Understanding Your Costs
Don’t let Penn’s “sticker price” deter you from applying. Your price is personalized to you! Penn’s “cost of attendance” or “sticker price” can be very different from your actual cost. Our grant-based financial aid program helps students and families from a broad range of economic backgrounds.
We assess financial need based on much more than just family income, and consider your family’s full financial situation. Learn how to estimate your cost and see how affordable Penn can be for you and your family.
What’s Penn’s Cost of Attendance?
Penn’s total cost of attendance includes both direct costs that appear on your student bill such as tuition, fees, housing, and dining, and indirect costs that are not billed by Penn, such as books, school supplies, transportation, and an allowance for personal expenses.
How to Estimate Your Cost
You can estimate your aid eligibility by using tools like MyIntuition and Penn’s Net Price Calculator. These can give you a general idea of what to expect but are only as accurate and complete as the information you enter. These tools can also be less accurate for families with complex financial situations or atypical assets—like businesses or farms.
Please note that Penn cannot provide a fully accurate assessment of your aid eligibility until you formally apply through the financial aid and admissions processes and are admitted.
MyinTuition
The MyinTuition tool will provide you with a ballpark estimate of your net cost to attend Penn based on six simple questions. Please note that this tool currently only works for students from the United States.
Net Price Calculator
If you have more time and access to more financial records, you can use the Penn Net Price Calculator, which we offer in partnership with the College Board. For the most accurate estimate, you will want to gather both student and parent tax returns, earning statements, bank and investment statements, and records of any untaxed income before beginning.
Financial Aid Across Income Levels
- Students with family incomes less than $75,000* receive financial aid packages that cover tuition, fees, housing, and dining. They are also eligible for additional benefits like laptop funding and funding for summer courses as well as summer research and internship experiences.
- Students with family incomes between $75,000 and $140,000* receive aid packages that cover at least tuition.
- Students with family incomes greater than $140,000* who are eligible for aid receive average aid packages that are greater than half of tuition.
*These income levels assume you and your family have typical assets. Typical assets can be defined as having a relative amount in cash and/or savings, checking, and investments. Assets also include home equity (the value of your primary home), other real estate equity owned by your immediate family (secondary to your primary home), and business equity (the value of a business owned by your parents).
Support for Low-Income Students
Does your family have $75,000 or less in income (with typical assets)? You may be considered a highly aided student. In partnership with the Penn First Plus office, we are dedicated to ensuring that Penn remains financially accessible for students with the highest financial need. Along with receiving a financial aid package that covers tuition, fees, housing, and dining, you will also have access to additional funding opportunities to cover other college expenses.
- Waived summer savings expectation
- Dedicated financial aid counselors
- Health insurance coverage
- Laptop computer funding
- Meal programs during the holiday breaks
- Funding for summer courses
- Grants for studying abroad
- International student travel assistance
- Emergency funding
- Free academic regalia when you graduate
Learn more about support for highly aided students.