Financial Aid
BY THE NUMBERS
Financial Aid
BY THE NUMBERS
The Sticker Price of College
Community colleges are less expensive for students than other types of colleges are.
Average published tuition and fees for full-time students, 2017–18
Community Colleges
Public Four-Year Colleges
Private Nonprofit Four-Year Colleges
The Net Price for Students
Compared with the sticker prices above, the average net tuition and fees (tuition and fees minus grants and tax credits) for college are much lower. At community colleges, the average net tuition and fees is actually negative.
Average net tuition and fees for full-time students, 2017–18
Community Colleges
Public Four-Year Colleges
Private Nonprofit Four-Year Colleges
Cost of attendance
Beyond net price, there has been increasing concern about the broader costs for students of attending college, including books, transportation, and living expenses. The net cost of attendance in 2011–12 for full-time community college students was $11,280.
Cost of attendance
Beyond net price, there has been increasing concern about the broader costs for students of attending college, including books, transportation, and living expenses. The net cost of attendance in 2011–12 for full-time community college students was $11,280.
Who Gets Grants?
Community college students are less likely than students in other sectors to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
FAFSA application rates, 2011–12
%
Community Colleges
%
Public Four-Year Colleges
%
Private Nonprofit Four-Year Colleges
%
For-Profit Colleges
FAFSA applications
A push to have more students fill out the FAFSA, which is required for most types of federal, state, and institutional aid, has increased the FAFSA application rate at community colleges from only 43 percent in 2007–08 (NPSAS 2007–08).
FAFSA applications
A push to have more students fill out the FAFSA, which is required for most types of federal, state, and institutional aid, has increased the FAFSA application rate at community colleges from only 43 percent in 2007–08 (NPSAS 2007–08).
Community college students are no more likely than students in other sectors (and, in fact, are less likely than students at for-profit colleges) to receive Federal Pell Grants.
Pell Grant receipt among undergraduates, 2015–16
%
Community Colleges
%
Public Four-Year Colleges
%
Private Nonprofit Four-Year Colleges
%
For-Profit Two-Year Colleges
So what?
This is a problem because many more community college students are low-income and eligible for Pell Grants.
So what?
This is a problem because many more community college students are low-income and eligible for Pell Grants.
Who Is at Risk of Losing Grants?
Pell Grant eligibility is initially based on financial need, but recipients must meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements to remain eligible past the first year.
Pell recipients failing to meet the typical 2.0 GPA standard for SAP, 2012
%
Community Colleges
%
Public Four-Year Colleges
%
Private Nonprofit Four-Year Colleges
Students at risk
Students can also fail SAP standards by failing to complete enough credits. That brings the percentage of community college students at risk to around 40 percent.
Students at risk
Students can also fail SAP standards by failing to complete enough credits. That brings the percentage of students at risk to around 40 percent.
Who Gets Federal Work-Study Aid?
Currently, Federal Work-Study provides disproportionate support to students at selective, private institutions, where the average family income of recipients is higher.
Federal Work-Study aid receipt among undergraduates, 2011–12
%
Community Colleges
%
Public Four-Year Colleges
%
Private Nonprofit Four-Year Colleges
Working while in college
Sixty-nine percent of community college students work while in college, with 33 percent working 35 or more hours a week. But very few get Federal Work-Study aid.
Working while in college
Sixty-nine percent of community college students work while in college, with 33 percent working 35 or more hours a week. But very few get Federal Work-Study aid.
Who Takes Out Loans?
The percentage of community college students who have any loans has increased notably but remains far lower than in other sectors.
Percentage of students who ever borrowed, by 12 years after starting college in 2003–04
%
Community Colleges
%
Public Four-Year Colleges
%
Private Nonprofit Four-Year Colleges
%
For-Profit Two-Year Colleges
More defaults, fewer loans
Community college students have high default rates, but far fewer students take out loans initially.
More defaults, fewer loans
Community college students have high default rates but far fewer students take out loans initially.
Further Reading
Performance Requirements in Need-Based Aid: What Roles Do They Serve, and Do They Work?
Judith Scott-Clayton & Lauren Schudde (March 2017)
Does the Federal Work-Study Program Really Work—and for Whom?
Judith Scott-Clayton & Rachel Yang Zhou (March 2017)
Performance Standards in Need-Based Student Aid
Judith Scott-Clayton & Lauren Schudde (December 2016)
Pell Grants as Performance-Based Aid? An Examination of Satisfactory Academic Progress Requirements in the Nation’s Largest Need-Based Aid Program
Lauren Schudde & Judith Scott-Clayton (December 2014)
Updated March 2018