At the very least, Sweden[1] and Denmark[2] have systems that pad out your student loans with government grants that apply to (almost) everyone.

[1]: http://www.csn.se/en/2.1034/2.1036/2.1037/2.1038 [2]: http://www.su.dk/english/

US has that too, it's called the Pell Grant.

> Federal Pell Grants are limited to students with financial need, who have not earned their first bachelor's degree, or who are enrolled in certain post-baccalaureate programs, through participating institutions.[1]

CSN money is not conditional based on your family's income, has no relationship with the military, and is not earmarked for any particular purpose. The only requirements are that you can't get more than 6 years total (a relatively recent restriction), that you pass 75% of your courses, and that you don't personally earn more than ~160k SEK/year (the exact amount varies, but has an inverse proportion to how much your study).

During high school you get a smaller amount, but then it's only conditional on attendance, not your academic results.

Pell is also not earmarked to a particular purpose and has no relationship with the military, as far as I know. It seems like both programs have a different set of restrictions (Pell does not care how old you are, for example), but CSN is probably more generous overall.

> Pell is also not earmarked to a particular purpose and has no relationship with the military, as far as I know.

Wikipedia disagrees: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pell_Grant

> Applicants must also sign a statement certifying that they will use the aid only for education-related purposes,

And

> Males between the ages of 18 and 25 must register with the Selective Service.

Not saying you're wrong, and I'd definitely love it if Wikipedia is wrong on this.

> Pell does not care how old you are, for example

CSN doesn't either AFAIK, only how many times you've been paid. According to WP Pell seems to have a similar policy.

> Applicants must also sign a statement certifying that they will use the aid only for education-related purposes,

Personal expenses while you are in school (including rent) count as an education-related purpose. See: http://pell-grants.org/what-the-pell-grant-money-can-be-appl...

> Males between the ages of 18 and 25 must register with the Selective Service.

These people are required to register for selective service anyway, though federal financial aid is used as a stick to enforce this requirement. See: https://www.sss.gov/Registration-Info/Who-Registration

> CSN doesn't either AFAIK, only how many times you've been paid. According to WP Pell seems to have a similar policy.

I think I am unclear on the difference between the "student allowance" and "study aid".

In Norway, 30℅ of your student loan will convert to a grant when you complete the degree. And there is no school money to pay.

Denmark. Technically you don't get paid to attend, you get a stipend to help pay your living expenses while you're studying. I know it's similar in other places too.