IMPACT OF SCHOOL TYPE

Impact of School Type

In addition to the difference in distribution of funding

sources based on income levels, the type of school in which

the student enrolled also had a significant effect on the

allocation of funding sources.

• At four-year private colleges, grants and scholarships

paid two-fifths of the cost. Twenty-six percent of total

funding was designated as scholarships and 13 percent

as grants.

• At two-year public colleges, grants and scholarships

covered nearly one-third of costs. Eight percent of total

funding was awarded as scholarships and 22 percent

as grants.

• At four-year public colleges, students received the least,

proportionally, in grants and scholarships, covering

less than one-quarter of their college costs. Thirteen

percent of funding was in the form of scholarships and

10 percent as grants.

Students attending two-year public colleges were

responsible for a larger portion of their college costs than

students at four-year colleges, potentially because of the

lower overall cost. Students enrolled in two-year public

colleges paid close to one-third of their costs—20 percent

from income and savings and 11 percent from borrowed

money. Students at four-year colleges paid just over

one-quarter of costs, with a larger share covered through

borrowing (18% for private college students, and 16%

for public college students) than from current assets

(8% for private college students, and 10% for public

college students).

Parents of students enrolled in four-year public colleges paid

a larger share of college costs—46 percent combined income,

savings and borrowing—than parents with students enrolled

at two-year public colleges (36%) or those at four-year

private colleges (29%).

Role of Borrowing in Paying for College

Sixty-two percent of families did not borrow any of the

money used to pay for college during the academic year

2014-15. More families with a student enrolled in a four-year

private college borrowed some funding (56%) than those

with a student attending a four-year public college (43%) or a

two-year public college (22%).

Among the 38 percent of families who borrowed, the primary

responsibility for borrowing fell on the student: 83 percent

of students and 28 percent of parents borrowed5

 (in 11% of

families both the student and parent borrowed in their own

names). Students signed for nearly three-quarters of the

funds borrowed and parents for one-quarter.