• Student Characteristics
• Price of Attendance and Financial Aid
• All Institutions
• Public 4-Year Institutions
• Private Not-For-Profit 4-Year Institutions
• Public 2-Year Institutions
• Private For-Profit Institutions

The information about undergraduate students in NPSAS:04 was collected from a sample of about 80,000 undergraduates who were enrolled at any time between July 1, 2003, and June 30, 2004, in about 1,300 postsecondary institutions that offered undergraduate programs of study. The sample was limited to institutions that were eligible to participate in the federal financial aid programs included in Title IV of the Higher Education Act and were located in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The NPSAS:04 sample of undergraduates represents about 19 million 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 were enrolled in the fall of 2003.

The tables in this E.D. TAB show the percentage of students who received financial aid of a particular type or combination, and the average amount that was received by those students who were awarded that type or combination of aid. 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 Lifetime Learning) and do not include all of the possible types of loans that students may take out to finance their educational expenses. In this report, all federal, state, and institutional student loans are included, in addition to alternative private student loans from sources such as Sallie Mae and The Education Resources Institute (TERI). Some examples of borrowing that are not included in the estimate of total loans or total aid are the use of credit cards, home equity loans, and loans from individuals.

All average amounts of financial aid described in this E.D. TAB and presented in the tables reflect the weighted means and are based only on the recipients of the specified types or combinations of aid. Nonrecipients of a particular type or combination of aid are excluded from the calculation of the average amount received so that none of the individuals in the sample for that aid type or combination have zero dollar amounts.

The estimates presented in this E.D. TAB were produced using the National Center for Education Statistics (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 will suppress the printing of estimates when the number of sample cases in a table cell is too low to produce a reliable estimate. 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 were statistically significant at the .05 level.

The tables in this E.D. TAB show totals for all undergraduates (full time and part time), as well as separate totals for those who were 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 2003–04 academic year (July 1, 2003, to June 30, 2004).

The student characteristics shown in the tables include dependency status and income within dependency status. For federal 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 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, but for independent students only the income of the student (and a spouse, if married) is considered. The income levels shown in the tables are the total income for 2002, because financial aid need analysis is based on income in the calendar year prior to the academic year (2003–04). The median family income in 2002 for parents of dependent undergraduates enrolled in 2003–04 was about $60,000; about one-fourth of the dependent students came from families with annual incomes of less than $32,000 and about one-fourth came from families with incomes of more than $92,000. The median income of independent students (and a spouse, if married) was about $25,000.

The tables include the average amount of tuition and fees charged by the institutions and the average total price of attendance to the students. The total price of attendance includes the tuition and fees as well as all other expenses related to enrollment: books and supplies, room and board (or housing and meal allowances for off-campus students), transportation, and other personal living expenses. These are the average estimated expenses for various categories of students (e.g., on-campus, off-campus, dependent, independent) reported by the institutions.

There are many different types of financial aid available to students, but the focus of this E.D. TAB is on grants and student loans, which are the two major types of aid to undergraduates. Grant aid includes grants, scholarships, or tuition waivers from federal, state, institutional, or other sources (such as private foundations, employers, and parents' employers). The major federal grant programs are Federal Pell Grants and Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOGs).

The federal student loan programs (Stafford and Perkins loans) are the major source of student loans to undergraduates. Federal Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) were excluded from the student loan totals because the focus of this E.D. TAB is on the amount that students themselves borrow for their education. Parent PLUS loans, work-study aid, veterans' benefits, and job training aid are not shown separately in this E.D. TAB, but they are included in the total aid averages.

Financial aid is typically awarded in "packages" that may include more than one type of aid (e.g., loans and grants) and aid from more than one source (e.g., federal grants and state grants). Tables C and D show three categories of financial aid packages, based on whether the financial aid package included loans to students. The category "grants or any other aid except loans" includes the students who received any type or combination of grants, work-study, veterans' benefits, or job training funds, but did not take out a student loan in 2003–04. The category "grants or any other aid with loans" includes the students who received grants or any other type of aid and also took out student loans in 2003–04.

Following are the selected findings^* for undergraduate financial aid estimates for all institutions, as well as public 4-year, private not-for-profit 4-year, public 2-year, and private for-profit postsecondary institutions during the 2003–04 academic year.

All undergraduates enrolled in postsecondary institutions in 2003–04

• Sixty-three percent of all undergraduates enrolled in 2003–04 received some type of financial aid (table A). Undergraduates were more likely to receive grants than student loans in 2003–04, but the average grant amount was less than the average student loan amount. About one-half (51 percent) of undergraduates received grants and about one-third (35 percent) took out student loans. The average amount of grants received was $4,000, and the average amount borrowed by undergraduates in 2003–04 was $5,800.
• Undergraduates enrolled in 2003–04 were more likely to receive federal grants than grants from any other source (table B). Twenty-eight percent of all undergraduates received federal grants (such as Federal Pell Grants or FSEOGs), 18 percent received institutional grants, 15 percent received state grants, and 15 percent received grants from other sources (e.g., employers, parents' employers, or private foundations or organizations).

• About three-fourths (76 percent) of all full-time/full-year undergraduates received some financial aid in 2003–04, and the average total aid received was $9,900 (table A). One-half (50 percent) of the full-time/full-year undergraduates enrolled in 2003–04 took out student loans to help finance their education, borrowing an average of $6,200 that year.
• Forty percent of all full-time/full-year undergraduates received both grants (or other aid) and loans in 2003–04 (table C). The average amount of total aid received by full-time/full-year students with both grants (or other aid) and loans in their aid packages was $13,600 (table D).

Table A. Average tuition and fees, average total price of attendance, and percentage of undergraduates receiving any aid, any grants, or any student loans, and average amounts received, by student characteristics: 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. Percentage of undergraduates receiving grants from federal, state, institutional, or other sources,and average grant amounts received, by student characteristics: 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 2 on p.11 of the complete report from which this report is excerpted.)

All undergraduates enrolled in public 4-year institutions in 2003–04

• Sixty-nine percent of all undergraduates enrolled in public 4-year institutions in 2003–04 received some type of financial aid. About one-half (52 percent) of all undergraduates attending public 4-year institutions in 2003–04 received grants and 45 percent took out student loans. Those who were awarded grants received an average of $4,000 in grant funds, while those who took out student loans borrowed an average of $5,600.
• Twenty-seven percent of all undergraduates enrolled in public 4-year institutions in 2003–04 received federal grants, 21 percent received institutional grants, 19 percent received state grants, and 14 percent received grants from other sources such as employers or private organizations. The average federal grant amount was $2,800, the average institutional grant was $2,900, the average state grant was $2,200, and the average grant funded through other sources was $2,000.

• Nine out of 10 (91 percent) full-time/full-year dependent undergraduates from families with incomes under $32,000 attending public 4-year institutions in 2003–04 received some type of financial aid. The average amount of total aid received by these low-income dependent undergraduates was $9,900. About three-fourths (73 percent) received a federal grant at an average of $3,700.
• About one-half (52 percent) of full-time/full-year dependent undergraduates with family incomes under $32,000 received both grants (or other aid) and student loans at public 4-year institutions in 2003–04. Thirty-seven percent received grants (or other aid) and did not take out any student loans. Those with both grants (or other aid) and loans in their financial aid package received an average total aid of $12,100.

All undergraduates enrolled in private not-for-profit 4-year institutions in 2003–04

• Eighty-three percent of all undergraduates attending private not-for-profit 4-year institutions received some type of financial aid in 2003–04. About three-fourths (73 percent) of the undergraduates enrolled in private not-for-profit 4-year institutions received grants and 56 percent took out student loans in 2003–04. The average grant amount was $7,700 and the average student loan was $6,900.
• One-half (50 percent) of all undergraduates enrolled in private not-for-profit 4-year institutions in 2003–04 received institutional grants, 28 percent received federal grants, 22 percent received state-funded grants, and 23 percent received grants from other sources such as private organizations or employers. The average institutional grant amount awarded to undergraduates at private not-for-profit 4-year institutions in 2003–04 was $7,100, the average federal grant was $3,000, the average state grant was $2,800, and the average grant from other sources was $2,900.

• About four out of five (81 percent) full-time/full-year undergraduates received grants to attend private not-for-profit 4-year institutions in 2003–04, and about two-thirds (66 percent) took out student loans. The average grant amount was $9,400 and the average student loan amount in 2003–04 was $7,200.
• Among full-time/full-year undergraduates enrolled in private not-for-profit 4-year institutions in 2003–04, 62 percent received both grants (or other aid) and student loans in their financial aid packages. The average total amount in the financial aid package of full-time/full-year students with both grants (or other aid) and student loans was $19,300.

All undergraduates enrolled in public 2-year institutions in 2003–04

• Forty-seven percent of all undergraduates enrolled in public 2-year institutions in 2003–04 received some type of financial aid. Forty percent received grants and 12 percent took out student loans. Although a smaller percentage of undergraduates attending public 2-year institutions received loans than grants, the average student loan amount ($3,600) was larger than the average grant amount ($2,200).
• Among undergraduates attending public 2-year institutions in 2003–04, 23 percent received federal grants, 11 percent received state-funded grants, 8 percent received institutional grants, and 12 percent received grants from other sources such as employers or private organizations. The average federal grant was $2,300, the average state grant was $1,000, the average institutional grant was $1,200, and the average grant awarded from other sources was $1,100.

• About one-half (53 percent) of the full-time/full-year undergraduates attending public 2-year institutions received grants and about one-fourth (23 percent) took out student loans in 2003–04. The average amount of grants received by full-time/full-year undergraduates was $3,400, and the average student loan amount was $4,100.
• Thirty-nine percent of full-time/full-year undergraduates enrolled in public 2-year institutions received grants (or other aid) and did not take out student loans in 2003–04. Seventeen percent received both grants (or other aid) and loans, and 6 percent received only loans and no other type of aid. Those with aid packages that consisted of only grants (or other aid) and no student loans received an average of $3,700 in total financial aid. Those with grants (or other aid) and loans received an average of $8,100 in total aid.

Table C. Percentage distribution of undergraduates receiving various types of financial aid packages, by student characteristics: 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 3 on p.12 of the complete report from which this report is excerpted.)

Table D. Average total amount of financial aid that undergraduates received in various types of financial aid packages, by student characteristics: 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 4 on p.13 of the complete report from which this article is excerpted.)

All undergraduates enrolled in private for-profit institutions in 2003–04

• Among students attending private for-profit institutions, about 9 out of 10 (89 percent) received some type of financial aid in 2003–04. About two-thirds (66 percent) of the undergraduates enrolled in private for-profit institutions received grants and about three-fourths (73 percent) took out student loans in 2003–04. The average grant amount was $3,300 and the average student loan amount was $6,800.
• About one-half (53 percent) of all undergraduates at private for-profit institutions received a federal grant in 2003–04. Eight percent received state grants, 7 percent received institutional grants, and 13 percent received grants funded through other sources.

• Sixty-two percent of full-time/full-year undergraduates enrolled at private for-profit institutions in 2003–04 received financial aid packages including both grants (or other aid) and student loans. Thirteen percent received only grants (or other aid) and no student loans, and 18 percent received only student loans.
• Among full-time/full-year undergraduates enrolled at private for-profit institutions in 2003–04, those who had both grants (or other aid) and student loans in their financial aid packages received an average of $13,000 in total aid. Those with only grants (or other aid) but no loans received an average of $4,300 in total aid, and those who only took out student loans received an average loan of $9,500.

^*The numbers in the selected findings refer to the totals that include Puerto Rico.