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Status and Trends in the Education of American Indians and Alaska Natives: 2008

NCES 2008-084
September 2008

Financial Aid


In the 2003–04 school year, 82 percent of American Indian/Alaska Native full-time, full-year undergraduates received financial aid.

Figure 6.3. Average amount of financial aid awarded from any source per full-time, full-year undergraduate student, by race/ethnicity: 2003–04
Average amount of financial aid awarded from any source per full-time, full-year
undergraduate student, by race/ethnicity: 2003–04
NOTE: All dollar values are in 2003–04 dollars. Students may receive aid from multiple sources. Financial aid includes assistance in the form of grants, loans, work study, or any other type of aid, including PLUS loans (loans to parents). Data include undergraduates in degree-granting and non-degree-granting institutions. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2003–04 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:04).

In the 2003–04 school year, 82 percent of American Indian/Alaska Native full-time, full-year undergraduates received financial aid of some kind.1 During that school year, a smaller percentage of Whites (74 percent), Asians/Pacific Islanders (66 percent), and Hispanics (81 percent) than American Indians/Alaska Natives received financial aid. A larger percentage of Black (89 percent) students received financial aid than did American Indian/Alaska Native students.

American Indians/Alaska Natives receiving financial aid were awarded, on average, $9,500 for the 2003–04 school year. During that school year, generally, the average amount of financial aid received by American Indian/Alaska Native students was not measurably different from the average amount of aid received by students in all other racial/ethnic groups.

View Table View Table 6.3a View Table View Table 6.3b

1 Financial aid includes assistance in the form of grants, loans, workstudy, or any other type of aid.