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 2024-25.
Students receiving need-based financial aid from Yale College.
Every family’s financial situation is different. Yale’s personal financial aid counselors assess 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 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 require students to use loans to finance their education, so loans are not included in initial financial aid offers. However, some students and families choose to use loans to cover part or all of their costs; in these cases, their personal financial aid counselor can assist them 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 often qualify for a “zero parent share” — Yale’s most generous offer. These offers 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 start-up grant in their first year.
To get a personalized estimate of your Yale cost, use our available calculators.
Cross Campus