State financial aid grant programs are commonly categorized as either need-based, merit-based, or both, but their initial eligibility requirements include many more factors than just financial need and academic merit. A categorization of programs that accounts for all requirements would facilitate a more nuanced and precise understanding of state grant programs. We used latent class analysis to organize 354 grant programs into a five-category typology to better understand the variations and patterns in programs. Need and merit proved important in the typology, but two of the new categories of programs were defined by other eligibility requirements. Implications for future research and policymaking are discussed.

州财政援助赠款计划通常分为基于需求，基于绩效或两者兼有，但其最初的资格要求包括许多因素，而不仅仅是财务需求和学术成就。满足所有要求的计划分类将有助于更精细，更准确地理解州拨款计划。我们使用潜在类别分析将354个资助计划分为五类，以更好地了解计划的变化和模式。需求和优点在类型学中被证明是重要的，但是其他资格要求定义了计划的两个新类别。讨论了对未来研究和政策制定的影响。