Indicator 22: Financial Aid
(Last Updated: February 2019)

Among full-time, full-year undergraduate students, 88 percent of Black students, 87 percent of American Indian/Alaska Native students, and 82 percent of Hispanic students received grants in 2015–16. These percentages were higher than the percentages for White (74 percent) and Asian (66 percent) students.

The cost of a postsecondary education is a potential burden for students in their completion of an undergraduate degree. Financial aid can help ease this burden. Grants and loans are the major forms of federal financial aid for degree/certificate-seeking undergraduate students. Students who receive federal aid may receive grants, loans, or both. The largest federal grant program available to undergraduate students is the Federal Pell Grant program. To qualify for a Pell Grant, a student must demonstrate financial need. Federal loans, on the other hand, are available to all students regardless of financial need. In addition to federal financial aid, there are also grants from state and local governments, institutions, and private sources, as well as private loans.

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Figure 22.1. Percentage of full-time, full-year undergraduates who received financial aid from any source, by type of aid and race/ethnicity: 2015–16

¹ Includes Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS).
NOTE: Full-time, full-year undergraduates are those who were enrolled full time for 9 or more months at one or more institutions. Data include undergraduates in degree-granting and non-degree-granting institutions. Data exclude Puerto Rico. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2015–16 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:16). See Digest of Education Statistics 2017, table 331.35.

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In the 2015–16 school year, the percentage of full-time, full-year undergraduate students who received grants from any source varied by race/ethnicity. Higher percentages of Black (88 percent) and American Indian/Alaska Native (87 percent) students received grants than students who were of Two or more races (79 percent), White (74 percent), and Asian (66 percent). In addition, a higher percentage of Hispanic students (82 percent) than White and Asian students and a higher percentage of Pacific Islander students (84 percent) than Asian students received grants. Similar patterns emerged for the percentage of full-time undergraduate students who received Federal Pell Grants. The percentage of students who received Pell Grants was highest for Black students (72 percent) and lowest for Asian (36 percent) and White (34 percent) students.

In 2015–16, the percentage of full-time, full-year undergraduate students who received loans from any source also varied by racial/ethnic group. A higher percentage of Black students (71 percent) received loans than students who were White (56 percent), of Two or more races (54 percent), Pacific Islander (53 percent), Hispanic (50 percent), American Indian/Alaska Native (38 percent), and Asian (31 percent). The percentage of Asian students who received loans was lower than the percentages of most other racial/ethnic groups. The exception was that there was no measurable difference between the percentages of Asian students and American Indian/Alaska Native students who received loans.

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Figure 22.2. Average annual amount of financial aid received by full-time, full-year undergraduates from any source, by type of aid and race/ethnicity: 2015–16

¹ Includes Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS).
NOTE: Full-time, full-year undergraduates are those who were enrolled full time for 9 or more months at one or more institutions. Data include undergraduates in degree-granting and non-degree-granting institutions. Amounts are in constant 2016–17 dollars based on the Consumer Price Index, prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, adjusted to an academic-year basis. Data exclude Puerto Rico. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2015–16 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:16). See Digest of Education Statistics 2017, table 331.35.

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Among full-time, full-year undergraduate students who received grants from any source in 2015–16, the only measurable differences between racial/ethnic groups in the average annual amount of grant aid received were between Asian students and students of all other groups. Asian students received a higher average annual amount of grant aid ($13,840) than did students who were of Two or more races ($11,940), White ($11,420), Black ($11,390), Hispanic ($11,090), American Indian/Alaska Native ($10,750), and Pacific Islander ($10,280).¹

With respect to Federal Pell Grants, Asian students received a higher average annual amount of aid ($5,030) than did Hispanic ($4,860) and White ($4,610) students. Students who were Black ($4,900), Hispanic, and of Two or more races ($4,830) also received higher average annual amounts of Pell Grant aid than did White students.

Among full-time, full-year undergraduate students who received loans from any source in 2015–16, White students received a higher average annual amount of loan aid ($11,830) than did Black ($10,890), Asian ($10,700), and Hispanic ($10,270) students. In addition, Black students received a higher average annual amount of loan aid than did Hispanic students. American Indian/Alaska Native students received a lower average annual amount of loan aid ($9,000) than did any other racial/ethnic group, including Pacific Islander students ($12,280).

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Figure 22.3. Percentage of part-time or part-year undergraduates who received financial aid from any source, by type of aid and race/ethnicity: 2015–16

¹ Includes Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS).
NOTE: Part-time or part-year undergraduates include those who were enrolled part time for 9 or more months and those who were enrolled for less than 9 months either part time or full time. Data include undergraduates in degree-granting and non-degree-granting institutions. Data exclude Puerto Rico. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Although rounded data are displayed, the figures are based on unrounded estimates.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2015–16 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:16). See Digest of Education Statistics 2017, table 331.37.

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Among part-time or part-year undergraduate students in 2015–16, a higher percentage of Black students (65 percent) received grants from any source than did students who were of Two or more races (60 percent), Hispanic (58 percent), Pacific Islander (52 percent), White (51 percent), and Asian (49 percent). Additionally, higher percentages of American Indian/Alaska Native students (63 percent), students of Two or more races, and Hispanic students than of White and Asian students received grants in 2015–16. Similar to the patterns for grants overall, the percentages of part-time undergraduate students who received Federal Pell Grants were higher for American Indian/Alaska Native students (46 percent), students of Two or more races (38 percent), and Hispanic students (38 percent) than for White (30 percent), Pacific Islander (27 percent), and Asian (27 percent) students.

In 2015–16, the percentage of part-time or part-year undergraduate students who received loans from any source was higher for Black students (42 percent) than for students who were of Two or more races (35 percent), White (29 percent), American Indian/Alaska Native (28 percent), Pacific Islander (24 percent), Hispanic (22 percent), and Asian (17 percent). In contrast, the percentage of students who received loans was lower for Asian students than for students of most other racial/ethnic groups. The exception was that there was no measurable difference between the percentages of Asian students and Pacific Islander students who received loans.

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Figure 22.4. Average annual amount of financial aid received by part-time or part-year undergraduates from any source, by type of aid and race/ethnicity: 2015–16

¹ Includes Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students (PLUS).
NOTE: Part-time or part-year undergraduates include those who were enrolled part time for 9 or more months and those who were enrolled for less than 9 months either part time or full time. Data include undergraduates in degree-granting and non-degree-granting institutions. Amounts are in constant 2016–17 dollars based on the Consumer Price Index, prepared by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, adjusted to an academic-year basis. Data exclude Puerto Rico. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2015–16 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:16). See Digest of Education Statistics 2017, table 331.37.

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Among part-time or part-year undergraduate students who received grants from any source in 2015–16, Asian students received a higher average annual amount of grant aid ($5,420) than did students of any other racial/ethnic group: $4,710 for students of Two or more races, $4,390 for Black students, $4,220 for White students, $4,120 for Pacific Islander students, $4,030 for Hispanic students, and $3,750 for American Indian/Alaska Native students. Asian students also received a higher average annual amount of Federal Pell Grant aid ($3,410) than did students who were Hispanic ($3,170), Black ($3,110), of Two or more races ($3,090), White ($2,920), and American Indian/Alaska Native ($2,840).

Similar to the patterns for grants, Asian part-time or part-year undergraduate students received a higher average annual amount of loan aid ($8,540) from any source in 2015–16 than students who were Black ($7,230), White ($7,110), of Two or more races ($7,050), Hispanic ($6,940), and American Indian/Alaska Native ($6,110).

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Endnotes

¹ Dollar amounts are expressed in constant 2016–17 dollars.

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