Statistical Analysis Report:

Financing Undergraduate Education: 1990

May 1993

(NCES 93-201) Ordering information

Highlights

This report describes how undergraduates finance their postsecondary education. In particular, the report focuses on those students who receive financial aid and how they use the aid to meet the costs of attendance. Some of the more important findings are the following:

Postsecondary Enrollments

• There were about 18.6 million students enrolled in postsecondary education in 1989–90: 16.3 million undergraduates, 2 million graduate students, and about 300,000 first-professional students.
• Approximately 52 percent of undergraduates were financially independent of their parents for financial aid purposes.
• About 56 percent of undergraduates attended postsecondary education full time: the rest were approximately equally divided between half time (21 percent) and less than half time (23 percent).
• Three-quarters (76 percent) of undergraduates attended public institutions, 16 percent attended private not-for-profit institutions, and about 9 percent attended private for-profit institutions.

Financial Aid Recipients

• About 43 percent of undergraduates received some type of financial aid, 36 percent received grants, and 19 percent received loans.
• Recipients of financial aid received an average of $3,606. The average amount of grant aid was $2,257 and the average amount of loan aid was $2,799.
• Seventy-four percent of dependent students with a family income less than $10,000 received financial aid, compared with 15 percent of those with a family income of $100,000 or more.

Costs of Attendance

• The average annual total cost of attendance for undergraduates attending public institutions was $8,109, the average cost for those attending private not-for-profit institutions was $13,689, and for those at private for-profit institutions, it was $11,308.
• The average tuition and fees for undergraduates attending public institutions was $1,322, compared with $7,051 at private not-for-profit institutions, and $4,792 at private for-profit institutions.

Federal Financial Aid

• About 29 percent of undergraduates received federal financial aid in 1989–90. Twenty-one percent received federal grants, 18 percent federal loans, and 5 percent received federal work-study.
• About 71 percent of undergraduates met the eligibility requirements for federal financial aid (i.e., attended at least half time and were citizens or eligible noncitizens). Thirty-eight percent of eligible undergraduates received aid.
• Almost 81 percent of undergraduates who were eligible to receive federal financial aid and attended private for-profit institutions received some type of federal aid. Almost one-half of eligible students at private not-for-profit institutions received federal aid (49 percent), and about 29 percent of eligible students at public institutions received federal financial aid.
• Over 71 percent of eligible undergraduates who attended less-than-2-year institutions received federal aid, about 29 percent of students at 2- to 3-year institutions, 42 percent of those at 4-year non-doctoral institutions, and 35 percent of those at 4-year doctoral institutions received federal aid.
• Undergraduate recipients of federal aid received, on average, $3,113. They received an average of $1,562 in federal grant aid, $2,647 in federal loan aid, and $1,252 in federal work-study.
• Recipients who attended public institutions received an average of $2,585 in federal aid, while students who attended private not-for-profit and private for-profit institutions received an average of approximately $3,800 in federal aid.

State Financial Aid

• About 13 percent of undergraduates received state financial aid. On average, they received $1,340 in total state aid: $1,203 in state grant aid, and $2,351 in state loan aid.
• Twenty-eight percent of eligible (for federal aid) undergraduates who attended private not-for- profit institutions received some state aid. About 15 percent of those at public institutions and about 9 percent of those at private for-profit institutions received state aid.
• Recipients of state aid at public institutions received an average of $1,308 in state financial aid, and those who attended both types of private institutions received an average of about $1,900 in state aid.

Institutional Financial Aid

• About 15 percent of undergraduates received some institutional financial aid. They received, on average, $2,072 in total institutional aid: $2,059 in institutional grant aid, and $1,315 in institutional loan aid.
• Forty-two percent of eligible (for federal aid) undergraduates who attended private not-for-profit institutions received some form of institutional aid. About 20 percent of those at private for-profit institutions received institutional aid as did 12 percent of those at public institutions.
• Students at private not-for-profit institutions received an average of $3,170 in institutional aid while those at private for-profit institutions received an average of $1,357 and those at public institutions received $1,284.

Sources of Financial Support

• Sixteen percent of eligible dependent students and 46 percent of eligible independent students did not receive any financial assistance from their parents. Seventeen percent of dependent students and 34 percent of independent students who received financial aid received no financial assistance from their parents for their postsecondary education.

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For more information about the content of this report, contact Aurora D'Amico at Aurora.D'Amico@ed.gov.