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Student Loan Capital and Demand for Financial Aid

The current financing and financial aid trends suggest that colleges and universities continue to do all they can to hold down costs and increase aid provided to many financially needy students and their families. However, the current economic downturn has temporarily erased a significant amount of wealth due to falling stock markets, and the nation’s unemployment rate has risen in 2008 from 4.9 percent in January to 6.1 percent in September. The financial strains that families are feeling are real and significant, and are expected to lead to increased demand for financial aid from federal, state and institutional sources.

Resources

• National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
• National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
• The College Board, Trends in Student Aid
• National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs
• NACUBO Tuition Discounting Study