Students can avail of scholarships provided by the college, such as AWA Scholarship Awards, CCNMA Scholarship, Cal Grant A, and Cal Grant B, if they find educational expenses to be on the higher side. Notably, 57% of the students at Santa Monica College get some kind of financial aid every year, and the total amount of assistance/loans provided adds up to around $2,506,566. At SMC, the total percentage of applicants who receive the Federal Grant stands at 34%. Meanwhile, 57% of the applicants receive the Student Grant and 10% are awarded the Institution Grant, while 34% of the students get the Pell Grant. Moreover, the average aid amount for Federal Grant awardees stands at $4,990, while the same comes to $2,345 for State Grant receivers and $1,108 for Institution Grant awardees. And, for the Pell Grant awardees, the average aid amount is $3,927. The annual family income of a candidate is one of the key factors in determining their total eligibility for financial aid. Alternatively, the candidates can also avail of monetary benefits like student loans, apart from financial grants and scholarship schemes to pay for their studies. In contrast to grants and scholarships, student loans are taken by the candidates at a certain rate of interest. While grants and scholarship schemes do not require repayment, student loans should be repaid by the applicants within a given period. At SMC, an estimated number of 1% of the applicants choose to go for student loans.