Report: Proportion of Students Receiving Aid Grows as Completion Gap Widens
The proportion of first-time, full-time undergraduates receiving financial aid has increased by 10 percentage points in only three years, according to a report released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
"From 2006-07 to 2009-10, the percentage of first-time, full-time undergraduates receiving any financial aid increased from 75 to 85 percent at four-year institutions," the report states.
The report, titled "The Condition of Education 2012," examines 14 indicators of conditions at postsecondary characteristics, including student loan borrowing, cost of attendance, graduations rates, and educational attainment.
The report also notes the percentage of students receiving student loan aid and average amount borrowed in 2009-10 by institution type. Private for-profit institutions not only demonstrate the highest percentage of students borrowing, but the highest average amount borrowed:
- 24 percent at two-year public institutions, receiving $4,627 per year, on average
- 50 percent at four-year public institutions, receiving $6,063 per year, on average
- 63 percent at four-year private (non-profit) institutions, receiving $7,466 per year, on average
- 86 percent at four-year private (for-profit), receiving $9,641 per year, on average
On cost of attendance, NCES reports the following findings:
- The average total cost of attendance in 2010-11 for first-time, full-time students living on campus and paying in-state tuition was $20,100 at public four-year institutions and $39,800 at private nonprofit four-year institutions.
- The average aid received in 2009-10 for first-time, full-time students was $8,400 at four-year institutions and $4,400 at two-year institutions.
- The average net price in 2009–10 for first-time, full-time students at public four-year institutions receiving aid ranged from $7,900 for those with incomes less than $33,001 to $33,200 at four-year private for-profit institutions for those with incomes above $110,001. At two-year institutions, the lowest average net price for first-time, full-time students was $5,500 for those with incomes less than $33,001 at public institutions and the highest average net price was $32,500 at private for-profit institutions for those with incomes of $110,001 or more.
On graduation rates, the report found that while rates vary by institution, approximately 58 percent of first-time, full-time students who began seeking a bachelor’s degree at a four-year institution in fall 2004 completed a bachelor’s degree at that institution within six years.
About 56 percent of male and 61 percent of female first-time, full-time students who sought a bachelor’s degree at a four-year institution in fall 2004 completed their degree at that institution within six years.
By institution type, six-year completion rates for bachelor’s degree seeking students who enrolled at a four-year institution in fall 2004 were as follows:
- 65 percent at private nonprofit institutions
- 56 percent at public institutions
- 28 percent at private for-profit institutions
The report also found that the completion gap for minority groups has widened over time.
“Between 1980 and 2011, the gap in the attainment of a bachelor’s degree or higher between Blacks and Whites increased from 13 to 19 percentage points,” the report states. “The gap between Whites and Hispanics increased from 17 to 26 percentage points.”
From 1980 to 2011, the percentage of 25- to 29-year-olds who had attained a bachelor’s degree or higher increased from:
- from 25 to 39 percent for Whites
- from 12 to 20 percent for Blacks
- from 8 to 13 percent for Hispanics