FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 2006

• Robert Bernstein
• Public Information Office
• (301) 763-3030/457-3670 (fax)
• (301) 457-1037 (TDD)
• e-mail: <pio@census.gov>

• CB06-133

Dollars for Scholars

More Than 11 Million College Students Receive Financial Aid

     About 11.2 million college students, or more than half, received some form of financial aid from outside their families to help pay for their education, according to tabulations released today by the U.S. Census Bureau.

     These tabulations, Financing the Future: 2001-2002, provide information on the characteristics of postsecondary students and the costs and financing associated with their schooling during the 2001-2002 academic year. Data are presented on types of costs, patterns of financial aid received, the extent to which the aid covers costs and the characteristics of the institutions attended — all shown by students’ demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Some tables also illustrate how much the receipt of aid and coverage of costs vary by institutional characteristics.

     Other highlights:

• Annual tuition, book costs and room and board averaged $10,560 for full-time students. Cost increased to $13,699 for full-time graduate students.

• The average amount of aid received by full-time students was $6,291.
  Full-time graduate students received an average of $12,081.

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