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Facts about financial aid

Brown is need blind. It admits students without regard to family financial circumstances. Brown also guarantees that it will meet the full financial need of its students during their matriculation.

In the last eight years, Brown has more than doubled its university scholarship budget from $44 million in 2004-05 to $90.1 million for the academic year 2012-13.

  • Forty-three percent of undergraduates receive need-based university scholarships, and 50 percent received need-based financial aid.

    • University Scholarships

  • In 2008, Brown eliminated parental contributions from families making less than $60,000. In the 2011-2012 academic year, 36% of aided students, or 941 students, had zero parental contribution.

    • Aided students with zero parental contribution

  • 93% of all undergraduates who applied for financial aid received a need-based aid award
  • Forty-seven percent of the Class of 2015 receives a need-based scholarship award; the average award is approximately $37,800.
  • Sixty-two percent of students on financial aid have no loans in their financial aid offers.

    • Loan Amounts

  • During the 2011-12 academic year, 137 Frank Scholars will receive an average scholarship of $44,677, totaling $6,120,000. The approximately 32 Frank Scholars selected each year come from families with average incomes of $21,000.
  • As a result of Brown's financial aid initiative, student borrowing has been reduced by 30 percent since 2008.
  • The percentage of students receiving Pell grants increased 31 percent from 2007-08 to 2011-12, and the amount of Pell Grant funding nearly doubled.
    • Pell Grants
  • Since 2007-08, Brown doubled its need-based scholarships for international students to $8.4 million, with an average scholarship of $39, 310.
  • Doctoral students admitted on merit are automatically eligible for University financial support for five years of study. The base academic stipend for 2012-13 is $21,500, up from 18,500 in 2007-2008.
  • Financial aid for PhD students (excluding BioMed PhD students) totals $46,896,751.
  • The average hourly wage for students who work on campus is $9.90
  • The amount of self help (student contribution, loan and work) students can replace with outside scholarships is 100%