Student financial aid (or student financial support, or student aid) is financial support given to individuals who are furthering their

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. Va ...

. Student financial aid can come in a number of forms, including

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholarsh ...

s, grants, student loans, and work study programs. Each of these methods of providing financial support to students has its advantages and drawbacks. Many countries have some kind of financial aid program for their students. In countries that provide education to all at nominal cost, financial aid may have only a tertiary link to educational status, instead tied to the economic conditions of the family, and financial support for students is primarily indirect. In

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

, for example, " ere is no system of student loans and ''direct'' support is only given in the form of means-tested grants to students from low-income families", which constitutes a very limited proportion of students.

OECD The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD; french: Organisation de coopération et de développement économiques, ''OCDE'') is an intergovernmental organisation with 38 member countries, founded in 1961 to stimulate e ...

, ''OECD Economic Surveys: Belgium 2007'' (2007), p. 97.

Specific examples

Student financial aid in Canada Government sponsored Student Loans in Canada was designed to help post-secondary students pay for their education in Canada. The federal government funds the Canada Student Loan Program (CSLP) and the provinces may fund their own programs or be int ...

Student financial aid in Finland Student financial aid in Finland consists of government payments (through Kela) that provide economic security to students and enable all students to study. Almost all Finnish students receive financial aid, including foreigners who are permanent ...

Student financial aid in Germany The Government of Germany provides financial aid to students in the form of loans and grants regardless of their social and economic situation. This aid is provided under the Bundesausbildungsförderungsgesetz (Federal Training Assistance Act) ...

Student financial aid in Sweden Student financial aid in Sweden consists of grants and loans administered by the Swedish National Board of Student Aid, a Swedish government agency. Students living with their parents often only take the student grant, while other students tend ...

Student loans and grants in the United Kingdom Student loans and grants in the United Kingdom are primarily provided by the government through the Student Loans Company (SLC), an executive non-departmental public body. The SLC is responsible for Student Finance England and Student Finance Wales ...

Student financial aid in the United States Student financial aid in the United States is funding that is available exclusively to students attending a post-secondary educational institution in the United States. This funding is used to assist in covering the many costs incurred in the p ...

References

Higher education {{education-stub