State-awarded student financial aid decreased negligibly in 2020–21 to $14.784 billion, down 0.1 percent from the $14.801 billion awarded in 2019–20, according to the latest annual survey from the National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs.
The survey found that the majority of state aid—about 87 percent—came in the form of grants, 73 percent of which were need based. That represents a decrease of about 0.4 percent from 2019–20.
Undergraduate need-based grant aid decreased slightly nationwide from $9.3 billion in 2019–20 to about $9.15 billion in 2020–21, a decline of about 1.8 percent in nominal terms.
