Results from the 2015–16 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:16)

Seventy-two percent of all undergraduate students received some type of financial aid (including student loans) in the 2015–16 academic year, averaging about $12,300 per student for those who received aid, according to a new report. The National Center for Education Statistics, in the Institute of Education Sciences, released a new First Look report today (January 30, 2018), entitled 2015–16 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:16): Student Financial Aid Estimates for 2015–16 (NCES 2018-466). This First Look report presents findings from the 2015–16 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:16), a nationally representative study of undergraduate and graduate students attending postsecondary institutions in the United States. NPSAS:16 provides the most-up-to-date and comprehensive look at postsecondary student characteristics and student financial aid for the 2015–16 academic year. Other findings from the 2015–16 academic year include: • Sixty-three percent of undergraduate students received grants averaging $7,400 in total grant aid per recipient, and 38 percent took out an average of $7,600 in student loans per borrower. • Thirty-nine percent of undergraduates received federal Pell Grants averaging $3,700 per recipient, and 36 percent took out federal Direct Loans averaging $6,600 per borrower. • Among graduate students, 72 percent received some type of financial aid averaging $22,000 among those who received aid, including student loans. • Eight percent of graduate students received an average of $13,400 in assistantships per recipient and 44 percent took out an average of $23,400 in student loans per borrower.