39th Annual Survey Report on State-Sponsored Student Financial Aid, Academic Year 2007-2008

The economic and noneconomic benefits of higher education, both private and social are undeniable. The higher the average education level of the population, the better off people are. College is not for everyone, but college ought to be possible for anyone who wants to try and who has taken the steps to help themselves succeed. State-funded student financial aid makes college possible for millions of Americans. This report provides data regarding state-funded expenditures for student financial aid and illustrates the importance of efforts made by the states to assist postsecondary students. Information in this report is based on academic year 2007-08 data from the 39th annual National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs (NASSGAP) survey. Data highlights of this survey include: (1) In the 2007-2008 academic year, the states awarded about $10 billion in total state funded student financial aid, an increase of about 7.2 percent in nominal terms from the $9.3 billion in aid awarded in 2006-2007 and an increase of about 6.6 percent in constant dollar terms; (2) The majority of state aid is in the form of grants. In 2007-2008, more than 3.9 million grant awards were made representing about $8 billion in need and nonneed-based grant aid, an increase of about 5.3 percent from the $7.6 billion in grants awarded in 2007-2008. Of the grant funds awarded in 2007-08, 73 percent was need-based and 27 percent was nonneed-based, almost the same percentage as seen in 2006-2007; (3) Funding for undergraduate need-based grant aid increased $436 million nationwide from about $5.3 billion in 2006-2007 to more than $5.7 billion in 2007-2008, an increase of more than 8 percent; (4) Nine states (California, Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington) collectively awarded more than $3.8 billion in undergraduate need-based grant aid, accounting for about 68 percent of all aid of this type; and (5) States provided more than $1.9 billion in nongrant student aid, including loans, loan assumptions, conditional grants, work-study, and tuition waivers. Loans and tuition waivers accounted for 73 percent of nongrant funds awarded. (Contains 14 tables and 6 figures.)