Brown University: Cost, Admission Odds And Payoff
- Brown admitted 2,710 of 42,774 first-year applicants for fall 2025, and 63% of the students it admitted enrolled. Early decision accounted for 907 of those admits, equal to 53% of the 1,719-student first-year class.
- Families earning $125,000 or less pay no tuition, and families earning under $60,000 with modest assets pay nothing to attend.
- 20% of the class of 2025 took out student loans. Those who borrowed left with an average of $36,263.
Is Brown Worth It? The College Investor Rating
| Family | What They Pay | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | A | |
| Low-Income Families | Average $134 a year | A |
| Middle-Income Families | Average $17,453 a year | A |
| High-Income Families | $91,676 a year | B |
How Hard Is It To Get Into Brown?
Brown accepted 6.3% of first-year applicants for fall 2025: 2,710 admits from 42,774 applications. 1,719 of those students enrolled, a yield of 63%.
- Median SAT Reading: 750
- Median SAT Math: 770
- Median ACT Composite: 35
What Brown Weighs In Admissions
Brown rates course rigor, class rank, academic GPA, test scores, essay, recommendations, talent and ability and character as very important. Demonstrated interest counts for nothing: campus visits won't change your odds. Alumni relationships are considered.
Very Important
Important
Considered
Not Considered
What Will Brown Actually Cost Your Family?
The average Brown student receiving financial aid paid $26,976 a year after grants.
That's against a sticker price of $91,676 a year. Families earning $125,000 or less pay no tuition, and families earning under $60,000 with modest assets pay nothing to attend. Brown is one of a growing number of colleges offering free tuition by family income.
| Total Borrowed Over Four Years | $0 |
| Within Federal Student Loan Limits | $0 |
| Beyond Federal Student Loan Limits | $0 |
| Monthly Student Loan Payment, 10-Year Plan | $0 |
| Expected Pay In Your Major | $0 |
How Brown Meets Financial Need
Brown didn't report how much of students' demonstrated financial need it meets. In 2025-2026, 3,432 of Brown's 7,171 full-time undergraduates had financial need, and their average need-based grant was $68,394. Brown determines financial need with both the FAFSA and the CSS Profile, so how your assets are counted affects what you pay. Brown awards essentially no merit scholarships.
Grants made up 96% of Brown's need-based financial aid in 2025-2026. The rest came from student jobs, including Federal Work-Study, and $1,743,012 in student loans.
| Source | Need-Based | Not Need-Based |
|---|---|---|
| Brown Grants | $222,288,655 | $690,357 |
| Federal Grants | $9,041,316 | $3,130 |
| State Grants | $120,865 | $0 |
| Outside Scholarships | $4,987,924 | $7,118,151 |
| Student Jobs And Work-Study | $7,117,780 | $0 |
| Student Loans | $1,743,012 | $10,199,119 |
| Parent Loans, Including Parent PLUS | $214,785 | $11,252,933 |
| Measure | All Undergrads | First Year |
|---|---|---|
| Students With Financial Need | 3,432 | 882 |
| Average Need-Based Grant | $68,394 | $68,640 |
| Average Financial Aid Package | $73,841 | $72,638 |
| Average Student Loan | $4,032 | $3,226 |
| Students Without Financial Need Receiving Merit Scholarships | 26 | 3 |
Does A Brown Degree Pay Off?
Generally, yes. That's why Brown earns .
Brown students earn a median of $99,974 ten years after starting college, and 92% out-earn a typical high school graduate. 11% take out federal student loans, and the typical borrower leaves owing $14,567, about 15% of one year's pay. Earnings still depend heavily on major: Computer Science graduates earned a median of $214,479 four years after graduating, compared with $59,808 for Area Studies graduates.
Who Borrowed In The Class Of 2025
352 of Brown's 1,787 bachelor's graduates in 2025 left with student loan debt, averaging $36,263. The 99 graduates who used private student loans averaged $80,261.
| Student Loan Type | Borrowers | Share Of Class | Average Debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any Student Loan | 352 | 20% | $36,263 |
| Federal Student Loans | 311 | 17% | $15,332 |
| Private Student Loans | 99 | 6% | $80,261 |
How We Graded Brown
The overall grade weighs payoff, price, graduation and student debt. Price counts what low-income families pay (5 points), what middle-income families pay (10 points) and the sticker price high-income families pay (10 points). Each income grade swaps in that family's price alone.
Grade Checks
Financial Aid Check
Brown didn't report the share of financial need it meets, so we can't run this check.
Financial Health Check
Moody's cut Brown's credit outlook to negative in July 2026, citing $1.7 billion in debt. We're watching it, and it doesn't change the grade yet.
Earnings Floor
92% of students out-earn a typical high school graduate. Schools where most don't are capped at a D.
Brown In The News
- Judge Rules Early Decision Antitrust Lawsuit Against 32 Colleges Can Proceed
- Moody’s Cuts Brown University Outlook To Negative, Citing $1.7 Billion Debt Load
More For Brown Applicants
Compare Brown With Similar Schools
Sources And Methodology
The College Investor Rating scores every four-year college from 0 to 100 on payoff (30%), price (25%), graduation (20%) and student debt (25%) using U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data. An earnings floor and a financial health check can cap the grade at D, and a financial aid check flags concerns without changing it. Price is judged on its own, without earnings. The grade measures financial return for families, not teaching quality, campus life or a school's mission.
Notes On The Data
- Low-income families earn under $48,000. Middle-income families earn $48,000 to $110,000. Their prices are federal averages for first-time, full-time students who received financial aid.
- High-income families are those who get no grant aid, so they pay the sticker price (cost of attendance).
- Paying full price is the share of undergraduates who received no grant aid from any source in 2022-23, from the Education Department's IPEDS survey. The chance of merit aid divides merit scholarship recipients by full-time undergraduates without financial need, from the Common Data Set.
- Earnings by major are medians four years after graduation. Majors with too few graduates for the government to report earnings are left out. Debt by major is median federal student loan debt among borrowers.
- Admissions, financial aid and class of 2025 student loan figures come from the Brown Common Data Set 2025-2026. Student loan debt at graduation excludes Parent PLUS and other parent loans, and students who transferred in.
- The calculator uses federal net price averages. Borrowing up to the $27,000 federal limit for dependent undergraduates uses the 2026-27 undergraduate rate of 6.52%, and anything above it uses the 9.07% Parent PLUS rate. Parent PLUS loans are capped at $20,000 a year and $65,000 per student. See all federal student loan interest rates. Brown's own net price calculator gives a personal figure, and College Aid Pro can compare costs across schools.
Data years: Earnings follow students who started college in 2011-12 and 2012-13, measured 10 years later. Net price and borrowing rates are for 2024-25. Graduation rates follow students who started in fall 2019. Median debt covers borrowers who left school in fiscal 2024 and 2025. Full-price shares are for 2022-23.
Work at Brown? If a figure looks wrong, send us the source and our editors will review it.
Sources: Brown Common Data Set 2025-2026. U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, data updated November 2, 2026. News from The College Investor.