Goal One

Goal 1: Meet full undergraduate financial need such that all Pell Grant recipients graduate with less than $10,000 of debt. (Target: 2021)


For the 2018-19 academic year, Gonzaga implemented an initiative to recruit and support Pell eligible students from the state of Washington. Recognizing the large financial gap for our highest need students, Gonzaga worked to first address meeting the need of Pell-eligible students in its home state. This new Pell initiative for Washington State high-need students was supported by strategically prioritizing University funds as well as by the Woldson Scholarship Fund, utilized to enhance the University's financial aid resources. 

In AY 15-16 approximately 22% of undergraduates who were granted a degree received a Pell Grant at some point during their time at Gonzaga. 88% of the Pell Grant students also borrowed from a federal loan program. The average amount borrowed by these students was $31,979.

Additional Context:
61% of the AY 15-16 class borrowed from a federal loan program. The average debt at graduation of these first-time undergraduate students who borrowed from federal loan program can be found in the table below:

Academic Year AY 09-10 AY 10-11 AY 11-12 AY 12-13 AY 13-14 AY 14-15 AY 15-16 AY 16-17
The average cumulative principal borrowed: $16,546 $23,226 $25,263 $26,740 $25,753 $24,796 $25,828 $24,482