 |
In 2008-09, federal loans constituted 45% of the $125.7 billion in financial aid received by undergraduates, and grants from all sources constituted 49%. |
Note: Percentages may not sum to 100 due to rounding. See Notes and Sources for a list of programs included in other federal grants. Nonfederal loans are not included in Figure 2a because they involve no subsidy of any kind and are not actually a form of
financial aid.
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This figure was prepared in October 2009.
- The 19% of undergraduate aid in
the form of institutional grants in 2008-09 constituted 39% of all undergraduate grant aid. The federal government provided 36% of undergraduate grant aid.
Also Important
- In fall 2008, an estimated 12.3 million (87%) of the 14.2 million full-time equivalent (FTE) postsecondary students were undergraduates and 1.9 million (13%) were graduate students.
- Undergraduate and graduate students are distributed differently across sectors.Forty-one percent of undergraduate FTE enrollment is in the public four-year sector, 31% in the public two-year sector, 18% in private not-for-profit four-year institutions and 9% in the for-profit sector. Fifty percent of graduate FTE enrollment is in the public four-year sector, 42% in private not-for-profit four-year institutions and 8% in the for-profit sector.More
- Undergraduate students are considered dependent, with their aid eligibility a function of their own and their parents’ financial circumstances
unless they are at least 24 years of age or are orphans or wards of the court, married, veterans, on active duty or have legal dependents. In contrast, all graduate students are independent for purposes of financial aid, so their eligibility for need-based financial aid depends only on their own income and assets for most programs.More
