Fast Facts: Financial aid (31)

Financial aid

Question:
Do you have any statistics on financial aid for postsecondary undergraduates?

Response:

Grants and scholarships¹ and loans are the major forms of federal financial aid for first-time, full-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students. These are distinct forms of financial aid. Loans typically have to be repaid, whereas grants do not. The largest federal grant program available to undergraduate students is the Federal Pell Grant program. A student must demonstrate financial need to qualify for a Federal Pell Grant. Some federal loan programs are available to all students, and some are based on financial need. Other sources of financial aid include state and local governments, institutions, and private sources, as well as private loans. This Fast Fact only discusses forms of financial aid provided directly to students. Student loans include only loans for which the student is the designated borrower. They do not include Direct PLUS Loans² or other loans made directly to parents.

At 4-year degree-granting postsecondary institutions overall, the percentage of first-time, full-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students awarded financial aid increased from 85 to 87 percent between 2010–11 and 2020–21. However, changes differed by control of institution (i.e., public, private nonprofit, and private for-profit). Between 2010–11 and 2020–21, the percentage of students awarded aid at 4-year institutions

increased at public institutions (from 83 to 85 percent);
increased at private nonprofit institutions (from 89 to 91 percent); and
decreased at private for-profit institutions (from 91 to 85 percent).

At 2-year degree-granting postsecondary institutions overall, the percentage of first-time, full-time degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students awarded financial aid increased from 77 to 82 percent between 2010–11 and 2020–21. Over this period, the percentage of students awarded aid at 2-year institutions

increased at public institutions (from 74 to 81 percent);
showed no consistent trend at private nonprofit institutions (ranging between approximately 90 and 96 percent); and
showed no consistent trend at private for-profit institutions (ranging between approximately 84 and 91 percent).

¹ For the sake of brevity, “grants” will be used to refer to “grants and scholarships” for the rest of this Fast Fact.

² Parent PLUS Loans are taken out by parents of dependent students and are used toward the students’ undergraduate education. Parent PLUS Loans were available through both the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program and the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) until FFELP was discontinued in 2010. Since then, Parent PLUS Loans have been referred to as Direct PLUS Loans.

SOURCE: National Center for Education Statistics. (2023). Sources of Financial Aid. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved August 30, 2023, from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cuc.

Numbers in figure titles reflect original numeration from source Condition of Education indicators.

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