Question:
Do you have any statistics on
financial aid for postsecondary undergraduates?
Response:
Sixty-six percent of all undergraduates received some type of financial aid in 2007–08. For those who received any aid, the total average amount received was $9,100. Fifty-two percent received grants averaging $4,900, and 38 percent took out an average of $7,100 in student loans. Seven percent received aid through workstudy jobs averaging $2,400 in wages, 2 percent received an average of $5,400 in veterans’ benefits, and 4 percent of students had parents who took out an average of $10,800 in Parent PLUS loans. Parent PLUS loans are included in total aid but are not included in student loans because they are loans for parents of dependent students.
Forty-seven percent of all undergraduates received federal student aid in 2007–08, the average amount of which was $6,600. Sixteen percent received an average of $2,500 in state-funded grants and 20 percent received an average of $5,000 in grants funded by the postsecondary institution they attended.
In 2007–08, federal Pell Grants were awarded to 27 percent of all undergraduates at an average of $2,600, and 34 percent of all undergraduates took out federal Stafford loans averaging a total of $5,000. Subsidized Stafford loans were received by 30 percent of undergraduates and averaged $3,400, while 22 percent received an average of $3,200 in unsubsidized Stafford loans.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2009). 2007–08 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:08) Student Financial Aid Estimates for 2007–08, Selected Findings .
Percentage of undergraduates receiving financial aid and the average amount received, by type and source of aid and selected student characteristics: 2007–08 | |||||||||||
Student characteristic | Any aid | Any grants | Any student loans | Work study | Veterans benefits | Parent PLUS loans1 | Federal | ||||
Any financial aid | Any grants | Any loans | Work study | ||||||||
All undergraduates | 65.6 | 51.7 | 38.5 | 7.4 | 2.1 | 3.8 | 47.0 | 27.6 | 34.7 | 5.6 | |
Full-time/full-year | 79.5 | 64.4 | 52.9 | 13.5 | 2.0 | 7.2 | 62.2 | 33.0 | 49.1 | 10.3 | |
Dependent | 77.1 | 62.1 | 49.4 | 15.3 | 0.7 | 9.6 | 57.5 | 25.1 | 45.5 | 11.6 | |
Independent | 86.9 | 71.7 | 63.8 | 7.6 | 6.1 | † | 76.9 | 57.9 | 60.3 | 6.1 | |
Part-time or part-year | 56.6 | 43.5 | 29.2 | 3.5 | 2.2 | 1.5 | 37.1 | 24.0 | 25.3 | 2.7 | |
Average amount of financial aid | |||||||||||
All undergraduates | $9,100 | $4,900 | $7,100 | $2,400 | $5,400 | $10,800 | $6,600 | $2,800 | $5,100 | $2,300 | |
Full-time/full-year | 12,700 | 7,100 | 8,000 | 2,300 | 6,600 | 11,400 | 7,900 | 3,700 | 5,400 | 2,200 | |
Dependent | 13,100 | 7,800 | 7.600 | 2,200 | 4,700 | 11,400 | 7,700 | 3,700 | 4,800 | 2,100 | |
Independent | 11,700 | 5,200 | 8,900 | 2,500 | 7,300 | † | 8,400 | 3,600 | 7,000 | 2,400 | |
Part-time or part-year | 5,800 | 2,700 | 6,100 | 2,700 | 4,600 | 8,700 | 5,100 | 2,100 | 4,700 | 2,800 |
† Not applicable.
1 Not included in “Any student loans” because these are loans that are taken out by the parents of undergraduate students.
NOTE: “Any aid” includes all types of financial aid from any source except parents, friends, or relatives. Parent Loans for Undergraduate
Students (PLUS) are also included in “Any aid” but are excluded from “Any student loans.” “Any grants” include grants, scholarships,
or tuition waivers from federal, state, institutional, or private sources, including employers. “Any student loans” include federal,
state, institutional, and private (alternative) loans. Veterans benefits include benefits to dependents. Students may receive more than
one type of aid. Full-time/full-year students were enrolled full time for 9 or more months from July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008. Independent
students are age 24 or over and students under age 24 who are married, have dependents, are veterans, are orphans or wards
of the court, or were determined to be independent by a financial aid officer using professional judgment. Other undergraduates under
age 24 are considered to be dependent.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2009). 2007–08 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:08) Student Financial Aid Estimates for 2007–08, Table 1, Table 2, Table 3, and Table 4.
Related Tables and Figures: (Listed by Release Date)
Other Resources: (Listed by Release Date)