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Financial Aid

Financial aid describes the money that the federal government, state or municipal programs, colleges, private foundations and individual companies give to students in the form of grants, scholarships, below-market loans or tax breaks. Without aid, higher education — and indeed the American dream — would be out of reach for many low- and middle-income families

Photo credit: Shutterstock/TeroVesalainen

More About Financial Aid

Data/Research: Financial Aid
Though student loans have made college possible for low-wealth families, they have also deepened the racial wealth divide
History and Background: Financial Aid
The federal role in financing college is more recent, dating to the passage of the GI Bill in the 1940s. The first federal student loan program and the first loan forgiveness program followed in the l
Glossary: Financial Aid
The National Association of Financial Aid Administrators has an extensive glossary, but here are some plain language definitions of some of the most common and confusing financial aid terms
Five Questions to Ask: Financial Aid
For the public universities in your region, how has the percentage of in-state students enrolled changed compared to out-of-state students over the past five years? And more
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