Student Aid
U.S. college students received more than $122 billion in financial aid from public and private sources for undergraduate and graduate study in 2003-04, an increase of 11 percent from the previous year after adjusting for inflation, according to the College Board.</br></br>Two-thirds of all Harvard University undergraduates receive some form of financial assistance, including outside awards, the school reports.</br></br>Nearly 25 percent of grant money given by states to undergraduates is awarded on merit and not financial need, according to Donald E. Heller, an assistant professor and researcher at the Center for the Study of Higher Education at Pennsylvania State University. That's up from 10 percent in 1990.</br></br>Eight states (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina and South Carolina) have favored merit- based financial aid over need-based aid in recent years, Heller said.</br></br>Financial aid from federal grants, per student, increased 5 percent across the country in 2003-04 from the previous year. But the growth rate in loans, which unlike grants must be repaid, was about three times as fast, according to the College Board.