On average, full-time students enrolled in public two-year colleges receive about $1800 per year in grants and tax benefits.  Those attending four-year colleges receive an average of about $3,300 in the public sector and $9,600 at private institutions (The College Board, Trends in College Pricing, 2005).

 

"Averages, however, are not always helpful for individual students," reports Sandy Baum.  "The federal government spends about 50% as much on income tax credits and deductions for higher education as on Pell Grants.  The tax benefits are important to middle-and upper-income students.  The new Academic Competitiveness and SMART grants, although limited to Pell Grant recipients, are likely to leave the neediest students with awards that are significantly smaller than those received by others with more available resources.  State grant programs now award about a quarter of their funds on the basis of academic merit, without regard to financial need.  And many colleges and universities, in both the public and private sectors, are using growing portions of their limited grant dollars to influence the choice of institutions among desirable students rather than to subsidize those who are otherwise unable to afford to enroll."  The Gap in College Opportunities for Low-and Moderate-Income Students: Multiple Approaches to a Persistent Problem, TCRecord, Sandy Baum, May 5, 2006.