89+ Scholarship Statistics You Didn’t Know – But Should!

Getting a college scholarship can feel like winning the lottery—only a few students receive a scholarship to pursue their dreams without worrying about the high cost of college.

Research shows that only 7% of college students receive scholarships. Did you know that more than $100 million in scholarship funds go unclaimed each year due to a lack of awareness?

In this post, we’ve shared the most recent and updated college scholarship stats to help you understand the opportunities available, along with some surprising facts and figures you might not know.

So let’s dive into the world of college scholarship stats and find out how you, as a student, can make the most of this golden opportunity.

General Scholarship Statistics

  • Only 7% of college students will receive a scholarship. (Cross River Therapy)
  • Over 1.7 million scholarships are awarded annually. (Research.com)
  • 58% of U.S. families rely on scholarships to help pay for college. (Search Logistics)
  • Only 0.2% of U.S. students receive scholarships above $25,000. (Search Logistics)
  • Only 4% of scholarships are given to students with a GPA of 3.5 to 4. (Search Logistics)
  • 97% of students that are awarded scholarships receive less than $2,500 (Research.com)
  • The average Pell grant award for undergraduates is $4,491. (Education Data Initiative)
  • Private sources award more than $7.4 billion in scholarship money each year. (Cross River Therapy)
  • The average scholarship award for public 2-year institutions is worth $4,100. (Education Data Initiative)
  • The majority of White students who received federal grant money received $9,300. (Inside Higher ED)
  • There are more than 1 million scholarships available to students each year in America. (Cross River Therapy)
  • 58% of U.S. families use scholarships to help pay for college in some way each year. (Search Logistics)
  • 16% of students receive state scholarships and 13% of students receive private scholarships. (Search Logistics)
  • Full-ride scholarships are awarded to only 0.1% of students, while full-tuition scholarships go to about 1.5%. (Research.com)
  • Just 5% of bachelor’s program students get enough scholarship funding to cover 100% of their degree costs.
  • Only about 1 in 8 students receive a scholarship, meaning the average chance of receiving one is 12.5%. (Search Logistics)

Scholarship Statistics by Race

  • Asian students receive the highest average federal grant at $13,000, while Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders receive an average of $6,200. (Education Data Initiative)
  • For students in the two or more races category, the majority of them received between $3,600 and $5,699.
  • Finally, for students in the two or more races category, those that did receive federal grant money received an average of $9,800.
  • The average scholarship amount per student, Asians receive the highest with $13,480. (Research.com)
  • Next are students of two or more races ($11,940), Caucasians ($11,420), African Americans ($11,390), Hispanics ($11,090), Native Americans ($10,750), and Pacific Islanders ($10,280) (National Center for Education Statistics, 2019).

According to data from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) for the 2015-16 academic year:

  • Grant Aid:
    • Black students: 88% received grants.
    • American Indian/Alaska Native students: 87% received grants.
    • Hispanic students: 82% received grants.
    • White students: 74% received grants.
    • Asian students: 66% received grants.

Pell Grants (a form of federal financial aid based on need):

  • Black students: 72% received Pell Grants.
  • Hispanic students: Higher percentages than White and Asian students, but lower than Black students.
  • Asian students: Only 36% received Pell Grants, the lowest among the groups.
  • White Students: Have a 14.2% chance of receiving scholarships.
  • Minority Students: Have an 11.2% chance overall.
  • Among minorities:
  • Students from middle-income families receive a higher percentage of scholarships (13.8%) compared to lower-income families (10.6%) and upper-income families (8%) (Search Logistics)
  • Private school students are more likely to win scholarships compared to public school students (10% vs. 3%).
  • Approximately 61% of American families used scholarships for college expenses, with an average scholarship usage of $7,293. (Bank Rate)
  • White students received an average of $5,178, while Black students received about $3,283, and Hispanic students received approximately $3,160 in scholarships for the 2022-23 academic year. (Bank Rate)

College Scholarship statistics

  • Only one in eight college students is awarded a scholarship. (Research.com)
  • Only 7% of college students will receive a scholarship. (Education Data Initiative)
  • 25% of college students received money from scholarships and grants (Sallie Mae, 2021).
  • 25% of college students received money from scholarships and grants (Sallie Mae, 2021).
  • More than 85% of college students are given financial aid (Lending Tree)
  • However, 38% of college students fear that they do not have sufficient funds to cover the current semester (CNBC)
  • The amount awarded to those scholars reaches more than $3.1 billion each year for NCAA Divisions I and II alone (Next College Student Athlete, 2021).
  • In 2022-23, 6 million college students were Pell Grant recipients. (Statista)
  • Over $100 billion is awarded annually in scholarships and grants, including about $46 billion from the U.S. Department of Education alone. (Cross River Therapy)
  • The average scholarship award saw a decline to around $6,041 in 2022, a 22% decrease from the previous year. (Cross River Therapy).
  • The number of scholarships has increased by 44% over the past decade, providing more opportunities for students. (Cross River Therapy).
  • Private sources contribute over $8.2 billion annually to scholarships. (Education Data Initiative)
  • Private organizations and corporations provide about 55% of all undergraduate scholarships (Cross River Therapy)
  • An estimated $100 million in scholarship funds goes unclaimed each year, often due to a lack of applicants or awareness among potential recipients. (Forbes)
  • 56% of moderately selective universities provided aid, whereas only 28% of less selective colleges offered aid. (Search Logistics)

Athletic Scholarship statistics

  • In 2017, $3 billion was awarded to 175,000 athletes. (Debt.Org)
  • The NCAA predicts that only 1.3% of high school athletes will receive scholarships. (NCAA)
  • Fewer than 180,000 students receive an athletic scholarship annually. (Education Data Initiative)
  • In 2019-2020, around $3.4 billion was awarded in athletic scholarships alone. (Cross River Therapy)
  • Basketball offers the highest average athletic scholarship at $38,246. (DBT.org)
  • Athletic scholarships for NCAA Divisions I and II alone total over $3.1 billion yearly. (Brighter Strides ABA Therapy)
  • NCAA Division I offers the highest number of athletic scholarships (74,243), followed by NJCAA (41,195). (Research.com)
  • Football offers the highest number of scholarships with 85 for D I schools and 36 for D II schools. (NCSA)
  • The amount awarded to those scholars reaches more than $3.1 billion each year for NCAA Divisions I and II alone Next College Student Athlete, 2021 (Research.com)
  • 48% of student-athletes believe that academic scholarships adequately compensate for their studies while 26% do not (Morning Consult, 2021).
  • Athletic scholarships are offered to less than 2% of high school student-athletes (Next College Student Athlete, 2021).
  • For female students, the highest average financial scholarship goes to ice hockey at $41,693, followed by gymnastics at $40,172. (Search Logistics)
  • The U.S. male sports with the highest number of available athletic scholarships are football (27,304), track & cross country (12,271), basketball (9,510), baseball (8,189), and soccer (6,368) (Scholarships Stats, 2021).
  • For male students, the sport that receives the largest average financial amount from NCAA athletic scholarships is basketball with $38,246, followed by football (football bowl subdivision) ($36,070), ice hockey ($31,756), football (football championship subdivision) ($20,706), and skiing ($20,275) (Fay, 2020).
  • For female students, ice hockey receives the highest average financial amount from NCAA athletic scholarships with $41,693, followed by gymnastics ($40,172), basketball ($36,758), tennis ($32,630), and volleyball ($31,138) (Fay, 2020).
  • The athletic association with the highest maximum scholarships given is the NCAA Division I with 74,243, followed by NJCAA (41,195), NCAA Division II (36,343), and NAIA (25,778) (Next College Student Athlete, 2021).

Top Scholarship Sources statistics

  • Institutional grants cover 57% of total grant aid in 2022-23.
  • Scholarship Owl offers access to over 6 million scholarships valued at more than $30 billion.
  • The U.S. Department of Education awards approximately $46 billion in scholarship funding annually. (University Of Northern Lowa)
  • Pell Grant, the largest federal scholarship program, provides aid to 7.5 million students annually, with an average award of $4,491. (Education Data Initiative)
  • Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) provides awards ranging from $100 to $4,000, requiring a 25% contribution from participating schools. (Federal Student Aid)
  • Private sources contribute over $7.4 billion in scholarships each year. (National Scholarship Providers Association)
  • 16% of students receive state scholarships, and 13% receive private scholarships. (Missiongraduatenm.org)
  • Private sources accounted for 55% of all undergraduate scholarships in the 2021-22 academic year. (Cross RIver Therapy)
  • Institutional grants are the largest student aid source at private nonprofit institutions (83%), followed by student loans (58%), federal grants (33%), and state/local grants (25%) according to NCES (2021).
  • Private nonprofit four-year institutions award the highest percentage of scholarships to first-time, full-time undergraduates (90%), followed by private for-profit (88%) and public schools (84%). (Research.com)
  • Together, scholarships and grants cover an average of 29% of college costs. Approximately 61% of American families used scholarships for college expenses in 2022-23, with an average scholarship usage of $7,293.
  • The Gates Scholarship covers all costs associated with attending college for selected students. (The Gate Scholarship)
  • The Coca-Cola Scholars Program awards $20,000 to high school seniors who demonstrate leadership and academic excellence. (Youth Opportunities)

Need-Based Scholarship Statistics

  • Approximately $8.8 billion is awarded annually in need-based scholarships to students (ThinkImpact, 2021).
  • Average Award per Student: The average need-based scholarship award is around $4,000 per student (ThinkImpact, 2021).
  • Primary Providers: Need-based scholarships are funded by schools, state governments, corporations, the federal government, and non-profit organizations (ThinkImpact, 2021).

High FAFSA Completion States (2021):

  • Louisiana: 73.7%
  • Tennessee: 71.6%
  • Washington, D.C.: 66%
  • Illinois: 65.7%
  • New Jersey: 64.3% (Postsecondary National Policy Institute, 2021)
  • FAFSA Completion Rate: In 2021, 53.3% of high school students completed the FAFSA, marking a 2.5% decrease from 2020 (Postsecondary National Policy Institute, 2021).
  • Over 85% of college students received financial aid in 2021 (Fay, 2021).
  • In 2015, need-based grant awards exceeded $8.8 billion.
  • California spent over $1.8 billion on need-based scholarships, reflecting a 37.2% increase.
  • 58% of U.S. families utilize need-based scholarships to help cover college expenses (ThinkImpact, 2021).

Here is the tabular representation of the distribution of Scholarship among the different races and groups

RacePercentage of Federal Aid Received
Black88.3%
American Indian/Alaskan Native77.4%
Hispanic76.2%
Pacific Islander76.0%
White66.7%
Asian49.5%
(Source: NCES)

Freuquently Asked Questions

What percentage of students get scholarships for college?

According to research.com, approximately 25% of college students receive money from scholarships and grants, but only one in eight college students is awarded a scholarship.

What is the probability of getting a scholarship?

According to the research, about 1 in 8 college students get a scholarship and the average amount used to pay for college is about $4200 per year.

What percentage of college athletes get scholarships?

According to the stats, majority of the college athletes do not receive any scholarship money only one to two percent of the athletes are awarded any type of sports scholarship in college, and even if they receive the money it is much less.

Sources Used