Undergraduate and graduate students together received an estimated $250.7 billion in student aid in 2016-17. Most of that came from the federal government, and just over half of the federal share for undergraduates was in the form of student loans. Graduate students received almost a quarter of total student aid, although they represented only 15 percent of all college students. More than 90 percent of the federal share of aid for graduate students consisted of loans.
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| Federal grants |
| Pell Grants | $26,562 | $0 |
| Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant | $739 | $0 |
| Veterans and military | $11,532 | $1,367 |
| Total federal grants | $38,834 | $1,367 |
| Federal loans |
| Perkins Loans | $877 | $177 |
| Subsidized Stafford | $21,715 | $0 |
| Unsubsidized Stafford | $22,926 | $26,926 |
| Parent PLUS | $12,610 | $0 |
| Grad PLUS | $0 | $9,630 |
| Total federal loans | $58,128 | $36,734 |
| Other federal programs |
| Federal Work-Study | $803 | $187 |
| Education tax benefits | $16,074 | $1,786 |
| Total federal aid | $113,838 | $40,074 |
| Nonfederal sources |
| State grants | $10,426 | $170 |
| Institutional grants | $46,126 | $12,557 |
| Private and employer grants | $10,753 | $5,187 |
| Nonfederal loans | $10,104 | $1,496 |
| Total student aid and nonfederal loans | $191,247 | $59,483 |
Note: Several small federal grant and loan programs and some small programs for veterans and members of the military were excluded. The required institutional matching funds for Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants and Federal Work-Study were also excluded. Subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans and Parent PLUS loans are all part of the Federal Direct Student Loan Program. The source data were originally published in October 2017, with estimates based in part on previous years’ data. Questions or comments on the Almanac should be sent to the Almanac editor.
Source: “Trends in Student Aid 2017,” © 2017, College Board. This material may not be copied, published, rewritten, or redistributed without permission.</small></p>
