More than twelve million undergraduate students in the United States benefit from some form of financial aid. Statistics from the U.S. Department of Education (as cited in The American Council of Education 2008) indicate that 76% of undergraduates at public four-year degree-granting institutions during the 2003-2004 academic year received financial aid, while 89% of undergraduate students at private four-year not-for-profit degree-granting institutions were aid recipients
