Minnesota's State Grant program provides need-based aid to Minnesota college students. By helping thousands of students from low- and middle-income families afford college, the state makes a strategic investment in our state's future workforce.

State Grant program benefits

Targets students with the greatest need

• Three-quarters of recipients have incomes below $40,000; about a quarter have incomes between $40,000 and $70,000.
• Awards average $2,696.
• As the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce has said, "the State Grant program is a critical tool for maximizing the number of lower-income people who will have access to and complete higher education."

Has statewide impact

• About one out of four Minnesota undergrads are State Grant recipients.
• Most students attend public colleges and universities, both two- and four-year. About 12% of State Grant recipients attend the nonprofit colleges that make up the Minnesota Private College Council.
• There are high percentages of State Grant recipients in all areas of the state; the shares are greatest in Greater Minnesota and inner cities.

Invests in our human capital

• In this global knowledge economy, retaining an educated workforce will be critical to retaining jobs.

Helps minimize student borrowing and future debt

• State Grant aid reduces the amount of loans students need to take out to finance their education. (Unfortunately, government-financed aid to students has been lagging in recent years. Institutional aid has increased dramatically, but so has student borrowing; see how State Grant impact has been stagnant.)