Undergraduates at Iowa State receive more need-based financial aid than students at the University of Iowa or the University of Northern Iowa, according to university officials.

According to the documents presented at the Oct. 16 Board of Regents meeting, 64.5 percent of ISU undergraduates receive need-based financial aid, compared with 46 percent at the University of Iowa and 56.3 percent at UNI.

The average need of a student filling out the Federal Application For Student Aid (FAFSA) is $6,600. This need is met through a combination of grants, employment and loans, said Earl Dowling, ISU director of financial aid.

Pell Grants, which go only to the neediest students, are a strong indicator of a student’s financial need, Dowling said.

For the academic year of 2001-2002, $11 million in Pell Grants were collectively awarded to ISU students.

In 2002-2003, $14 million has been awarded.

According to board documents, the average indebtedness for seniors graduating from Iowa State with debt (both need-based and non-need-based loans) is $22,943 for residents and $30,462 for non-residents.

Financial aid available to ISU students is up 14 percent from a year ago, said Phillip Caffrey, ISU associate director of admissions.

“[The increases result from] a combination of tuition and room and board increases plus what is going on in the homes of our students,” he said.

Despite increases in financial aid, it has failed to “keep pace” with rising tuition and fees, Dowling said.

Dowling said student demographics at Iowa State are different from the other two state universities.

“Historically, we are a land-grant university,” he said. “We are supposed to appeal to a more rural population.”

Seventy-five percent of Iowa State students are Iowa residents, and rural Iowa families might have less money to spend on education, Dowling said.

Caffrey said the University of Iowa has a larger portion of non-resident students than Iowa State. Many students at U of I come from Chicago and greater Illinois, he said.

The Regents’ universities also have different things to offer student academically, Dowling said. For example, Iowa State has the only college of veterinary medicine and college of agriculture in Iowa. The U of I has the only state-funded schools of law, medicine and dentistry, he said.

At the October meeting, Dowling told the Board of Regents that efforts to increase the number of students applying for financial aid are working.