Cost Explorer · Net price by income
Tufts University
Medford, MA · Private nonprofit · 7,061 undergraduates
Family income $48–75k · 2024
$73,377 less than the sticker price — the grant aid that never appears on the price tag.
Informational only — an income-band average from federal data, not an offer of aid or a substitute for Tufts University’s official net price calculator or professional advice. The loan figures below describe this college’s past borrowers; a default rate is not a measure of the college’s quality.
Net price by family income, 2024
The faint track is the full sticker cost of attendance ($88,300); the gold bar is what students in each income band actually paid after grant aid. The gap is the aid.
Cost over time
The gold bar is the average net price paid after aid; the faint track is the full sticker cost of attendance. Watch the gap — and the sticker’s climb — year over year.
Student loan default and repayment
The Department reports a three-year default rate of 0% for the FY2022 cohort at Tufts University, but that cohort was in the federal payment pause for its whole counting window, so the figure says nothing about how these borrowers repaid. The newest cohort counted outside the pause, the FY2018 cohort, defaulted at 1.1% — in the lowest quarter of the 4,754 colleges with a published rate for that cohort.
- Three-year cohort default rate
- 0%
2024.repayment.3_yr_default_rate - Borrowers in the cohort
- 1,343
2024.repayment.3_yr_default_rate_denom - Cohort
- FY2022 cohort: borrowers who entered repayment between October 1, 2021 and September 30, 2022, counted as in default if they defaulted by September 30, 2024. Published in the 2024–25 College Scorecard file.
This cohort's three-year window fell inside the federal payment pause (March 13, 2020 to September 30, 2023) and the on-ramp year after it, during which no borrower with a Department-held loan entered default. The rate is near zero by construction, not a sign the college's borrowers repaid.
Where borrowers stood two years into repayment
1,151 undergraduate federal-loan borrowers from the 2016–17 and 2017–18 entry cohorts, read two years after entering repayment. 2019.repayment.2_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.count
Scorecard published some of these shares as ranges or withheld them for this cohort, so there is no exact split to draw. The published figures are listed as given.
| Status after two years | Share of borrowers |
|---|---|
| Paid in full | 28%2019.repayment.2_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.fullypaid |
| Making progress | 38%2019.repayment.2_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.makingprogress |
| Not making progress | 11%2019.repayment.2_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.noprogress |
| In deferment | 12%2019.repayment.2_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.deferment |
| In forbearance | 6.0%2019.repayment.2_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.forbearance |
| Delinquent | 2.0%2019.repayment.2_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.delinquent |
| In default | 2.0%2019.repayment.2_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.default |
| Discharged | 1% or less2019.repayment.2_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.discharge |
These statuses were read during the federal payment pause (March 13, 2020 to September 30, 2023), when no payment was due. Shares in default, delinquent or making progress are not comparable with earlier cohorts.
One and four years into repayment
| Status | After 1 year | After 4 years |
|---|---|---|
| Paid in full | 25%2020.repayment.1_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.fullypaid | 37%2020.repayment.4_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.fullypaid |
| Making progress | 23%2020.repayment.1_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.makingprogress | 15%2020.repayment.4_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.makingprogress |
| Not making progress | 5.0%2020.repayment.1_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.noprogress | 3.0%2020.repayment.4_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.noprogress |
| In deferment | 9.0%2020.repayment.1_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.deferment | 12%2020.repayment.4_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.deferment |
| In forbearance | 35%2020.repayment.1_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.forbearance | 29%2020.repayment.4_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.forbearance |
| Delinquent | 2% or less2020.repayment.1_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.delinquent | 1% or less2020.repayment.4_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.delinquent |
| In default | 2% or less2020.repayment.1_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.default | 3.0%2020.repayment.4_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.default |
| Discharged | 2% or less2020.repayment.1_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.discharge | 1% or less2020.repayment.4_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.discharge |
| Borrowers | 9922020.repayment.1_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.count | 1,2292020.repayment.4_yr_bb_fed_repayment.ug.count |
1-year: 2018–19 and 2019–20 entry cohorts (2020–21 file). 4-year: 2015–16 and 2016–17 entry cohorts (2020–21 file). These statuses were read during the federal payment pause (March 13, 2020 to September 30, 2023), when no payment was due. Shares in default, delinquent or making progress are not comparable with earlier cohorts.
What graduates borrowed
- Median federal debt at completion
- $16,250
2020.aid.median_debt.completers.overall - Median monthly payment (10-year plan)
- $172
2020.aid.median_debt.completers.monthly_payments - Cohort
- 815 completers, FY2020 and FY2021 pooled cohorts: students who completed and entered repayment in fiscal years 2020 and 2021, pooled. Published in the 2020–21 file.
2020.aid.median_debt.number.completers
Three-year default rate, every published cohort
| Cohort | Borrowers | Default rate | Payment pause |
|---|---|---|---|
FY2022 cohort 2024.repayment.3_yr_default_rate | 1,343 | 0% | whole window inside the pause |
FY2021 cohort 2023.repayment.3_yr_default_rate | 1,486 | 0% | whole window inside the pause |
FY2020 cohort 2022.repayment.3_yr_default_rate | 1,370 | 0% | whole window inside the pause |
FY2019 cohort 2021.repayment.3_yr_default_rate | 1,527 | 0.1% | part of the window inside the pause |
FY2018 cohort 2020.repayment.3_yr_default_rate | 1,537 | 1.1% | — |
FY2017 cohort 2019.repayment.3_yr_default_rate | 1,586 | 1.2% | — |
FY2016 cohort 2018.repayment.3_yr_default_rate | 1,665 | 1.5% | — |
A default rate is a figure about an institution’s former borrowers, not a measure of the college’s quality, and these cohorts are small enough that a few borrowers move the rate. Rates are shown as a band within the published distribution, never as a rank. What the fields mean and how the cohorts are defined: loan default and repayment methodology.
How we calculate this
Every figure on this page comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s College Scorecard for Tufts University — the same data every college is federally required to report. We show it as reported and link straight back to the source.
Net price is the full cost of attendance (tuition, fees, room, board, books, and living expenses) minus the average grant and scholarship aid awarded — what a typical aided student actually pays out of pocket. The Department reports it both overall and split into five family-income bands, because need-based aid depends heavily on income; the selector above lets you see each one for the 2024 reporting cohort. The trend chart tracks the average net price and sticker cost across reporting years 2018–2024.
Loan default and repaymentfigures come from the same Scorecard file but report different cohorts, each named beside its figure: the three-year cohort default rate is Federal Student Aid’s share of federal-loan borrowers who entered repayment in one fiscal year and defaulted within about three years; the repayment statuses are where undergraduate federal-loan borrowers stood one, two and four years after entering repayment; median debt is for students who completed. Each figure prints the Scorecard field it came from. Definitions, cohort windows and the payment pause: loan default and repayment methodology.
Scope & limitations
- ~2-year lag. Federal cost data is historical by design — this reflects the 2024reporting year, not the current one. It’s a benchmark, not a live quote.
- An average, not your price. Each band figure is the average across aided students in that income range — not a personalized estimate. Your aid package depends on your own finances and the year you apply.
- Coverage gaps. Some income bands (and some small schools) have too few reported students to publish a net price; those show as not reported rather than guessed.
- Loan figures: federal loans, institution level, small cohorts, and the pause. The default and repayment figures cover Direct Loan and FFEL borrowers who entered repayment in the named cohort, pooled across every program; cells with too few borrowers are withheld by the Department and shown as not published, never as zero; and cohorts whose counting window fell inside the federal payment pause (March 13, 2020 to September 30, 2023) are labelled, because no Department-held borrower entered default during it. A default rate is a figure about past borrowers, not the college.
Source
U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard (reporting years 2018–2024): Tufts University on College Scorecard. Published tuition history also draws on IPEDS. Loan default and repayment fields are the Scorecard’s repayment.* and aid.median_debt.* families (Federal Student Aid and NSLDS), each shown with its own cohort year.
Last reviewed: October 2026
Frequently asked questions
What is the net price at Tufts University?
Net price is what students actually pay after grant and scholarship aid is subtracted from the full cost of attendance — tuition, fees, room, board, books and living costs. For Tufts University in 2024, the average net price across all aided students was $39,998, versus a $88,300 sticker cost of attendance. Net price varies by family income; use the selector above to see each band.
Why does the net price change with family income?
Most need-based grant aid is awarded on family income, so lower-income students typically pay far less than the sticker price while higher-income students pay closer to it. The U.S. Department of Education reports net price separately for five income bands so you can see what families like yours actually paid, rather than a single average that hides the spread.
Is this the price I will pay?
No. These are historical averages for the 2024 entering cohort of federal aid recipients — an income-band average, not a personal quote. Your own price depends on your specific finances, the year you enroll, and the aid Tufts University offers you. For a personalized estimate, use the school's official net price calculator. This page is informational only.
How current is this data?
It reflects the 2024 reporting year. Federal cost data runs roughly two years behind the current academic year because colleges report, and the Department of Education processes, on that lag. We show the reporting year on every figure and treat the lag as a known limitation, not something to hide.
Related tools
Pick your family-income band, then search any college to see what students in that band actually paid after grant aid.
Open tool →College Cost ComparisonCompare two or three colleges side by side — sticker versus net price, by family-income band, cited to federal data.
Open tool →Tuition Trend & InflationHow a school's published tuition has risen over time — and whether it outpaced inflation (CPI), cited to federal data.
Open tool →Cost of Attendance BreakdownTuition & fees, room and board, books, and other expenses — the full cost of attendance for any school, itemised and cited to federal data.
Open tool →Loan Default & Repayment RatesFor any U.S. college, the share of federal-loan borrowers who defaulted within three years, where they stood two years into repayment, and what graduates borrowed — bands, not ranks, with the payment-pause years labelled.
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