Brigham Young University: Cost, Admission Odds And Payoff
- BYU admitted 8,331 of 12,141 first-year applicants for fall 2025, and 81% of the students it admitted enrolled.
- BYU's Cougar Pell Promise covers any Latter-day Saint tuition left after grants for students who qualify for more than the minimum Pell Grant.
- 22% of the class of 2025 took out student loans. Those who borrowed left with an average of $16,031.
Is BYU Worth It? The College Investor Rating
| Family | What They Pay | Grade |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | A | |
| Low-Income Families | Average $9,200 a year | A |
| Middle-Income Families | Average $11,092 a year | A |
| High-Income Families | $21,235 a year | A |
How Hard Is It To Get Into BYU?
BYU accepted 69% of first-year applicants for fall 2025: 8,331 admits from 12,141 applications. 6,743 of those students enrolled, a yield of 81%.
- Median SAT Reading: 690
- Median SAT Math: 670
- Median ACT Composite: 30
What BYU Weighs In Admissions
BYU rates course rigor, academic GPA, test scores, essay, recommendations, extracurriculars, talent and ability, character, religious affiliation, volunteer work and work experience as very important. Demonstrated interest counts, so campus visits and contact with admissions can help. Legacy status doesn't count.
Very Important
Important
Considered
Not Considered
What Will BYU Actually Cost Your Family?
The average BYU student receiving financial aid paid $13,397 a year after grants.
That's against a sticker price of $21,235 a year. BYU's Cougar Pell Promise covers any Latter-day Saint tuition left after grants for students who qualify for more than the minimum Pell Grant.
| 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 BYU Meets Financial Need
BYU reports meeting 54% of demonstrated financial need on average. In 2024-2025, 12,546 of BYU's 30,130 full-time undergraduates had financial need, and their average need-based grant was $9,660. BYU determines financial need with the FAFSA, so how your assets are counted affects what you pay. 8,316 students without financial need received merit scholarships averaging $4,441.
Grants made up 91% of BYU's need-based financial aid in 2024-2025. The rest came from student jobs, including Federal Work-Study, and $12,112,851 in student loans.
| Source | Need-Based | Not Need-Based |
|---|---|---|
| BYU Grants | $38,909,122 | $39,052,643 |
| Federal Grants | $75,328,469 | $0 |
| State Grants | $1,606,161 | $2,284,922 |
| Outside Scholarships | $3,985,481 | $5,798,079 |
| Student Jobs And Work-Study | $0 | $0 |
| Student Loans | $12,112,851 | $8,393,526 |
| Parent Loans, Including Parent PLUS | $0 | $1,047,448 |
| Athletic Scholarships | $6,100,180 |
Families Cover Part Of Their Financial Need
BYU met an average of 54% of financial need in 2024-2025. The rest falls to families as savings, income, Parent PLUS loans or private student loans. Read your financial aid award letter carefully and appeal it if the numbers don't work.
| Measure | All Undergrads | First Year |
|---|---|---|
| Students With Financial Need | 12,546 | 1,394 |
| Share Of Financial Need Met | 54% | 63% |
| Average Need-Based Grant | $9,660 | $9,138 |
| Average Financial Aid Package | $10,898 | $10,450 |
| Average Student Loan | $5,863 | $4,094 |
| Students Without Financial Need Receiving Merit Scholarships | 8,316 | 1,740 |
Does A BYU Degree Pay Off?
Generally, yes. That's why BYU earns .
BYU students earn a median of $80,228 ten years after starting college, and 80% out-earn a typical high school graduate. 10% take out federal student loans, and the typical borrower leaves owing $12,250, about 15% of one year's pay. Earnings still depend heavily on major: Computer Science graduates earned a median of $142,800 four years after graduating, compared with $28,906 for Human Development, Family Studies, And Related Services graduates.
Who Borrowed In The Class Of 2025
1,179 of BYU's 5,343 bachelor's graduates in 2025 left with student loan debt, averaging $16,031. The 72 graduates who used private student loans averaged $10,097.
| Student Loan Type | Borrowers | Share Of Class | Average Debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any Student Loan | 1,179 | 22% | $16,031 |
| Federal Student Loans | 1,153 | 22% | $15,622 |
| Private Student Loans | 72 | 1% | $10,097 |
How We Graded BYU
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
BYU met 54% of financial need on average, so families with need should expect to cover part of it with savings, income or student loans.
Financial Health Check
No federal heightened cash monitoring and no closure, merger or financial exigency announcements.
Earnings Floor
80% of students out-earn a typical high school graduate. Schools where most don't are capped at a D.
Two Tuition Rates
BYU charges Latter-day Saint students $7,096 in tuition for 2026-27 and other students $14,192. Federal prices on this page use the lower rate.
BYU In The News
We haven't covered BYU in the news yet. These stories help families weighing a school like it.
More For BYU Applicants
Compare BYU 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 BYU 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. BYU'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 BYU? If a figure looks wrong, send us the source and our editors will review it.
Sources: BYU Common Data Set 2025-2026. U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, data updated November 2, 2026. News from The College Investor.