Tacoma, WA · Private · Every figure is for a student starting in fall 2027. We work each one out again whenever we update the site.
How to pay for Pacific Lutheran University
What a year costs here, what brings it down, and what a SmartTuition plan could save a family like yours.
Paying for four years here
In this range the College Grant for a Washington family of four falls from $6,476 a year at a private college to $648 (2026-27). A family near the top of the range gets less aid than this average.
Four years here, after grants
$105,520
A SmartTuition plan could save a family like this about $4,200.
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester, using your own numbers.
Build your SmartTuition plan for Pacific Lutheran University, $99 →Best once your award letter arrives. No letter yet? Get the monthly email.
A family of four with good credit and $500 a month for college. How we worked these out ↓
A year at Pacific Lutheran University
| Full price | $74,529 |
| After grants, at your income | $25,120 |
98% of first-year students here got a grant or scholarship from the college in 2023-24, $33,166 on average.
At this income, 9 of Washington's other 18 colleges cost less after grants, and 9 cost more. See them all →
What can bring it down
Washington's College Grant. For a Washington family: up to $6,476 a year here, against $13,203 at UW (2026-27). A family from another state gets none.
Merit scholarships. $10,000 to $33,000 a year, mostly by GPA; no table published.
Pay less for college
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester.
At Pacific Lutheran University, our scenarios for Washington households with good parent credit show a SmartTuition plan saving a median of about $6,100 over four years. How we worked this out ↓
Considering more than one college?
Put the schools you are considering on one list and we price each of them for your family. It is free. It asks what you earn and what you have saved, never your name.
Put your schools side by side →Merit scholarships
What Pacific Lutheran University says it awards for grades and test scores.
$10,000 to $33,000 a year, mostly by GPA; no table published
“PLU Academic Scholarships - $10,000-$33,000 Eligibility: All first-year applicants are considered for PLU Academic Scholarships. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of academic merit, primarily high school GPA. Amount: $10,000-$33,000 per year, renewable for an additional three years of undergraduate study. Application: Students must complete the PLU application for admission. No other application is required.”
What Washington's grants pay at Pacific Lutheran University
If your family lives in Washington, two state grants can help pay for Pacific Lutheran University: the Washington College Grant and College Bound. The state has cut both at private colleges.
The Washington College Grant
For 2026-27, the largest grant at a private college is $6,476 a year. At the University of Washington it is $13,203. The grant gets smaller as income rises, and a family of four earning more than $139,500 gets none.
| A family of four earning up to | At Pacific Lutheran University | At the University of Washington |
|---|---|---|
| $83,500 | $6,476 | $13,203 |
| $90,500 | $3,885 | $7,922 |
| $97,500 | $3,238 | $6,602 |
| $104,500 | $1,587 | $3,235 |
| $139,500 | $648 | $1,320 |
The largest grant a year, from the Washington Student Achievement Council's 2026-27 table. A larger family can earn more and still qualify, and the council lists every family size up to 20.
From 2026-27, state law sets the largest grant at a private college at “50 percent of the average of awards for the same academic year granted to students at the public research institutions in Washington.”
The prices after grants on this page are Pacific Lutheran University's 2025-26 figures, from before the cut. In 2025-26 the largest grant at a private college was $9,739, so a family that gets the full grant now gets $3,263 a year less.
College Bound
Through 2026-27, College Bound at a private college pays at least the average award at the state's public research universities. From 2027-28 it pays half that average:
“Beginning in the 2027-28 academic year, for students attending private four-year not-for-profit institutions of higher education in Washington, the award amount shall be 50 percent of the average of awards for the same academic year granted to students in public research universities in Washington.”
A student starting in fall 2027 gets the smaller amount in every year.
Sources: the council's grant amounts, the colleges that take part, who qualifies for College Bound, and the laws, RCW 28B.92.030 and RCW 28B.118.010.
How we worked these out
The family
A family of four with good parent credit and $500 a month to put toward college, and the savings you pick. In state, the grants are what Pacific Lutheran University reports families at that income got, on average. Your own will differ, and a family with no aid pays close to the full price.
What a SmartTuition plan saves
The difference, over four years, between a SmartTuition plan and the standard approach: savings first, then loans for the rest. It counts loan interest and the federal tax credit.
The $6,100 in the “Pay less for college” box near the top of this page is the median saving in Pacific Lutheran University's own scenarios. Each scenario is a household that lives in Washington, with an income from $45,000 to $200,000 and savings of none, $40,000 or $100,000 in a 529. We price Pacific Lutheran University at the aid it reports for that income.
Every scenario has parents with good credit and $500 a month toward college. The card above uses the same two. A scenario where the parents would borrow more than $65,000 is left out.
Why the dates matter
Washington sets your grant from the income on the FAFSA, which uses your tax return from two years before college starts.
Source: Washington Student Achievement Council
“For the 2026-27 FAFSA or WASFA, use the household income reported on your 2024 taxes.”
The prices by income
- They describe students who got aid.
- “Over $110,000” has no upper limit, so it averages families just over $110,000 with far wealthier ones. A family at $115,000 should expect to pay less than it shows.
- Each range is reported on its own, so the prices do not always rise with income.
Grants from the college
How many first-year students got a grant from Pacific Lutheran University, and the average, are the Department of Education's figures for full-time students who started in 2023-24. They cover every income. The prices after grants already count these grants, so don't take them off again. The Department of Education's page for Pacific Lutheran University →
Where the prices come from
Where the prices come from: Pacific Lutheran University's own 2026-27 tuition, fees, housing and food, from its website, carried forward to 2027 at 4.0% a year. Books are the College Scorecard's. The grants are the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard (2025-26 figures), carried forward the same way. Each price after grants is the cost less those grants. The average price after grants counts the students who get federal aid. Your own figure will be different.
Pacific Lutheran University fixes tuition for four years for students who start in fall 2027. For them, our four-year figures keep tuition flat and let fees, housing and food rise.
SmartTuition.ai is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Pacific Lutheran University. Aid policies change; check current terms with the college's aid office.
Nearby at your income
- Washington State University$20,003 a year
- Heritage University$24,052 a year
- Pacific Lutheran University$25,120 a year
- Walla Walla University$25,683 a year
- Whitworth University$25,785 a year
What each college charges, less the average grant for your income. Every Washington college →