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 Rhode Island
What the state and its colleges give families, who gets it, and how to apply. See every Rhode Island college priced for your income
From the state
Across state lines
From the colleges
Pay less for college
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester.
In our Rhode Island scenarios, with good parent credit, a SmartTuition plan saves a median of about $7,000 over four years. How we worked this out ↓
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From the state
Rhode Island's programs. Most come through the FAFSA or the state's own aid application; a few have their own.
Rhode Island State Grant
Need-based grant money the state gives Rhode Island's public and private nonprofit colleges to award to Rhode Island students with financial need. Each college decides who qualifies, so ask its aid office.
Source: Rhode Island Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner, Policy S-20
“the development of a plan to allocated need-based scholarship and grant funds to eligible Rhode Island public and independent non-profit institutions”
“The focus of the new program is to assist needy Rhode Island students attending Rhode Island public and independent non-profit institutions.”
“Participating institutions must submit a plan and supporting data that will effectively maximize the use of funds”
Rhode Island's 529 tax deduction
Money you put into a CollegeBound Saver account comes off your Rhode Island income, up to $500 a year, or $1,000 for a married couple filing jointly. Take money out for anything other than school costs, or move it to another state's plan, and Rhode Island may take the deduction back.
Source: Rhode Island Office of the General Treasurer, CollegeBound Saver
“Rhode Island taxpayers who are account owners and contribute to CollegeBound Saver account are eligible for a deduction in computing state income tax for contributions made to CollegeBound Saver of up to $1,000 for married couples filing jointly and $500 for individual filers.”
“If an account owner makes a non-qualified withdrawal or certain transfers or rollovers to another state's program, the amount of the deduction may be "recaptured" and included in the account owner’s Rhode Island income.”
Hope Scholarship
A scholarship for Rhode Island residents who start full time at Rhode Island College and keep a 2.5 GPA. It pays the tuition and mandatory fees left after other aid in the junior and senior years. There is no application, and the pilot runs through 2030.
Source: Rhode Island College
“The Rhode Island College Hope Scholarship is a pilot program that provides last-dollar tuition and mandatory fee payments to in-state students at Rhode Island College for their junior and senior years, if they are in good academic standing, with a 2.5 GPA or higher, and on track to graduate or to earn an approved certificate in a total of four years.”
“This pilot program begins at Rhode Island College on July 1, 2023, and runs through July 1, 2030.”
“You must be a Rhode Island resident who qualifies for in-state tuition.”
“The scholarship covers “mandatory fees and tuition.” This does not include room and board, textbooks, program fees for some majors, course fees for some specific courses, meal plans or travel.”
“must maintain a 2.5 cumulative GPA”
“No scholarship application is required — we’ll automatically review your academic records before your junior year at RIC.”
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brown University private |
| Says it covers 100% of what a family cannot pay | $102,299 |
| Bryant University private |
| — | $79,500 |
| Johnson & Wales private |
| — | $68,371 |
| Providence College private |
| — | $92,941 |
| Rhode Island College public |
| — | $29,284 |
| RISD private |
| — | $92,847 |
| Roger Williams University private |
| — | $70,611 |
| Salve Regina University private |
| — | $79,976 |
| University of Rhode Island public |
| — | $37,196 |
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.
Across state lines
The New England Tuition Break, run by the New England Board of Higher Education.
Coming to Rhode Island from elsewhere in New England
Students from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont can pay no more than 175% of resident tuition at New England public colleges, in the programs each college has approved.
Some programs are open to every New England student; others depend on the student's home state.
In Rhode Island, Rhode Island College and University of Rhode Island take part.
Going from Rhode Island to another New England state
A Rhode Island student can use it at public colleges in the other five states. The Board's search lists the approved programs and the rate at each college.
Source: New England Board of Higher Education, Tuition Break
“provides significant tuition savings to residents of the six New England states when they enroll at out-of-state public colleges and universities within New England and pursue approved programs.”
“The rate is based on a percentage (up to a maximum of 175 percent) of a college’s in-state rate.”
“The programs that are marked with a [F] are eligible for all New England residents. The programs without a [F] are state dependent for eligibility.”
Paying the rest
Your SmartTuition plan uses your savings, your 529, your loans and your award letter.
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How we worked these out
What a SmartTuition plan saves
The $7,000 in the “Pay less for college” box near the top of this page is the median saving over our Rhode Island scenarios. Each scenario is a household in Rhode Island at one of its colleges. Its income is one of 8 from $45,000 to $200,000, and its savings are none, $40,000 or $100,000 in a 529. We price each college at the aid it reports for the income.
Every scenario has parents with good credit and $500 a month toward college. A saving is the difference, over four years, between a SmartTuition plan and the standard approach: savings first, then loans for the rest. It counts loan interest, the federal tax credit and Rhode Island's tax deduction for money you put through its 529 plan. Credit matters: parents with fair credit borrow at a higher rate, which changes the saving.
A scenario where the parents would borrow more than $65,000 is left out, as is one at a college that reports no aid for the income. The figure is for a household that lives in Rhode Island.
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.