At Yale, we believe that cost should never be a barrier to achieving your academic dreams.
That’s why we award every dollar of undergraduate financial aid on the basis of a family’s demonstrated financial need, and our aid offers meet 100% of demonstrated need - regardless of a student’s citizenship or immigration status - without requiring loans.
We invite you to learn more and to get a personalized estimate of your Yale cost.
Affordability by the numbers:
Parent share for households with less than $75,000 annual income with typical assets.
Average scholarship offered in 2023-24.
Students receiving financial aid from Yale College.
Every family’s financial situation is different. Yale’s financial aid counselors asses a family’s financial need through a holistic review process that considers many factors including income, assets, family size, and unique circumstances.
After assessing a family’s need, Yale awards all financial aid in the form of scholarship grants, which never need to be repaid.
Financial aid policies are built on the principles of vertical and horizontal equity: families with different financial resources should expect to have different costs, and families with similar financial resources should expect to have similar costs.
Yale does not expect students to finance their education with debt, and loans are not included in Yale financial aid offers. Some students and families prefer to cover some or all of their costs with loans; financial aid officers can guide families through the loan process.
Families with a wide range of incomes qualify for need-based scholarship aid from Yale. Families with annual incomes below $75,000 and typical assets qualify for a “zero parent share award” — Yale’s most generous package. These awards cover the full cost of tuition and fees, housing, food, and travel with a Yale Scholarship. Qualifying students also receive hospitalization insurance coverage and $2,000 grant in their first year.
The table below shows median financial aid awards for families of students enrolled in the 2023-24 academic year who applied for financial aid. To get a personalized estimate of your Yale cost in less than three minutes, use our quick cost estimator.
| Annual Income Range | Median Net Cost | Average Scholarship | Percentage Who Qualified for Aid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Less than $75,000 | $0 | $81,738 | 100% |
| $75,001-$100,000 | $894 | $76,300 | 99% |
| $100,001-$150,000 | $11,550 | $63,113 | 95% |
| $150,001-$200,000 | $27,233 | $47,906 | 92% |
| $200,001-$250,000 | $44,615 | $34,611 | 85% |
| Greater than $250,001* | $84,005 | $12,534 | 43% |
* Most who qualify have multiple children in college.
Note: The table above assumes typical asset levels corresponding to each annual income range.