Mercy College of Ohio was founded in 1992. It began as combination between the School of Nursing and Mercy College of Northwest Ohio after recognizing the need of nurses and health graduates in the Toledo, OH. In 2011, the name was changed to what it’s currently known as, although their curriculum still places a heavy emphasis on health and nursing. If you plan on studying at mercy, you will need to prepare your finances well. This article will help you in planning an annual budget for studying at the esteemed college, as well as provide some basic information on what financial aids the students at Mercy are eligible to receive.
Annual Costs
Tuition for Undergraduates
In the 2015/16 academic year, tuition was less than $12,000. This was considerably cheaper than the national tuition average of $26,700 among private non-profit colleges and about 40% cheaper than the $18,100 average of a 4-year study at other colleges in Ohio. In terms of affordability and expensiveness, Mercy ranked at 46th and 59th, respectively, of all 4-year colleges in the state. Tuition does not vary by place of residence so Ohioans and people from out of state pay the same amount of money for education. There is an additional charge of $1,550, bringing the total cost of tuition at Mercy to about $13,400 in 2015/16.
Housing, Books, and Miscellaneous Expenses
There is no on-campus housing option for students studying at Mercy so potential students will have to prepare a thicker wallet if they’re not living with their parents near the college. On average, food and lodging at an off-campus house will cost about $6,500. Books and other study materials will be an additional $2,000. Depending on your habits and how often you plan on enjoying various forms of entertainment in Toledo, you might need to prepare a budget for miscellaneous expenses for about $5,500.
Total Annual Cost
In total, a non-Ohioan living in a rented house near campus should expect to spend around $27,400 per year.
Actual Cost of Studying at Mercy
Net Price
The net price refers to how much you will end up paying or financing through students loans to study at a college. In 2014/15, Mercy reported a net price for Ohioan students to be about $18,000. The net price includes food and lodging.
Grants and Other Financial Aids
For the 2014/15 academic year, Mercy reported that more than half of their students received a grant aid. The average of the total aid provided to their students was $4,396. Around 30% of their students during that year received financial aid in the form of Pell Grants from the federal government. The average payout for Pell Grant-receivers was $3,413. Any US resident studying at Mercy is eligible to apply for the Pell Grant by filling out a free application form for FAFSA.
Cost of a Degree
When calculating your ability to afford college, annual costs are often discussed, but the most important thing to consider is the “all-in” amount, namely the total expenses incurred to obtain a multi-year degree, e.g. 4-year bachelor’s or 2-year associate’s. Let’s count how much you’ll need to prepare to obtain a bachelor’s degree at Mercy.
Estimated 4-year Cost
According to the current published costs of studying at Mercy and living off-campus, the total amount of money you need to pay to obtain a bachelor’s degree is about $109,000. This, of course, is using the straight-line method without any other variables taken into consideration such as adding an additional semester to your total studying time at Mercy, additional unexpected costs during your 4 years at Mercy, etc. This is a conservative estimate which also considers the possibility that you will not be granted any financial aid.
A potentially more accurate, albeit less conservative, approach to calculating your total costs for studying at Mercy would be taking the school’s annual $18,000 net price and multiplying it by 4, equaling around $72,000. As you can see, there is a considerable discount between this estimate and the conservative calculation.
If for some reason you end up studying for 5 years to obtain a bachelor’s degree at Mercy, your total costs could add up to between $90,250 and $136,000. Like many other colleges, students at Mercy do not pay tuition on a yearly basis but rather per semester. It’s completely possible to obtain a bachelor’s degree at Mercy in an odd number of semesters. In 2015/16, the cost per credit was $437.
Student Loans
After figuring out how much it’ll cost you to study at Mercy, the next thing to do is find out how you’re going to finance your education. If you’re paying using personal savings then you don’t have anything to worry about except for how to keep replenishing your savings. In the 2015/16 academic year at Mercy, around 60% of the students were on a student loan program with an average loan of $6,000 per student. Student loan payments are dependent on numerous variables, including how much you pay upfront and interest. The following example shows a sample student loan to give you a rough idea of what to expect.
Example
If you borrow $72,000 at 4.5% for 10 years while paying nothing upfront, your total out-of-pocket expense for a 4-year bachelor’s degree at Mercy could total up to $90,000, or about $750 per month. This calculation assumes that you do not pay the listed price of tuition, are receiving financial aid, and are paying a net price of $18,000 per year.
Future Cost of Tuition
Like everything else for sale, the price of education will go up as time passes. In the last 8 years, the listed tuition rose from around $9,800 to $11,900. It’s expected that Mercy’s listed price of tuition will rise 5% annually. Every calculation made in this article is following the 2015/16 academic year’s listed tuition, so tuition for the next intake of undergrads will vary.
Comparing Costs for Popular Majors
There are six main areas of study at Mercy: Registered Nursing Associate’s Degree, Medical Radiologic Technology Associate’s Degree, General Studies Associate’s Degree, Health Information/Medical Records/Technician Associate’s Degree, and Health Care Administration Bachelor’s Degree. Of these six programs, on the bachelor’s degree program is less expensive when compared to the national average of the same program. All of the associate’s degree programs are at least 34% costlier than the national average.
