Nearly Three-Quarters of Undergraduates Received Some Type of Financial Aid in 2019-20

Undergraduate Students

• Seventy-two percent of all undergraduate students received some type of financial aid in 2019–20. Sixty-four percent received grants, 36 percent took out student loans themselves, 5 percent received work-study awards, 2 percent received federal veterans’ education benefits, and 4 percent had parents who took out federal Direct PLUS Loans.
• Seventy-four percent of undergraduates who identified as female received some type of financial aid, compared to 68 percent who identified as male and 67 percent who identified as genderqueer, gender nonconforming, or a different gender identity.
• Among undergraduates who received any financial aid, the average total amount received was $14,100. The average amount received from grants was $9,300 and the average amount received from student loans directly to students was $7,900. Students in work-study programs were awarded an average of $2,500. Students with federal veterans’ education benefits received an average of $17,900. Parents of undergraduates borrowed an average of $16,300 in federal Direct PLUS Loans.
• Average amounts of federal student aid received by undergraduates varied by student race/ethnicity.
  • Non-Hispanic White undergraduates who received federal student aid received on average $8,800.
  • Non-Hispanic Black undergraduates and undergraduates of two or more races received higher amounts than non-Hispanic White undergraduates on average ($9,700 each).
  • Undergraduates who were Hispanic or Latino of any race, those who were non-Hispanic Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders, and those who were non-Hispanic American Indians or Alaska Natives received lower amounts than non-Hispanic White undergraduates ($7,500, $7,400, and $7,000, respectively).
  • There was no significant difference between the average amount of federal student aid received by non-Hispanic White and by non-Hispanic Asian undergraduates ($8,800 and $9,100, respectively).
• Undergraduates who received federal Pell Grants received an average of $4,100. Undergraduates who took out federal Direct Loans borrowed an average of $6,500 overall, including an average of $3,800 in subsidized loans and an average of $4,000 in unsubsidized loans.

Graduate Students

• Seventy-four percent of graduate students received some type of financial aid in 2019–20. Forty-three percent received grants, 12 percent received graduate assistantships, and 42 percent took out loans. Thirty-nine percent took out Direct Unsubsidized Loans, and 11 percent took out Direct PLUS Loans themselves.
• Among graduate students who received any financial aid, the average amount of aid received was $25,300. The average amount received from grants was $11,300 and the average value of a graduate assistantship was $18,800. Graduate borrowers took out an average of $26,000 in loans, including an average of $18,700 in Direct Unsubsidized Loans and an average of $25,100 in Direct PLUS Loans.