pay out of pocket, and many don’t know the final tally until a tuition bill arrives in the mail. That’s why we at CollegeVine have analyzed college costs at over 1000 colleges to help shed light on just how much you might spend. In this post, we dive deep into the costs of attending the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. To learn more about how much a Rose-Hulman degree might cost for your family, keep reading.

Why Are College Costs So Variable?

College costs vary so much because of the many factors that determine them. Your final price tag will depend on which college your student attends, how much your family earns, and how much merit aid your student is awarded. To more accurately predict how much you’re likely to pay, you’ll want to have a good understanding of the factors that will affect the final amount.

One of the biggest factors in how much you’ll pay for college is which college your student attends. This is because list prices can range from under $20,000 to over $60,000. The list price is essentially the all-inclusive cost of attending that college without any financial assistance. It usually includes things like tuition, room and board, and any necessary fees. List price, sometimes also referred to as a sticker price, is the starting point in any college funding equation.

You may be relieved to hear, though, that most families don’t pay the entire list price for their student to attend college. Instead, they receive financial assistance from at least one, if not multiple sources. The net cost of attending college is the amount that a family pays out of pocket after receiving financial assistance. Net cost varies based on how much a family receives in the form of institutional grants, merit scholarships, and government aid. The average net cost at a college can give you a clearer picture of how much families actually pay to attend.

What is the List Price at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology?

The list price at Rose-Hulman for the 2016-2017 school year was $62,503. Because Rose-Hulman is a private school, there is no discount offered for in-state students. Still, few students actually pay list price. Generally, only those whose families earn over $175k per year typically end up paying the entire list price. That being said, students from high-income families may still pay less if they receive merit scholarships, or scholarships based on academic and extracurricular achievement.

What is the Net Cost of Attending the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology?

The net cost of attending Rose-Hulman in 2016-2017 was $55,676 for students who qualified for financial aid only. That same year, the net cost was $51,150 for students who qualified for merit aid only. It’s also worth noting that many students qualified for a combination of both financial and merit aid.

What is the Net Cost Based on Income of Attending the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology?

Family income is the primary factor in determining how much financial aid a student receives. This means that net cost based on family income can be a helpful metric for narrowing down your family’s potential costs. At Rose-Hulman, these costs break down as follows.

* These numbers do not reflect any Pell Grants that families may receive. Families with an income of $0-30k often receive Federal Pell Grants, which reduce the amount of financial aid that individual institutions need to award. This is why there is a higher tuition rate for families with $0-30k vs. those with $30k-48k.

How Much Merit Aid is Typically Awarded at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology?

Rose-Hulman has fairly generous merit aid packages. In 2017, 96.6% of students without financial needs were awarded merit aid. The average merit aid award for a student without financial need was $11,353. This places Rose-Hulman at 320th in the pool over 1000 schools we analyzed for merit aid generosity.

How Many Students Take Out Loans to Attend the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology?

Loans are not uncommon amongst Rose-Hulman students. In 2017, 53% of students had taken out at least one loan. The average federal student loan amount per undergraduate student at Rose-Hulman was $6,487 across their college career.

Student Outcomes at the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Student outcomes at a specific college can help you to gauge the potential return on investment. Generally, a college degree leads to lifelong increased earning potential, so considering the initial expense as a long-term investment is a great way to frame your thinking.

At Rose-Hulman, 80% of students who begin a degree are able to complete it within six years. The average salary for graduates ten years after graduation is $80,900.

Local Area Cost Considerations

In addition to expenses directly related to college, your student is bound to have other expenses over the course of a four-year degree. Taking a look at the local economy can help you to anticipate how costs like groceries, transportation, or even off-campus housing could add up over the college years.

Rose-Hulman is located in Terre Haute, Indiana where the cost of living index is 79.2. This means it is roughly 20% more affordable than the national average. Groceries and transportation are about 10% more affordable, but lower housing costs are the greatest factor in the low cost of living in Terre Haute. A student living off campus would expect to spend about $500/month on a studio apartment or $1000/month on a three-bedroom apartment.

Despite its affordable cost of living, the job market in Terre Haute is not great. Unemployment rates are above average, and both recent job growth and job growth projections come in below average. In addition, the minimum wage in Indiana is currently set at the federal minimum of $7.25/hr, and employers are allowed to pay less than the minimum wage for the first 90 calendar days of employment.

Other Ways to Pay for College

Scholarships are a smart way to supplement college funds, and many families are surprised to learn just how many are out there. The most popular scholarship program in the country is the National Merit Scholarship Program, which attracts more than one million participants each year. High school juniors who take the PSAT qualify for awards through this program based on their PSAT scores. Other awards for PSAT scores are also distributed by the National Hispanic Recognition Program, as well as specific corporations or colleges. To learn more about the program, check out our post How to Qualify for the National Merit Scholarship Program.

Many smaller scholarship programs are out there, too. Some still attract a national pool of applicants. Others are open only to students within a specific geographic location, or those with highly-specialized skill sets and unusual backgrounds. You can learn more about some scholarship opportunities that might be a good fit for your student in these CollegeVine posts:

• 15 College Scholarships for High School Juniors
• 15 College Scholarship Resources for High School Students
• A Guide to STEM Scholarships
• Scholarships and Competitions for students in the Performing Arts

Curious about your chances of acceptance to Rose-Hulman? Our free chancing engine takes into account your GPA, test scores, extracurriculars, and other data to predict your odds of acceptance at over 500 colleges across the U.S. We’ll also let you know how you stack up against other applicants and how you can improve your profile. Sign up for your free CollegeVine account today to get started!