Every figure is for a student starting in fall 2027. We work each one out again whenever we update the site.
Paying for college in Oregon
What the state and its colleges give families, who gets it, and how to apply.
From the state
- Oregon Opportunity Grant: Oregon residents with financial need: up to $8,352 a year at a four-year college, set by the Student Aid Index
From the colleges
Merit scholarships. No college here publishes a scholarship by grades that a student is sure to get. The terms of each are in the table below.
Promises on aid at Reed.
Across state lines
Students from the other western states pay no more than 150% of resident tuition at Eastern Oregon, Oregon State, Cascades, Portland State, Southern Oregon and Western Oregon. An Oregon student can do the same in those states. The Western Undergraduate Exchange ↓
What would each college cost your family?
See all 17 Oregon colleges priced for your income, and the aid your student could get.
See costs at your income →Already have a list? Put your schools side by side →
Get reminders for the dates that matter
We'll email you on the dates that matter: when the FAFSA opens, when award letters arrive, and before you choose a college and pay the first bill. If college is two or more years away, we'll also email you when the tax year that counts begins and when it has a month left.
From the state
Oregon's programs. Most come through the FAFSA or the state's own aid application; a few have their own.
Oregon Opportunity Grant
For Oregon residents with financial need. The grant depends on the Student Aid Index: at a four-year college a full-time student gets up to $8,352 a year, and nothing above an index of 8,000. Awards go first come, first served, so file early.
Source: Oregon Student Access Commission, Higher Education Coordinating Commission
“OOG is a need-based grant awarded to Oregon residents of all ages who are pursuing their first associates degree or bachelor's degree at an eligible public or private institution.”
“-1500 - 0 $4,320 $7,092 $8,352”
“The current SAI limit for the 2026-27 academic year is 8,000.”
“Awards are first-come, first-served until funds are depleted.”
Oregon Tribal Student Grant
For enrolled members of the nine federally recognized tribes in Oregon who attend a college in Oregon. It is meant to cover the average cost of attendance after federal and state grants and scholarships.
Source: Oregon Student Access Commission, Higher Education Coordinating Commission
“You must be an enrolled member of one of the nine federally recognized tribes in Oregon:”
“The grant is intended to cover the average cost of attendance after all federal and state grants and scholarships have been applied.”
From the colleges
What each college gives for grades, what it promises on aid, and its full price.
| College | Merit scholarships | Promise on aid | Full price a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bushnell University private | None published | — | $53,909 |
| Corban University private | None published | — | $57,620 |
| Eastern Oregon University public |
| — | $26,313 |
| George Fox University private | None published | — | $64,380 |
| Lewis & Clark College private | None published | — | $92,327 |
| Linfield University private | None published | — | $72,873 |
| Oregon State University public |
| — | $35,720 |
| Oregon State University-Cascades public |
| — | $34,790 |
| Pacific University private | None published | — | $81,103 |
| Portland State University public |
| — | $30,134 |
| Reed College private | None published | Says it covers 100% of what a family cannot pay | $98,078 |
| Southern Oregon University public |
| — | $35,370 |
| University of Oregon public |
| — | $38,204 |
| University of Portland private | None published | — | $83,450 |
| Warner Pacific University private | None published | — | $42,212 |
| Western Oregon University public |
| — | $27,696 |
| Willamette University private | None published | — | $79,144 |
Each college's page has a promise's conditions, in the college's own words. “Worth asking about” marks a program the college describes in words that stop short of a promise.
Full price: tuition and fees, housing and food, and books; in state at a public university. What your family would pay after grants depends on your income: the finder shows it.
10 more Oregon colleges have no page here. For 6 of them, the federal data has no cost or no price by income. The rest mainly teach graduate students or run online programs. Show them
- Oregon Institute of Technology
- New Hope Christian College-Eugene
- Pacific Bible College
- Pacific Northwest College of Art
- Oregon Health & Science University
- Mount Angel Seminary
- Warner Pacific University Professional and Graduate Studies
- National University of Natural Medicine
- University of Western States
- Western Seminary
Across state lines
The Western Undergraduate Exchange, run by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.
Coming to Oregon from another western state
Students from the other western states pay no more than 150% of resident tuition at the public colleges that take part. Each college sets its own rules: a minimum GPA, majors it leaves out, early deadlines, or a limit on how many students get the rate.
In Oregon, Eastern Oregon, Oregon State, Cascades, Portland State, Southern Oregon and Western Oregon take part, and the table shows what each gives. The University of Oregon is not on the list. Oregon Tech is, and its page waits for its 2026-27 housing rates, which it has published only as proposed.
Going from Oregon to another western state
An Oregon student can use it the other way, at public colleges in the other western states. The group that runs the exchange has a savings finder that lists each college and what the exchange saves there.
Source: Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE)
“pay no more than 150% of the institution’s resident tuition rate”
“Residents of the following states and territories are eligible to apply for WUE: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawai’i, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, as well as American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam.”
“Each school administers WUE differently: Institutions may require a minimum GPA, exclude selected majors, have early application deadlines, and/or limit the number of students awarded the WUE rate.”
Paying the rest
Our $99 plan works out which money pays each bill, semester by semester: your savings, your 529 and your loans, in the order that costs least.
Build your plan →Best once your award letter arrives. No letter yet? Get a reminder when it does.
How we worked these out
Costs: each college's own published price where it has one, otherwise the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, carried forward to fall 2027. Grants: each program’s own page. Scholarships: each college's own page, read by us and checked against it. SmartTuition.ai is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any institution named here.