Facts About Financial Aid; Questions and Answers

/Home/Student Loan Information by State/Minnesota Student Loans

Facts About Financial Aid
How much do Minnesota undergraduates receive in financial aid?

Minnesota undergraduates received $864 million in grants and $1.22 billion in student and parent higher education loans in Fiscal Year 2007 (2006-07 academic year). They earned an additional $40 million from federal and state work study jobs.

The federal government provided $1.1 billion of the $2.12 billion in student aid to undergraduates. State financial aid totaled $325 million. Institutions and private sources provided $687 million.


How many Minnesota students receive assistance under each of the state-funded financial aid programs?

For Fiscal Year 2007 (2006-2007 academic year):

80,100 students received State Grants,
11,900 students earned income under the State Work Study program.
2,800 students received Child Care Grants through the Office of Higher Education.
In Fiscal Year 2007, 74 percent of the 80,100 undergraduates who received State Grants came from families earning less than $40,000. Most recipients, 46,100, were classified as dependent students, which generally means they were under age 24 and had not formed their own households by marrying or having children. Of the independent students, 20,800 had responsibilities for their own children while 13,300 independent recipients were over age 24 or married but did not have children or other dependents.



How many students borrow under the Student Educational Loan Fund (SELF) Program?

For Fiscal Year 2007 (2006-2007 academic year), 28,000 undergraduates borrowed $122 million under the SELF Loan Program. In addition to Minnesotans attending in-state institutions, borrowers included Minnesota residents attending institutions in other states and residents of other states attending Minnesota institutions. The SELF program does not receive state appropriations. SELF Loans are financed by the sale of revenue bonds, loan repayments, and interest earnings on funds in the program.



What are the characteristics of students served by the State Grant Program?

74 percent of the 80,100 undergraduates who received State Grants in Fiscal Year 2007 came from families earning less than $40,000. Most recipients, 46,100, were classified as dependent students, which generally means they were under age 24 and had not formed their own households by marrying or having children. Of the independent students, 20,800 had responsibilities for their own dependents while 13,300 independent recipients were over age 24 or married but did not have children or other dependents.



What percentage of students take out loans to pay for postsecondary education?

49 percent of Minnesota undergraduates borrowed in Fiscal Year 2004. 74% of seniors graduating from Minnesota public four-year institutions had student loans, and the average amount borrowed was $17,200. 80% of seniors graduating from Minnesota private not-for-profit institutions had student loans, and they borrowed $25,200 on average. Students who borrow are more likely than non-borrowers to attend full-time for an entire year, limit their hours of work during the school year, or attend higher priced colleges. Although the percentage of students who borrow decreases as family income rises, students from all income groups take out student loans.



How much do undergraduate students borrow?

The median annual amount borrowed by MN undergraduates with loans was $5,500 in Fiscal Year 2004. 10% of MN seniors with loans in 2003-04 borrowed less than $5,000 and 10% borrowed more than $40,000.



What types of borrowers are most likely to have difficulty repaying their student loans?

In national studies, failure to complete a postsecondary program and low income after leaving school are most associated with high defaults. Contrary to conventional wisdom, students who borrow larger amounts have lower default rates than students who take out smaller loans, probably because they have completed longer programs that lead to higher incomes.