Financial Aid Awarded to Undergraduates Attending Minnesota Institutions

Financial aid data for each Minnesota postsecondary institution

Financial aid makes college affordable for many students. The amount and type of aid available to a student varies. Grants and scholarships lower the cost of college per student, while work study and loans allow students to pay for college by increasing current income or deferring payment to future income. The combination of types of aid and amounts available to an individual student may influence his or her decision to go to college, or which college he or she chooses.

Grants and loans make up most of the aid students receive

In 2019-2020, undergraduates enrolled in Minnesota institutions received roughly $2.8 billion in financial aid. In Minnesota, students are eligible to receive federal grants (such as the Pell grant), the Minnesota State Grant, other grants administered by the state (such as the Postsecondary Child Care Award), and grants from institutional and private sources. More than half of all aid students receive are grants, and the total amount of grants received varies by institution type.

Roughly one third of grants that these students received in 2019-2020 came from federal or state sources. Almost 60% of grants received were from institutions themselves. These grants are primarily offered at private non-profit institutions and the University of Minnesota. Aid in the form of grants (from all sources) totaled $1.6 billion in 2019-2020.

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Most aid that students receive comes from federal sources

For most institutions, the primary source of aid is federal aid. Just under half of all aid received in 2019-2020 came from federal sources, totaling nearly $1.2 billion. Roughly 70% of federal aid awarded was in the form of loans. At Minnesota State Universities and private-for-profit institutions, more than half of all aid students received came in the form of loans. At Minnesota State Colleges and the University of Minnesota system, loans represented just under half of all aid received. However, for students at private non-profit institutions, institutional aid made up nearly two-thirds of aid awarded to students. Institutional aid is primarily offered as grants, and sometimes as direct tuition discounts.

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Historic trends in financial aid awarded

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Financial Aid Awarded to Undergraduates at Minnesota Institutions
Source of Aid
	2009	2011	2013	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Federal Government	$1,653,086,861	$2,206,712,012	$2,047,586,989	$1,763,444,285	$1,547,737,707	$1,396,278,361	$1,370,423,980	$1,275,430,474	$1,205,467,099
State of Minnesota	$307,773,684	$387,428,358	$279,183,419	$275,265,745	$283,085,008	$270,750,405	$270,531,262	$289,650,382	$280,406,970
Postsecondary Institutions	$541,866,453	$663,163,566	$737,102,530	$786,374,386	$829,529,612	$930,721,920	$930,721,920	$999,282,598	$999,282,598
Private and Other Sources	$260,504,758	$240,384,582	$239,687,859	$239,519,421	$242,547,720	$250,394,647	$250,394,647	$268,603,195	$259,219,971
$2,124,279,612	$2,763,231,756	$3,397,688,518	$3,303,560,796	$3,064,603,837	$2,902,900,047	$2,822,071,809	$2,822,071,809	$2,790,264,769	2,744,376,638
Type of Aid
	2009	2011	2013	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Grants from All Sources	$1,071,431,191	$1,501,752,297	$1,523,443,150	$1,507,712,055	$1,505,064,494	$1,449,085,623	1,512,192,515	$1,547,238,777	$1,559,169,538
Loans to Students	$1,535,387,297	$1,689,031,977	$1,592,550,278	$1,383,568,392	$1,226,733,841	$1,112,061,798	1,086,662,436	$993,652,375	$944,715,969
Loans to Parents	$118,704,439	$161,056,571	$139,959,733	$134,682,764	$133,671,947	$121,258,582	$123,949,866	$119,547,756	$110,790,169
Student Earnings from Work Study Jobs	$37,708,832	$45,847,673	$47,607,185	$38,640,626	$37,429,765	$34,100,298	$35,818,521	$59,474,737	$56,455,838
Total	$2,763,231,759	$3,397,688,518	$3,303,560,796	$3,064,603,837	$2,902,900,047	$2,716,506,301	$2,822,071,809	$2,790,264,769	$2,744,376,638

Source: Office of Higher Education, Financial Aid Awarded Survey

Federal Aid Awarded to Minnesota Undergraduates

Amount of Aid
Program	2009	2011	2013	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Federal Pell Grants	$263,967,345	$512,664,048	$481,335,035	$410,508,355	$363,780,632	$332,494,158	$346,439,425	$344,242,795	$327,716,909
Federal SEOG Grants	$20,622,242	$21,197,558	$20,926,183	$19,346,264	$19,058,427	$18,664,998	$18,573,957	$19,808,867	$19,621,420
Federal Academic Competitiveness Grants	$6,507,744	$10,380,323	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
Federal SMART Grants	$3,210,231	$7,961,670	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
Other Federal Agency Grants	$6,698,234	$21,776,982	$18,501,528	$7,719,386	$6,361,439	$6,386,597	$4,845,004	$7,452,683	$10,076,395
Federal Stafford Subsidized Loans	$410,797,996	$685,332,255	$643,552,870	$525,479,384	$454,353,446	$400,300,763	$386,415,243	$347,183,002	$316,449,938
Federal Stafford Unsubsidized Loans	$477,385,787	$742,323,243	$692,966,605	$616,096,314	$524,764,200	$478,962,428	$450,372,145	$415,234,673	$398,518,503
Federal Perkins Loans	$15,763,483	$17,196,684	$20,905,261	$24,409,256	$21,424,992	$17,798,554	$17,301,775	$0	$0
Federal PLUS	$118,704,439	$161,056,571	$139,959,733	$134,682,764	$133,671,947	$121,258,582	$123,949,866	$119,547,756	$110,790,169
Other Federal Agency Loans	$633,304	$574,045	$2,052,121	$1,771,529	$1,266,480	$583,431	$816,374	$648,488	$624,002
Federal Work-Study	$20,156,879	$26,248,633	$27,387,653	$23,431,033	$23,056,144	$19,828,850	$21,710,191	$21,285,949	$21,669,763
Totals	$1,653,086,861	$2,206,712,012	$2,047,586,989	$1,763,444,285	$1,547,737,707	$1,396,278,361	$1,370,423,980	$1,275,404,213	$1,205,467,099

Source: Office of Higher Education, Financial Aid Awarded Survey

Number of Undergraduates Receiving Federal Aid
Program	2009	2011	2013	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020
Federal Pell Grants	98,691	153,295	151,399	122,841	107,874	98,088	97,946	93,997	88,526
Federal SEOG Grants	23,795	33,094	31,056	27,066	26,946	25,220	24,285	26,421	24,749
Federal Academic Competitiveness Grants	8,207	13,486	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Federal SMART Grants	1,043	2,605	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Other Federal Agency Grants	0	0	0	0	0	1,391	1,368	1,257	2,306
Federal Stafford Subsidized Loans	113,588	184,940	180,510	142,083	122,884	109,547	104,742	94,682	86,589
Federal Stafford Unsubsidized Loans	113,648	191,127	184,899	146,771	129,721	119,927	114,182	104,813	99,751
Federal Perkins Loans	11,900	9,447	10,167	11,521	9,259	7,899	7,801	0	0
Federal PLUS	13,238	16,226	14,598	11,900	11,522	10,181	10,172	9,370	8,296
Other Federal Agency Loans	0	0	0	0	0	181	247	188	181
Federal Work-Study	12,731	14,971	15,167	12,725	12,567	10,350	11,056	10,175	10,511
Total Students	305,730	327,724	392,447	619,191	587,796	474,907	420,773	382,784	371,799