Understanding Jacksonville University Tuition, Fees, and Financial Aid

Choosing a university is a significant investment, and understanding the costs involved is crucial. This article provides a comprehensive overview of Jacksonville University's tuition, fees, and financial aid options, empowering prospective students and their families to make informed decisions.

The Cost of Attendance: Breaking Down the Numbers

Knowing what a school costs is the first step in managing college expenses. The "Cost of Attendance" (COA) represents the total amount of money the average student has to pay, without any financial aid, to attend a particular school. This can be thought of as a school’s sticker price. The Cost of Attendance (COA) refers to an estimate of total expenses that a student may incur while attending JSU, which includes direct institutional costs as well as indirect costs. Cost of Attendance is not a bill. For a personalized estimate of cost and aid, you may wish to complete the estimated cost calculator. You probably know that planning for expenses is an important part of the college application process. By learning more about expenses and aid, you’re already on the right path to managing college costs.

Sticker Price: Tuition and Fees

Jacksonville University's tuition is $49,800. Compared with the national average cost of tuition of $47,097, Jacksonville University is more expensive. The full-time undergraduate tuition is priced at $45,050, placing the university in the top 15-20% range nationally in terms of expense. The combined cost of tuition and fees reaches $49,800, ranking Jacksonville University within the top 20% for overall tuition expenses.

These figures include both tuition and fees, also referred to as the sticker price. Fees differ by institution and may fund library services, student gym facilities, student centers, technology resources and campus health centers.

Total Cost: Beyond Tuition

As you’re comparing costs of different institutions, also consider the total cost and the net price. The total cost is the sticker price, plus the cost of food and housing, books and supplies, and transportation and personal expenses. At Jacksonville University, the total cost is $68,366.

Read also: Zoo Internship Program

Room and board charges elevate the total annual cost significantly, with room costing $10,250 and board approximately $7,380. When all expenses are combined, the total annual cost of studying at Jacksonville University-which includes tuition, fees, room, and board-amounts to nearly $67,430.

Other costs to consider include:

Books and Supplies: \$700 per year
Personal Expenses: \$1,126 per year
Transportation: \$1,800 per year

Understanding Net Price

Your net price is a college’s cost of attendance minus the grants and scholarships you receive. The net price you pay for a particular college is specific to you because it’s based on your personal circumstances and the college’s financial aid policies. Use the college’s Net Price calculator for the most accurate estimate of your net price. The Net Price is the total cost minus the total aid given. In other words, this is the price you have to pay to the school out of pocket.

The average net price is \$25,745 per year.

Financial Aid Options at Jacksonville University

The Cost of Attendance listed above might be intimidating. Let's start with the overall numbers. This is good news - more students getting financial aid means students at Jacksonville University are likely getting a pretty good deal on their education.

Read also: Affording JSU: A Guide

Financial aid can include grants, loans, scholarships and work-study jobs. Financial aid packages vary depending on your financial need. Most colleges determine financial need based on your FAFSA. Note: College profiles are based primarily on information supplied by the colleges themselves through participation in College Board's BigFuture College Profiles higher education data collection portal, with some data provided via federal and state agencies.

Types of Aid Available

Jacksonville University met 74% of its students’ financial aid need. Here are the types of aid available:

Need-Based Scholarships and Grants
Merit-Based Scholarships and Grants
Federal Loans
Work-Study Programs

Need-Based Aid

Need-based aid takes a student’s financial status into account. The average need-based scholarship or grant awarded to first-year students at Jacksonville University was $38,370. Additionally, 69% of first-year students received need-based financial aid in fall 2023.

Need-based self-help aid includes federal loans and work-study. The average need-based self-help aid awarded to first-year students was $3,196.

Merit-Based Aid

Merit-based aid, also called non-need-based aid, is awarded for a specific talent or academic achievement. The average non-need-based scholarship or grant awarded to first-year students at Jacksonville University - excluding any athletic scholarships, if applicable - was $37,646.

Scholarships and Grants

We’re focusing on grants and scholarships first because they’re the most important forms of financial aid. Grants and scholarships are better than loans because students don’t ever have to pay them back. Although it’s useful to know how many students get grant aid, it’s also important to know how much grant aid people tend to receive.

So how much grant money do students at Jacksonville University tend to receive? Altogether, this is great news - at Jacksonville University, MORE students get financial aid, and each award size is HIGHER. The grant dollar amounts we’ve seen so far have included aid from all sources - both federal and institutional. To figure out how strong Jacksonville University’s own financial aid program is, we’ll look at how they award their own (non-federal) financial aid dollars. Because more Jacksonville University students get institutional aid, it likely offers relatively competitive financial aid. The amount of money that students actually get is just as important (if not more important) than the percent of students who get grants. Right away, it seems like Jacksonville University offers more institutional aid than other schools. On the other hand, this can also mean that the school just costs more than the typical school of its type. Up to this point, we've looked entirely at grants for Jacksonville University.

Some students receive enough in scholarship money to cover their tuition and living expenses. You might also qualify for a scholarship based on your community service involvement, unique hobbies or traits, your personal background, or a parent’s employer or military affiliation.

Student Loans

Aside from grants, the other major way to pay for college is with student loans. The more student loan money you borrow, the more debt you’ll end up with after graduation. Ideally, you want to minimize your student debt as much as possible. It’s generally a bad sign if a school has many students taking out a lot of loans. First, let’s talk about how many students at Jacksonville University actually have to take out any student loans at all. It’s very common for college grads in the US to graduate with some debt, but high percentages of students taking on loans at a particular school is a big red flag. It’s a good sign that lower numbers of students take out loans at Jacksonville University.

We’ll start with federal loans because, in general, federal loans are preferable to private loans. Federal loans tend to have low interest rates, which means they cost less in the long run. High percentages or amounts of federal loans still isn’t a great sign - again, you don’t want to see students burdened with too much debt. At Jacksonville University, 59% of all students take out federal loans. At Jacksonville University, the average annual federal loan amount is $5926.

Other loans, or private loans, are the last resource students turn to when paying for college. At Jacksonville University, 4% of students take out private loans. Just as important as the percentage of students with private loans is the average loan amount. The average private loan amount at Jacksonville University is $14588. The percentage of students getting federal loans is greater than those getting private loans, which is a good sign.

Work-Study Programs and On-Campus Employment

Jacksonville University offers a variety of work-study opportunities aimed at helping students finance their education while gaining valuable experience. On-campus employment is readily available, with positions spanning administrative offices, academic departments, and campus facilities. Students can expect to earn wages aligned with typical work-study pay scales, although specific average pay rates are not detailed. citizens and eligible non-citizens, international students have access to campus employment with certain restrictions; however, formal federal work-study eligibility does not apply to them.

Begin your job search by checking whether your college has in-person or online job boards.

Financial Aid Statistics at Jacksonville University

Students Receiving Financial Aid: 66.96%
Freshmen With Need and Received Financial Aid: 97.05%
Average Aid Package Awarded: \$40,397
Need-Based Scholarship or Grant Award: \$33,147
Need-Based Loan Amount: \$4,138
Non-Need-Based Aid: \$29,541

Important Financial Aid Dates

Application Due: Not available (Check with the university)
Priority Application Due: Not available (Check with the university)
Notification Date: February 1 (When students receive aid offers)
Response Due: Not available (Check with the university)

Contacting the Financial Aid Office

For further assistance, contact the Financial Aid Office directly.

Student Loan Debt at Graduation

How much student loan debt you accumulate can affect your financial life long after college ends. Ideally, your total student loan debt should fall below your anticipated starting salary once you graduate.

At Jacksonville University, the median federal loan debt among borrowers who completed their undergraduate degree is $22,000. The median monthly federal loan payment (if it were repaid over 10 years at 5.05% interest) for student federal loan borrowers who graduated is $233.

Additionally, 15% of graduating students at Jacksonville University took out private loans. Students with private loans had an average of $67,941 in private loan debt at graduation.

Average Total Indebtedness of 2024 Graduating Class: \$42,889
Graduating students who have borrowed (any loan type, 2024): 55%

Determining Your Net Price and Affordability

Finally, we get to the bottom line: what will Jacksonville University actually cost YOU? Above, we've covered Jacksonville University's Cost of Attendance (tuition, room and board, books, and more). The Net Price is the total cost minus the total aid given. In other words, this is the price you have to pay to the school out of pocket. We'll cover two ways to get your Net Price for Jacksonville University - the fast way, and the precise way. If you want a quick, general idea of your annual Net Price at Jacksonville University, here's a handy chart showing the net price of real students. Most schools have an updated Net Price calculator available.

Once you have a Net Price estimate, you’ll want to figure out whether your family can afford to pay Jacksonville University tuition and costs. Once again, the Net Price is the total cost of attending, minus the aid you can expect to get (grants and scholarships). The US government has come up with a standardized way to calculate how much a typical family can afford to pay without help. As an example, a family that brings home $80,000 in income before taxes, with no assets and no other children in college, has an EFC of around $7,000. Colleges use this number as a guideline to decide how much aid to give you, but it's just a guideline. So we're going to calculate your EFC and compare it to Jacksonville University's Net Price. If the Net Price is higher than the EFC, the school will cost more than you can typically afford. This tool will calculate your Expected Family Contribution, or EFC. In order to calculate this amount, we need just 4 pieces of information from you. According to the information you’ve entered above, your Expected Family Contribution should be about $. This is the amount that the federal government thinks you can afford to pay for school. Please note this tool is only an approximation, and your personal situation may cause your EFC to vary.

Evaluating Jacksonville University's Value

Chances are, college won't be cheap. Have you considered a range of private and public schools? What if you didn't attend college at all? Here's our take: college will be a really important stage in your development. Going to a better, more reputable college will usually pay off in the long run. To determine the value of Jacksonville University, we're going to rely on reputable ranking lists. As a regional school, Jacksonville University may not be a household name nationwide, but it's known to people in the local area as a solid school. Compared to some other regional schools, Jacksonville University didn't appear on our best value lists. This might be because the net price is higher than for other schools of similar reputation. This isn't the end of the world - you can likely still afford Jacksonville University by taking out loans, earning scholarships, or working part-time.

Overall, Jacksonville University is a decent value, and going to college here will likely pay off over time. To meet Jacksonville University's admission requirements, you'll need to have competitive SAT/ACT scores and a good GPA. How do you compare to other students accepted to Jacksonville University? Your next step should be to get a better idea of costs and aid availability at similar schools. If you’re interested in Jacksonville University, you should check out some other high-value schools that could give you more bang for your buck. Get started here to check both in-state and out-of-state schools that might provide a better value. Finally, we're going to look at schools that might offer a better value than Jacksonville University. To compile this list, we first find schools at similar academic levels, so you have a similar chance at getting in. It’s hard to know exactly what schools will be a great value for you without information on your family income. There are a lot of potential financial benefits that come with attending a school close to home. For example, in-state public schools tend to have subsidized tuitions for state residents.

Additional Considerations

*JSU’s block rate tuition plan is part of an overall effort to enhance student success and persistence while creating an easier, more affordable path to graduation. Students are incentivized to take 15-18 hours in the fall and spring semesters, getting charged the same rate whether they pursue 12-18 hours. To graduate within four years, undergraduates typically need to take 30 hours per academic year. Note: Tuition cost does not include possible program/course fees. Jacksonville State University has partnered with GradGuard to offer a tuition insurance plan as added protection for students and families. This plan may reimburse your non-refundable tuition costs after an unexpected withdrawal from school for a covered reason.

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