• Institution and Student Characteristics
• Types of Financial Aid
• Sources of Financial Aid
• Federal Title IV Aid
• Graduate and First-Professional Aid
• Selected Findings

NPSAS:04 is based on data collected from a sample of about 80,000 undergraduates and 11,000 graduate and first-professional students who were enrolled at any time between July 1, 2003, and June 30, 2004, in about 1,400 postsecondary institutions. The sample was limited to institutions in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico that were eligible to participate in the federal financial aid programs in Title IV of the Higher Education Act. The NPSAS:04 study sample represents about 19 million undergraduates and 3 million graduate and first-professional students. Because NPSAS:04 includes students enrolled at any time over a 12-month period, it includes more students than were enrolled only in the 2003 fall term. Preliminary data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System indicate that about 15 million undergraduates and 2.5 million graduate and first-professional students were enrolled in the fall of 2003.

NPSAS classifies financial aid by type (e.g., grants, loans, work-study, graduate assistantships, or some combination) and by the source of aid funds (e.g., federal, state, institutional, or employer). Financial aid includes any type of aid received from any source except parents, friends, or relatives. However, the aid estimates do not include federal tax credits for postsecondary education (Hope and Lifelong Learning) and do not include all types of borrowing for education (such as credit cards or home equity loans). The tables in this report show the percentage of students who received financial aid of a particular type or from a particular source, and the average amount that was received by those students who were awarded that category of aid. Students may receive more than one type of aid and aid from more than one source.

The estimates presented in the report were produced using the NCES Data Analysis System (DAS) Online, a web-based table-generating application that provides the public with direct, free access to the NPSAS:04 data as well as other postsecondary datasets collected by NCES. The NPSAS:04 estimates are subject to sampling and nonsampling errors. The DAS produces the design-adjusted standard errors necessary for testing the statistical significance of differences in the estimates. All comparisons made in the text were tested using Student's t statistic for comparing two numbers, and all differences cited are statistically significant at the .05 level. Additional information about public access to the data files with the DAS and the data sources used in the survey is presented in appendix B of the full report.

The following provides some general information about the financial aid data presented in the tables. More details about the particular variables used to produce the tables are available in appendix A of the full report. The brief descriptions of the federal Title IV programs are based on the U.S. Department of Education's comprehensive 2003–04 Federal Student Aid Handbook, available at http://ifap.ed.gov/ IFAPWebApp/currentSFAHandbooksPag.jsp.

Information about the type of institution attended only includes students who were enrolled at one institution. Students who attended more than one institution during the 2003–04 academic year are classified in a separate category because the institution at which they were sampled was not necessarily where they received their financial aid.

The attendance pattern is important in understanding the distribution of financial aid because students who are enrolled part time or for only part of an academic year are not eligible to receive as much aid as students enrolled full time for a full academic year. Full-time/full-year attendance is defined as being enrolled full time for 9 or more months during the academic year (July 1, 2003, through June 30, 2004).

Many financial aid programs are need based, which means that eligibility is usually related to income level. A critical question in determining students' need for financial aid is whether the students are dependent or independent of their parents for financial support. For financial aid purposes, most undergraduates under the age of 24 are considered to be dependent on their parents. The exceptions are those under 24 who are married, have dependents of their own, are veterans, or are orphans or wards of the court. These exceptions, as well as graduate students and any students age 24 or older, are considered to be independent for financial aid purposes.

For dependent students, financial aid need analysis takes into consideration the income of the dependent student's parents; for independent students, only the income of the student (and a spouse, if married) is considered. The tables show total income in 2002 because financial aid need analysis is based on income in the calendar year prior to the academic year (2003–04).

The three basic types of undergraduate financial aid are grants, student loans, and work-study jobs. Grants include grants, scholarships, or tuition waivers from federal, state, institutional, or private sources, including employers. Grants may be awarded on the basis of need or merit, or both. Merit may be defined as academic success, athletic ability, artistic talents, or criteria established by institutions other than financial need. Student loans may be from any source, but federal Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) are excluded from the student loan totals. PLUS loans to parents are included in the "other type of aid" category, as are veterans' benefits and job training funds. Students may receive more than one type of aid and aid from more than one source.

The federal financial aid totals include a small percentage of students who received aid from programs that are not included in the federal Title IV programs described below. The federal aid totals do not include veterans' benefits or Department of Defense programs. Federal grants are Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOGs), and a small percentage of grants from other non-Title IV federal programs. Federal student loans are Stafford and Perkins loans and a small percentage of loans from the federal Public Health Service. The student loan totals exclude PLUS loans to parents.

Although some states and postsecondary institutions fund their own student loan and work-study programs, only grants are shown separately for state and institutional aid funds.

The programs in Title IV of the Higher Education Act are the primary source of federal financial aid to students. The federal Title IV programs include Pell Grants, Stafford student loans, parent PLUS loans, and three campus-based programs (federal work-study, Perkins loans, and FSEOGs). Pell Grants are awarded on the basis of need and are intended to aid students in the lower income levels. The maximum Pell Grant amount in 2003–04 was $4,050.

There are two types of federal Stafford loans. Subsidized Stafford loans are need based, and the federal government pays the interest for students while they are enrolled. Unsubsidized Stafford loans are not need based, and students are charged interest on the loans while they are enrolled. Students who qualify may take out subsidized, unsubsidized, or a combination of both types of Stafford loans. Both types of Stafford loans have annual borrowing limits that vary by student class level and dependency status. For example, in 2003–04, the combined (subsidized plus unsubsidized) annual Stafford loan limits ranged from $2,625 for dependent first-year undergraduates to $5,500 for dependent undergraduates in the third year or above; for independent undergraduates, the annual loan limits ranged from $6,625 for first-year students to $10,500 for independent students in the third year or above; and for graduate and first-professional students, the annual loan limit was $18,500, but students at eligible medical schools could borrow up to $38,500 annually.

PLUS loans are available to the parents of dependent undergraduates and are not need based. There is no fixed annual PLUS loan limit. Parents may borrow any amount that does not exceed the student's total price of attendance at the institution minus any other financial aid received.

The federal Title IV campus-based program funds are allocated to institutions, and the financial aid officers at the institutions determine the allocation of awards to students within federal guidelines. Pell Grant recipients are given priority for FSEOG awards and Perkins loans.

Graduate students include any students who have earned a bachelor's degree and are enrolled in master's degree, doctoral degree, or postbaccalaureate certificate programs, or are taking advanced-level courses without being formally enrolled in a degree program. First-professional students are enrolled in advanced degree programs in the fields of law, medicine and related fields, and theological professions. The income levels shown are the income of the student and a spouse, if married.

The major types of financial aid received by graduate and first-professional students are student loans, grants (including fellowships), and assistantships (including teaching, research, or any other graduate assistantships). Grant and fellowship funds may come from any source. The source of funds for graduate fellowships and assistantships is not usually specified in the data sources. Research assistantships and fellowships administered by the institutions may include funds from federal and other outside sources.

Aid from employers is included in the grants category and is also shown separately. Employer aid consists of tuition reimbursements to students from employers, grants to students from their parents' employers, and tuition waivers from the institution for faculty or staff and their dependents. Although graduate students holding assistantships may be considered employees of the institution attended, tuition waivers for graduate assistants are not included in the employer aid category. Such tuition waivers are included in the total grants category, however.

Types of financial aid received by undergraduates in 2003–04 (tables A and B)

• Sixty-three percent of all undergraduates enrolled in the 2003–04 academic year received some type of financial aid (grants, loans, work-study, or other). Those who received aid were awarded an average amount of $7,300.
• About one-half (51 percent) of undergraduates received grants and about one-third (35 percent) took out student loans in 2003–04. Eight percent of all undergraduates received aid through work-study jobs and 7 percent received other types of aid (federal PLUS loans to parents, veterans' benefits, and job training funds).
• The average amount of grant aid received by undergraduates who were awarded grants was $4,000 in 2003–04. Among those who took out student loans, the average amount borrowed for the 2003–04 academic year was $5,800. The average work-study award was $2,000.
• Three-fourths (76 percent) of undergraduates who were enrolled full time for the full academic year in 2003–04 received some type of financial aid. The average amount of financial aid received by aided full-time, full-year undergraduates was $9,900.
• About one-half of full-time, full-year undergraduates took out student loans and 62 percent received grants in 2003–04. The average amount borrowed by full-time, full-year undergraduates for the 2003–04 academic year was $6,200. The amount of grant aid received by full-time, full-year undergraduates in 2003–04 was $5,600.

• Forty-six percent of all undergraduates received financial aid funded by the federal government in 2003–04. About one-third (34 percent) took out federal student loans, 28 percent received federal grants, and 6 percent held federal work-study jobs.
• Undergraduates who took out federal loans borrowed an average amount of $5,100 through federal loan programs in 2003–04. Undergraduates who were awarded federal grants received an average amount of $2,600 in federal grants. Undergraduates who held federal work-study jobs received an average amount of $1,800 for work-study.
• Among undergraduates enrolled in 2003–04, 15 percent received grants from state funds; the average state grant amount that they received was $2,000. Among undergraduates enrolled full time for the full academic year, 23 percent received state grants; the average state grant amount that they received was $2,400.
• Eighteen percent of all undergraduates received grants from the postsecondary institutions that they attended in 2003–04. The average amount of institutional grant aid that they received was $4,200. Among undergraduates enrolled full time for the full academic year, 30 percent received institutional grants.

• Forty-six percent of all undergraduates received financial aid from one or more federal Title IV programs in 2003–04.
• Federal Pell Grants were awarded to 27 percent of all undergraduates in 2003–04. The average Pell Grant amount received was $2,500. Undergraduates enrolled full time for the full academic year who were awarded Pell Grants received an average grant of $3,100.
• Twelve percent of all undergraduates enrolled in 2003–04 received aid through one or more of the federal campus-based Title IV aid programs, which include Perkins loans, federal work-study, and FSEOGs. The average amount of federal campus-based aid received by undergraduates from one or more of these programs was $1,800.
• One-third (33 percent) of all undergraduates took out federal Stafford loans in 2003–04, borrowing an average of $4,900. Subsidized Stafford loans, which are awarded on the basis of need, were taken out by 28 percent of undergraduates. Unsubsidized Stafford loans, which are available without a test of need, were taken out by 21 percent of undergraduates.
• In 2003–04, parents of 9 percent of dependent undergraduates who were enrolled full time for the full academic year borrowed an average of $9,400 through the PLUS program.

• Among all dependent undergraduates who received federal Pell Grants in 2003–04, 84 percent came from families with incomes under $40,000.
• Among all dependent undergraduates who received federal Title IV campus-based aid in 2003–04, 55 percent came from families with incomes under $40,000.
• Among all dependent undergraduates who took out subsidized Stafford loans in 2003–04, 44 percent came from families with incomes under $40,000.
• Among all dependent undergraduates who took out unsubsidized Stafford loans in 2003–04, 29 percent came from families with incomes of $100,000 or more.

• Among all independent undergraduates who received Pell Grants in 2003–04, 40 percent had incomes under $10,000.
• Among all independent undergraduates who received federal Title IV campus-based aid in 2003–04, 45 percent had incomes under $10,000.
• Among all independent undergraduates who took out any Stafford loans in 2003–04, 26 percent had incomes under $10,000.

• About three-fourths (73 percent) of all graduate and first-professional students enrolled in the 2003–04 academic year received some type of financial aid. The average amount of aid received was $15,100.
• Forty-two percent of graduate and first-professional students took out student loans in 2003–04, borrowing an average amount of $16,800. Among students in first-professional degree programs, 78 percent took out student loans, borrowing an average amount of $26,400.
• In the 2003–04 academic year, 40 percent of all graduate and first-professional students received grants from institutional, state, federal, or private sources, including employers. The average amount received was $5,700.
• Fifteen percent of graduate and first-professional students received aid from teaching, research, or other graduate assistantships in 2003–04. The average amount received from assistantships was $10,000. Forty-one percent of graduate students in doctoral degree programs held assistantships and received an average amount of $13,300.
• Excluding students holding assistantships, 21 percent of graduate and first-professional students received aid from employers in 2003–04, usually as tuition reimbursements. The average aid amount that they received from employers was $3,000. Among part-time students, 26 to 29 percent received aid from employers.

Table A. Percentage of undergraduates receiving selected types of financial aid, by type of institution, attendance pattern, dependency status, and income level: 2003–04

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2003–04 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:04). (Originally published as table 1 on p. 10 of the complete report from which this article is excerpted.)

Table B. Average amounts of selected types of financial aid received by undergraduates, by type of institution, attendance pattern, dependency status, and income level: 2003–04

NOTE: Amounts are averages for those who received the specified type of aid. “Total aid” includes all types of financial aid from any source except parents, friends, or relatives. “Total grants” include grants, scholarships, or tuition waivers from federal, state, institutional, or private sources, including employers. “Student loans” may be from any source, but exclude federal Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS). “Other” types of aid include federal PLUS loans to parents, veterans’ benefits, and job training funds. 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, 2003, to June 30, 2004. Independent students are age 24 or over and students under 24 who are married, have dependents, are veterans, or are an orphan or ward of the courts. Other undergraduates under age 24 are considered to be dependent. For dependent students, income is the income of their parents. Independent student income includes the income of a spouse if the student is married. Prior-year (2002) income is used in federal need analysis. Estimates include students at postsecondary institutions in Puerto Rico.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2003–04 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:04). (Originally published as table 2 on p. 11 of the complete report from which this article is excerpted.)

^*The numbers in the Selected Findings refer to totals that include Puerto Rico.

Table C. Percentage of graduate and first-professional students receiving selected types of financial aid, by type of institution, graduate program, attendance pattern, and income level: 2003–04

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2003–04 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:04). (Originally published as table 9 on p. 18 of the complete report from which this article is excerpted.)

Table D. Average amounts of selected types of financial aid received by graduate and first-professional students, by type of institution, graduate program, attendance pattern, and income level: 2003–04

NOTE: Amounts are averages for those who received the specified type of aid. “Total aid” includes all types of financial aid from any sources (federal, state, institutional, or private) except parents, friends, or relatives. Grants may come from any source and include fellowships, tuition waivers, and aid from employers. Employer aid excludes tuition waivers to students holding assistantships. Teaching assistantships are funded by institutions, but research assistantship funds may come from any source. Stafford loans include those administered through the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) and the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. Stafford loans include both subsidized and unsubsidized loan amounts. Students may receive more than one type of aid. Income is the total income of the student and spouse (if married) for calendar year 2002. Estimates include students at postsecondary institutions in Puerto Rico.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2003–04 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:04). (Originally published as table 10 on p. 19 of the complete report from which this article is excerpted.)