The average amount of aid was highest by far for recipients of Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits, but the highest number of recipients was for education tax benefits.
| Program | Number of recipients | Average aid amount |
| Education tax benefits | 12,018,346 | $1,414 |
| Pell Grants | 7,035,303 | $4,013 |
| Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant | 1,382,740 | $530 |
| Veterans Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits | 766,740 | $15,310 |
| Federal Work-Study | 601,299 | $1,596 |
| Federal Perkins Loans | 285,603 | $2,811 |
Note: The required institutional matching funds for Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants and Federal Work-Study were excluded. No new federal outlays for Perkins Loans, which were awarded to students with exceptional financial need, have been made since 2005-6, but campuses continued to make loans from revolving funds that had been partly financed by the federal government. The authority for colleges to make the loans ended in September 2017, with final disbursements permitted through June 30, 2018. Education tax benefits include tax credits and deductions that can be applied to some college costs. The table shows inflation-adjusted figures for those benefits from 2016, the latest year available. Direct subsidized and unsubsidized loans are not included in this table. More student-aid data can be found here. Questions or comments on the Almanac should be sent to Ruth Hammond.
Source: “Trends in Student Aid 2018,” © 2018, College Board. This material may not be copied, published, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.
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