Education has been an important part of human existence, and this has made its value so expensive. There is a saying that ignorance is more expensive than education. And this has made a lot of people choose to find a way to get at least basic education. Let us discuss, What Percent of College Students Use Financial Aid?
However, with the increase in the economy’s downside, financial aid has been kept in place to help struggling families afford education. This article will explain in detail everything to be known about the use of financial aid by college students.
The Population of Students Using Financial Aids
Statistics have shown that 83.8% of students make use of financial aid according to education data. Furthermore, statistics have shown that public school students borrow more than other students, and the amount students borrow every year is about 2%. Also, the percentage of students within the last 20 years has grown by 19%.
FAFSA, a federal student assistance aid, helps over 13 million students with over $140 billion to students. However, a lot of students use to get loans from their friends which doesn’t count under the statistics.
Most elite students don’t usually require loans from any organization, but low-income students are the beneficiaries of this system.
On an average scale, students get $10,000 yearly of financial aid in the form of loans. Which they intend to pay back with interest.
What is Financial Aid?
Financial aid can be defined as any fund that helps to ease a college student’s financial needs, that didn’t come from personal earnings or parents. There are billions of dollars allocated to help students in the United States every year and some of these funds help struggling students from communities with little or no opportunities. However, there are different types of financial aid in the United States of America.
Types of Financial Aids
Financial Aids are set up by private organizations, and state and federal governments and are certainly calculated yearly for this purpose. Below are some popular financial aids for college students.
Grants
Grants are financial aids given to outstanding students, these aids are given to cover a huge percentage of a student’s particular financial aid without having to return it. However, some terms and conditions are usually laid down if there is a breach, which can be a change of institution or misuse of funds.
Scholarships
Scholarships are aids given to specific students based on merits and sometimes can be given freely. Some colleges also grant fresh student scholarships by reducing a particular amount from their tuition fee. These types of financial aid are given by mostly non-profit organizations and private institutions.
Loans
Loans are types of financial aid that aren’t granted freely, most times these aids come with their prices. Most students getting this type of aid usually has a long-term plan after their education to pay back. Although loans can help and ease the present pressure when going to colleges, they often are with a great percentage of interest which grows over time and can lead to long-term debt to these institutions.
Work-study jobs
The federal government understands that some students don’t have the financial support they need from their parents and personal savings, so they give part-time students the ability to work for 20 hours a week during school hours and 40 hours during breaks.
Aid for military families
Veterans are highly respected citizens of every country and the government usually provides great benefits for them and their families. Among these benefits, every family member of military officials going to college has special financial aid covered by the government.
Aid for international students
Financial aids are not only granted to citizens of a particular country, but developed countries also offer financial aid to international students of high academic excellence. These types of students usually have great academic performance and are mostly researchers.
Top schools with Financial Aid
Lots of students make use of aids, however, some schools have a higher population of students than others. Some of these schools are:
Columbia University
Columbia University in New York City has the highest amount of financial aid, with over 3000 students helping with several financial aid. The percentage of students helped through financial aid is 99% of the students that requested assistance.
Yale University
Sited in New Haven, Connecticut, Yale University is known for its great reputation of amazing achievements by students. However many organizations have invested funds to help students achieve more greatness. 2732 undergraduates receive financial aid from this instruction with 100% granted.
Williams College
Williams College is dedicated to helping low-income students, it’s in the middle of Massachusetts, and over 1000 students get help yearly. This makes this great for bright students having financial issues.
Amherst College
Amherst College is considered one of the colleges with the best financial aid in the United States. With over $50 million allocated to outstanding students yearly to help make their financial life better while in their school. 100% of students in need of financial aid get help in this institution and over 1000 students get help yearly.
Harvard University
Harvard is a popular name when it comes to the best universities in the world, which is regarded as a university for the elites and top brains. However, some students with tremendous academic achievement come from low-income families and can’t afford to support their college education themselves. over 4000 students get financial aid yearly with 100% of students’ needs to be met.
Conclusion
Financial aids are helpful to ease students from the stress of having to worry about money issues in school instead of working hard to get excellent grades, and studies have shown that students with financial needs usually perform lesser than those without these needs because it affects their mental health and causes deterioration in academic performance.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I get financial aid if my family makes more than $60,000?
No, in most cases financial aid is granted to low-income students without any possibilities of supporting themselves. However, some scholarships are granted irrespective of students’ financial status.
What percentage of students receive financial aid?
83.8% of students worldwide use financial aid to support themselves in college.
What type of financial aid helps students the most?
64% of students make use of federal financial loans. The federal grant to each student is $5179 on average yearly.
