Federal Student Aid

A Background Primer

As the price of a college education has risen, increasingly a greater number of students and their families have come to rely on assistance from the federal government to pay for that education. In the last decade alone, the federal government’s share, adjusted for inflation, of all funds used to pay for postsecondary education has grown from 62.6 percent ($82.7 billion) in 2002-2003 to 68.6 percent ($169.7 billion) in 2012-2013.

While student aid in various forms has increased across all sectors—federal, state, institutional—over the last ten years, federal student aid has grown at a faster rate. For example, between 2002-2003 and 2012-2013, federal student aid for Pell grants has increased 118% (from $14.8 billion to $32.3 billion), whereas state grants for postsecondary education have grown only 32 percent (from $7.4 billion to $9.7 billion), and institutional grants have grown 98 percent (from $22.5 billion to $44.4 billion).

In terms of the types of student financial assistance for higher education, the mix of grants, loans, work study, and tax benefits varies when looking at undergraduate and graduate students separately, especially in the breakdown between grants and loans. Historically, among graduate students a larger percentage of financial assistance has been in loans rather than in grants, and among undergraduate students a larger percentage of assistance has been in grants rather than loans. However, in the last several years, increasingly among undergraduates a smaller percentage of assistance is coming in the form of grants and a larger percentage is coming in the form of loans. Much of this shift is a result of the inability of Pell and other grants to undergraduates to keep up with increases in the price of college that well outstrip the rate of inflation.

Types of Federal Assistance for Postsecondary Education

In general, there are four types of federal assistance for students and their families to fund a postsecondary education—grants, loans, education tax benefits, and work study. Of the federal aid available in 2012-2013 for both undergraduate and graduate study, 28 percent was in the form of grants, 60 percent was in the form of loans, 12 percent was in the form of tax benefits, and less than one percent was in the form of work study.     The following table outlines the various federal programs and benefits for financial assistance for postsecondary education based on data from the U.S. Department of Education, Fiscal Year 2015 Budget Request.

The remainder of this primer will concentrate on Federal grants, loans, and work study provided under the Higher Education Act.

Qualifying for Financial Assistance under the Higher Education Act

Students must first meet certain basic eligibility requirements to receive a Pell grant, student loan, or other federal financial assistance under the Higher Education Act. These include:

• Be a U.S. citizen or eligible non-citizen.
• Have a valid Social Security Card.
• Be registered with the Selective Service, if applicant is male.
• Be enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a regular student at an eligible degree or certificate program.
• Maintain satisfactory academic progress while in school.
• Have a high school diploma or recognized equivalent.
• Not be in default on a federal student loan nor owe money on a federal student grant.

After meeting these basic eligibility requirements, each student and/or family must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The information submitted through the FAFSA helps determine how much federal aid a student may receive. The information that must be reported on the FAFSA varies according to a student’s dependency status. Students who are considered dependent students must provide financial information for themselves and their parents. Students who are considered independent students must provide financial information only for themselves and a spouse if applicable.

A student is considered an independent student for purposes of federal financial assistance if he or she is one of the following: at least 24 years old, married, a graduate or professional student, a veteran, a member of the armed forces, an orphan, a ward of the court, an individual with legal dependents other than a spouse, an emancipated minor, or an individual who is homeless or at risk of becoming homeless.

The FAFSA collects various pieces of information related to students’ and their families’ adjusted gross income, earnings, untaxed income, assets and investments, receipt of various federal benefits (e.g., SSI, food stamps, TANF, WIC, free or reduced price lunch), as well as information on the number of people in a household and the number of family members in college. The data collected on the FAFSA are then run through a federal methodology formula to determine a student’s expected family contribution (EFC).

The EFC is an index that is used to measure the financial strength of students and families. A lower EFC indicates a greater need for financial assistance for paying for college. The EFC is used in determining student eligibility for the need-based federal student aid programs which are Pell Grants, Subsidized Stafford loans, Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, Federal Work Study, and Perkins Loans.

The calculation for determining the amount of need-based aid for which a student is eligible is:

Cost of Attendance (COA) – Expected Family Contribution (EFC)  = Financial Need

Cost of Attendance is determined by individual schools and includes: tuition and fees; an allowance for books, supplies, transportation, student loan fees, miscellaneous personal expenses; an allowance for room and board; an allowance for dependent care; reasonable costs associated with study abroad; and an allowance for expenses related to a student’s disability. For students attending school less than half-time, miscellaneous personal expenses and an allowance for room and board are not included in the cost of attendance.

Students and families who do not qualify for need-based financial aid or who need to borrow more funds than are available to them through the need-based programs may qualify for the two loan programs not based on financial need – Unsubsidized Stafford loans and PLUS loans. The calculation for determining non-need-based aid is:

 

COA – Financial Aid Awarded So Far = Eligibility for Non- need-based Aid

Pell Grants

The Pell grant is considered the base of federal need-based aid for undergraduate students. Among the federal grant programs authorized under the Higher Education Act (HEA), by far the Pell grant program is the largest, constituting 98 percent of higher education grant aid in 2012-2013. The additional, much smaller grant programs authorized under HEA are the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG), the Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnerships (LEAP), Academic Competitiveness Grants (ACG), and SMART Grants (SMART). In recent years, the array of grant programs outside of Pell has become even smaller. No new ACG and SMART grants were available effective July 1, 2011, and lawmakers have not provided the LEAP program with any funding since fiscal year 2010.     The origin of the current day Pell grant program was the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant (BEOG), which was created by Congress in 1972. In 1980 the name of the BEOG program was changed to the Pell Grant program in honor of Senator Claiborne Pell of Rhode Island. Then as is now, the Pell Grant program provides need-based financial aid to undergraduate students. Unlike a loan, a federal Pell Grant does not have to be repaid. The maximum Pell Grant awarded for the 2014-2015 academic year is $5,730. The amount awarded to students depends on financial need, total cost of attending school, and full-time or part-time status.   In the 2012-2013 academic year, roughly 8.7 million students received Pell grants and their average Pell grant was $3,578. The number of recipients has declined from a peak of 9.4 million in the 2011-2012 academic year, but the number is projected to grow slightly each future year. Approximately 27 percent of all undergraduates receive a Pell grant that they use at 5400 participating schools across the nation. Of those receiving Pell grants in 2012-2013, 42 percent were dependent students and 58 percent were independent students.

Beginning in 2008, both the number of Pell recipients and the cost of the Pell program rose significantly. The number of Pell recipients grew 70 percent between 2007-2008 (5.5 million recipients) and 2011-2012 (9.4 million recipients). Also increasing has been the cost of the program, which in four years rose from a cost of $18.0 billion in fiscal year 2008 to $33.0 billion in fiscal year 2014.   This increase in the cost of the Pell program was in part the result of the downturn in the economy which sent more individuals back to school and more individuals in school with financial need, as well as a number of changes lawmakers made to the program in 2007, 2008 and 2009 that expanded eligibility and benefits in the program. Additionally, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 increased the maximum Pell grant which Congress has been hesitant to roll back.   To pay for these increasing costs in the Pell grant program and to not have to reduce the maximum Pell grant, Congress has been scrambling each year to find savings in other federal aid programs and within the Pell program to cover the costs. Among some of the recent changes in student aid that have been made to pay for Pell and maintain the maximum grant are the elimination of Subsidized Stafford loans for graduate students, the end of year-round Pell grants, a roll back of the amount of income needed to qualify automatically for a maximum Pell grant, and a reduction in the number of semesters for which a student is eligible to receive a Pell grant. At present, no long-term plan has been enacted to address the increasing costs of the Pell program into the future.

Recent economic and enrollment trends have, however, lessened the budgetary pressure on the program. Enrollment has declined from its peak in 2011 and is expected to grow only modestly. Moreover, past Congressional Budget Office projections overestimated the program’s future cost. Taken together, those developments have meant that the Pell grant program can operate at existing levels of appropriations until fiscal year 2017. At that point, Congress will need to increase the annual appropriation by $2.3 billion to maintain the existing benefit levels.  

Federal Student Loans

Given the ever rising cost of college, students and their families have increasingly come to rely upon federal student loans to pay for college. New federal student loan volume (not including consolidation loans ) has risen sharply since 1992 when unsubsidized student loans –loans not dependent on financial need—were introduced, having risen from less than $19 billion in fiscal year 1992 to $104 billion in 2011. Further, in the last decade, increasingly the percentage of undergraduates taking out federal loans to pay for college has risen.

Stafford, PLUS, and Consolidation loans are the Federal government’s three primary loans to assist students and parents pay for a postsecondary education. A fourth and smaller loan program, Perkins, is discussed in the followings section on campus-based aid programs.

Up until recently, there were two federal loan programs for the origination and administration of Stafford, PLUS, and Consolidation loans – the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program and the Direct Loan program. Under the FFEL program, private lenders provided the loan capital to originate student loans. In return, lenders were provided with an interest subsidy as well as reimbursements for most costs of defaults. Under the Direct Loan program, the federal government provides the capital and institutions and private companies contracted by the U.S. Department of Education handle origination and loan servicing. With very few exceptions, the terms and conditions of loans made under the FFEL and Direct Loan programs are the same.

As part of the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010, the FFEL program ceased making new loans effective July 1, 2010. All new Stafford, PLUS, and consolidation loans today are made under the Direct Loan program.

Stafford Loans

Stafford Loans are the primary federal student loans. These loans are available both to undergraduate and graduate students. Stafford loans come in two types – subsidized and unsubsidized.   Subsidized Stafford: Subsidized Stafford loans are based on a student’s financial need. While a student is in school and during grace and deferment periods, the federal government pays the interest on the loan.  Until July 2012, Subsidized Stafford loans were available to both undergraduate and graduate students; however, after July 1, 2012, Subsidized Stafford loans are now exclusively available to undergraduate students.   Unsubsidized Stafford: Unsubsidized Stafford loans are available to undergraduates and graduate students without regard to financial need. Unlike Subsidized Stafford loans, the federal government does not pay the interest on these loans while a student is in school. Although students need not make payments on their Unsubsidized Stafford loans while in school, the interest accrues and is capitalized when they enter repayment.  

PLUS Loans

PLUS loans are available to parents of dependent undergraduate students (Parent PLUS) and to graduate students (Grad PLUS). Like Unsubsidized Stafford loans, interest accrues on PLUS loans while the student is in school and is capitalized upon entering repayment. Typically, PLUS loan borrowers may not have an adverse credit history to be eligible for a PLUS loan.   While Parent PLUS loans have been part of the federal loan program since the 1980s, Grad PLUS loans are relatively new. These loans first became available to graduate students on July 1, 2006. Grad PLUS loans were added to the federal student loan program out of concern that many graduate students, having hit the borrowing limits under the Stafford loan program, were taking out high-cost private student loans to finance their graduate education. Since first being offered in the 2006-2007 academic year, the annual total dollar amount borrowed, adjusted for inflation, of Grad PLUS loans has grown steadily from $2.4 billion in 2006-2007 to $8.0 billion in 2013-2014.  

Consolidation Loans

Consolidation loans allow borrowers to combine their existing student loans into one loan, thus  avoiding the need for borrowers to make multiple monthly student loan payments. Most federal student loans are eligible for consolidation. Private educational loans are not eligible for consolidation.  

Loan Limits

Not wanting students to leave school with too great a debt burden, the federal government has set both annual and aggregate loan limits for Stafford loans. Congress has historically shown reticence in raising the Stafford loan limits. After raising them for the 1993-1994 academic year, no additional increases occurred until the 2007-2008 academic year. In the 2007-2008 academic year, annual Stafford limits were increased for freshmen, sophomores, and graduate students. However, Congress did not simultaneously raise the aggregate loan limits at that time.   The last increase to Stafford loan limits occurred as part of the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 (ECASLA) through which both annual and aggregate Stafford unsubsidized loan limits were increased for undergraduate students. Although aggregate Stafford limits for graduate students did not increase under ECASLA, in July 2006, Grad PLUS loans became available, thereby opening up additional loan availability for graduate students. 

Two special circumstances apply to the loan limits above. (1) Dependent undergraduate students whose parents are unable to qualify for a Parent PLUS loan may borrow at the levels set for independent undergraduate students. (2) Graduate and professional students in certain high cost health profession programs, e.g., medical school students, may have higher annual and aggregate unsubsidized loan limits. The total aggregate loan limit for these students is currently $224,000.   PLUS Loan Limits   Although both annual and aggregate loan limits existed in the PLUS loan program in the 1980s ($4,000 annual; $20,000 aggregate), those limits were thrown out in the Higher Education Act Amendments of 1992. The annual amount a parent or graduate student may borrow under the PLUS loan program is the cost of attendance (as established by the school) minus any other financial assistance the student has received. There are no total aggregate loan limits under the PLUS loan program.  

Interest Rates

The interest rates on federal student loans have changed multiple times over the history of the program. In each case Congress either sets the rate in law or sets the rate using a formula based on market interest rates on U.S. Treasury securities. Historically, the interest rates on federal student loans were fixed-rate loans. Then in the 1990’s, the loans carried variable rates (resetting once per year) with interest rate caps, except in the case of Consolidation loans. Consolidation loans carried fixed interest rates and borrowers could “lock in” the variable rates on their loans, converting them to fixed rates by taking out a Consolidation loan. In the early 2000s, Congress opted to make interest rates on federal student loans fixed, beginning with new loans issued after July 1, 2006. These rates we set by Congress.

Then in 2013, lawmakers enacted a new formula for setting fixed interest rates on federal student loans. Each year, the fixed rate on newly issued loans is set according to a formula based on the 10-year Treasury note. This policy change also established different rates on Unsubsidized Stafford loans for undergraduate and graduate student borrowers. Historically, those rates were always the same.  

Student Borrowing

As the cost of college has continued to increase and as grant aid has not kept pace, more students and their families have turned to federal student loans to finance their education. The number of students borrowing and the total amount they are taking out in federal loans on an annual basis has doubled in the last decade. Among all Stafford loan borrowers (both undergraduate and graduate), the number of students borrowing has risen from 5 million in the 2000-2001 academic year to 10.3 million in the 2010-2011 academic year. The total dollar amount, adjusted for inflation, borrowed under the Stafford program in that same time period has risen from $37.2 billion to $85.8 billion. However, due to the annual and aggregate loan limits in place in the Stafford loan program, the average amount per borrower in a given year has risen at a much slower pace.

As the numbers above reflect just one year’s worth of borrowing at the undergraduate level, it is also instructive to look at the distribution of student loan balances. According to the Federal Reserve’s 2012 4th Quarter Household Debt and Credit Report, 40 percent of student loan borrowers have balances that are less than $10,000 and 3.7 percent have balances that are greater than $100,000. Note that these figures reflect all borrowers at any point in repayment, and those who pursued all ranges of education from a certificate to medical and law school. Some may be recent graduates and some may be about to fully repay their loans.  

The distribution of loan balances when borrowers leave school offers another perspective on student debt loads. The most recent U.S. Department of Education survey of postsecondary students provides the best reference for such a measure. It shows that for undergraduates who completed their programs (certificates, associates and bachelor’s degrees) in the 2011-2012 academic year, median federal student loan balances were $18,000, for those with some debt. About 55 percent had federal student loans when they left school. Seventy-five percent of borrowers left school with less $28,742 in federal loan debt. Twenty-five percent of borrowers left with $8,906 or less.

Student Loan Repayment

There are multiple plans available to students and parents for the repayment of federal student loans. These multiple plans cover an array of financial situations during which a borrower may need relief from the amount owed under the standard repayment plan. Under standard repayment, borrowers pay a fixed amount payment every month until the loan is paid in full. There is a minimum monthly payment of $50 and the borrower has up to 10 years to repay the loan. Alternative payment options to the standard repayment include the following:   Graduated repayment: Under graduated repayment, loan payments are lower at first and then increase usually every two years as a borrower’s income typically rises after graduation from college. Like standard repayment, the loan term under graduated repayment is 10 years.   Extended repayment: Under extended repayment, loan payments are either fixed or graduated and may be repaid over a period of 25 years. While extended repayment allows for lower monthly payments, the borrower will pay more in interest since the loan is repaid over a 25-year period.   Income-based repayment: Income-based repayment (IBR) is available to borrowers during periods in which they have a partial financial hardship. Under IBR a borrower’s monthly loan payments are capped at 15% of the borrower’s monthly discretionary income. Discretionary income is the difference between adjusted gross income and 150% of the federal poverty line. If a borrower repays under the IBR plan for 25 years and meets other requirements, the borrower may have any remaining balance of the loan cancelled. Recent changes to the IBR program lower the cap from 15% to 10 % and make the remaining loan balance eligible for cancellation after only 20 years. 

Income-contingent repayment: Income-contingent repayment (ICR) calculates a borrower’s monthly payments each year based on the borrower’s adjusted gross income, family size, and the total amount of loans. The maximum repayment period is 25 years, and if the borrower has not repaid fully after this time, the unpaid portion is discharged. ICR is not available for FFEL loans. It is not available for parent PLUS loans unless the loans are converted to a Consolidation loan, in which case they are fully eligible for ICR.   Income-sensitive repayment:  Under income-sensitive repayment, a borrower’s monthly payment is based on annual income and payments change as income changes. However, unlike income-based repayment and income-contingent repayment, the loan term under income-sensitive remains 10 years. The income-sensitive repayment plan is available only to FFEL loans and does not apply to Parent PLUS loans.   In addition to the multiple repayment options above, borrowers having difficulty with repayment may also be temporarily granted a deferment or forbearance.    If a borrower fails to make scheduled payments on student loans, the borrower will be in default. There are actions that the student’s school, the financial institution that granted the loan, the loan guarantor and/or the federal government can and will take to recover the money the borrower owes. These actions include reporting the default to consumer reporting agencies, wage garnishment, offsetting social security benefits for the amount owed, deeming the borrower ineligible for further federal student aid, and filing a civil lawsuit.   Finally, to encourage individuals to enter certain, often lower-paying professions, the federal government offers a number of loan forgiveness programs. Included among those programs are Teacher Loan Forgiveness and Public Service Loan Forgiveness. Under Teacher Loan Forgiveness, teachers who teach for five consecutive years in certain low-income schools may be eligible for up to $17,500 in loan forgiveness. Under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, borrowers who work full-time in certain public service jobs may, after having made 120 payments under certain repayment plans (IBR, ICR, Standard Repayment Plan and any other DL Program repayment plan), have their outstanding loan balance forgiven.  

Campus-Based Aid Programs

Outside of Pell and federal student loans, there is a trio of need-based aid programs administered by the Department of Education commonly referred to as campus-based aid – Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG), Federal Work Study (FWS), and Perkins loans. Unlike Pell and federal student loans, schools participating in these programs must provide matching funds. Historically, the campus-based aid programs have been very popular among participating schools due to the fact that schools have greater flexibility and control in the packaging of this aid for individual students on their campuses.   At the same time that many schools favor the flexibility of the campus-based aid programs, many schools believe that the formulas used to determine a school’s allocation are flawed and inequitable. A substantial share of the funds under the campus-based programs are allocated in proportion to what schools received in prior years and are not allocated based on current enrollments of needy students. Funds are first distributed to schools based on what they received as their base guarantee in fiscal year 1999. Newer schools and schools that have experienced growth in their enrollments, especially among students qualifying for need-based financial aid, are significantly disadvantaged by the current hold harmless in the campus-based programs.   Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants   The Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG) program is among the oldest of the federal programs for providing student financial assistance to undergraduate students and is one of the origins of the Pell program. Originally simply named the Educational Opportunity Grant, the program gained its current name of Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants in the Higher Education Act Amendments of 1972.   At present, roughly 3,800 schools participate in the SEOG program. To participate in the program, schools are required to provide a 25 percent match to the federal finds they receive. As described in the earlier discussion on campus-based aid programs, SEOG funds are distributed among participating schools via a statutory formula. Congressional appropriations for the SEOG program have remained relatively flat over the last few years. For fiscal year 2014, SEOG was funded at $733 million.   The maximum SEOG grant a student may receive is $4,000. As required by the Higher Education Act, schools are to award SEOG funds first to undergraduate Pell grant recipients who demonstrate “exceptional need,” (i.e., students with the lowest expected family contribution). If any funds remain after meeting the needs of these students, school may then distribute funds to undergraduate students who are not Pell recipients.   In the 2011-2012 academic year, approximately 1.6 million undergraduates (around 6 percent of all undergraduates) received SEOG awards. The average award students received was $588. Among dependent undergraduates, 68 percent of SEOG recipients in 2011-2012 came from families with an income of less than $30,000. Among independent undergraduates, 78% of SEOG recipients had incomes of less than $20,000.    Federal Work Study

The Federal Work Study (FWS) program is also one of the oldest higher education assistance programs, having its origins in the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964, and then being incorporated into the original Higher Education Act of 1965. The FWS program helps students finance their education by providing part-time employment both for undergraduate and graduate students who demonstrate financial need. Under the program, students may work at their school of attendance, a government agency (federal, state, or local), a private nonprofit organization, or a private for-profit organization.   The Department of Education allocates FWS funding directly to institutions that then select students for employment. FWS funds are distributed among participating schools via a statutory formula. Congressional appropriations for the FWS program in fiscal year 2014 were $975 million.   As with all campus-based aid programs, the FWS programs requires a financial match. Generally, schools and employers must provide 25 percent of a student’s earning under FWS. For private, for-profit employers the match is 50 percent. Within certain parameters, the match for private nonprofits and government agencies may be lowered to 10 percent. Student wages under FWS must equal or exceed the current Federal minimum wage.   In the 2011-2012 school year, approximately 3,400 schools participated in the FWS program and provided financial assistance to 704,211 undergraduates and graduate students. Schools may award FWS funds to graduate and undergraduate students. The vast majority--92 percent--of FWS recipients were undergraduate students. Among undergraduates, 80 percent were dependent students. The average FWS award in 2011-2012 for dependent undergraduates was $1,605; for independent undergraduates the average award was $1,911; and for graduate students the average award was $2,459.

Federal Perkins Loan Program   The oldest of the campus-based aid programs is the Federal Perkins Loans Program. These loans which were originally called National Defense Student Loans, were the first federal student loans and were created as part of the National Defense Education Act of 1958. These loans were renamed Perkins loans in the Higher Education Act Amendments of 1986.   Perkins loans are available to undergraduate and graduate students with exceptional financial need. There are currently approximately 1,700 participating schools in the Perkins loan program. Like the other campus-based aid programs, schools’ financial aid offices administer the Perkins loan program and have great discretion in deciding the size of a student’s Perkins loan. Schools make Perkins loans out of a federal revolving loan fund held at individual participating schools that consists of federal capital contributions, school matching funds, student loan repayments, and reimbursements for Perkins loans public service loan forgiveness. 

In the 2011-2012 academic year, the program disbursed $949 million in new loans. About half of the loans were made at private, not-for-profit institutions. Public four-year institutions issued about 45 percent of Perkins loans. Two-year public institutions and for-profit institutions issued less than 5 percent of Perkins loans.   A student eligible for a Perkins loan may borrow up to $5,500 for each year of undergraduate study (the total a student may borrow as an undergraduate is $27,500). For graduate studies, students may borrow up to $8,000 per year (the total a student may borrow as a graduate is $60,000 which includes amounts borrowed as an undergraduate).   Perkins loans carry a 5.0% fixed interest rate and carry terms that are typically more generous than Stafford and PLUS loans. Perkins loan borrowers make no payments and accrue no interest on their loans while in school and during grace and deferment periods. Additionally, borrowers may have their Perkins loans cancelled in exchange for going into certain field of public service including teaching in a low-income school, in content areas of teacher shortages (e.g., math, science, special education), or a Head start center; Peace Corps service; working in law enforcement, corrections, or as a public defender; working as a nurse or medical technician; or certain types of military service.   In the past, public service loan forgiveness was one of the features of Perkins loans that distinguished them form other federal student loans. However, as public service loan forgiveness options have been added to Stafford loans, the distinctions between the two loan programs have begun to blur leading some to question the need for separate loan programs.   In the 2011-2012 school year, 484,656 undergraduates and graduate students took out Perkins loans. Of all students receiving Perkins loans in 2011-2012, 86 percent were undergraduates. Among undergraduates, 77 percent were dependent students. The average Perkins loan amount in 2011-2012 for dependent undergraduates was $1,808; for independent undergraduates the average loan was $1,789; and for graduate students the average loan was $2,953.