Seven in 10 undergraduates receive some sort of financial assistance, according to report released in August by the National Center for Education Statistics.
NCES, which is part of the U.S. Department of Education, found that the average amount of aid per student was $8,200.
Sources of financial aid for undergraduates included grants, student loans, aid through work-study jobs, veteran benefits and Direct PLUS Loans. While about nearly 60 percent of students were aided by some sort of grant, nearly 42 percent of total undergraduate students or their parents took out student loans.
About 70 percent of graduate students also received financial aid. Forty-five percent of graduate students took out student loans.