Financing the Future: Postsecondary Students, Costs, and Financial Aid, 1993-1994. Household Economic Studies. Current Population Reports.

This report uses data collected in the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) to examine the characteristics of postsecondary education students, their schooling costs, and avenues of financing education for the academic year 1993-1994. The SIPP provides information on all students who were enrolled at any time, for any duration, during the academic year, whether full or parttime. Of the 20.5 million postsecondary students enrolled at some point during the 1993-1994 school year, just under half (45%) were enrolled full time for the full year. Most of the 9.2 million full time students (74%) were undergraduates in their first 4 years of college (2-year and 4-year institutions) and about 1 in 7 were enrolled in graduate school. The remaining 11% were enrolled full time in noncollegiate schools, such as vocational, technical, or business schools. More than three in four full time students had a job at some point during the year. Data also indicate that the majority of full-time students were from families with an annual family income of less than $50,000. About 3 in 4 four full-time students were non-Hispanic White, and 1 in 10 was non-Hispanic Black. Women outnumbered men, and there were more women enrolled in the first 2 years of college. Postsecondary education was often expensive, and financial aid helped many students but not all. About 61%, or 5.6 million, full-time postsecondary students received some kind of financial aid. Graduate students and noncollegiate students were more likely than undergraduates to receive financial aid. The sources of financial aid varied, but students often received aid from more than one source. Dependent students were more likely to receive aid from multiple sources than were independent students. (SLD)