The 30 Colleges With the Best Financial Aid

Attending college can be financially daunting, The 30 Colleges With the Best Financial Aid institutions prioritise making the education affordable and accessible. Even pursuing higher education has become increasingly expensive, often creating a significant financial burden for students and their families.

However, there are several colleges that recognise these issues and strive to alleviate the financial barriers by offering outstanding financial aid and packages.

So here you will recognise the 36 colleges that stand out for their commitment to providing exceptional financial aid, which allows students to pursue their academic dreams and strives to alleviate financial burden.

Schools	Location	Financial aid notes
Amherst College	Amherst, MA	Nearly 60% of the students received financial aid. 75% of Amherst graduates in the class of 2021 graduated with no student loan debt.
Bowdoin College	Brunswick,ME	Nearly half of the enrolled students receive scholarship assistance.
Brown University	Providence, RI	'Families with the total annual income equal to or below $125,000, that have typical assets for their income level, may be eligible for funding that covers the full cost of tuition.
Colby College	Waterville, ME	"Students who do not complete an aid application for Colby institutional aid prior to admission will not be considered for College grant assistance for two award years, unless there have been substantial changes to family financial circumstances."
College of the Ozarks	Point Lookout, MO	Offers a combination of works-study opportunities and state and grants to cover the cost of education
Columbia University	New York, NY	For students coming from families with calculated total incomes of less than $66,000 annually (and typical assets)
Cornell University	Ithaca, NY	“Cornell guarantees that any family with a total income of less than $60,000, and total assets of less than $100,000 (including primary home equity)
Dartmouth College	Hanover, NH	Zero parent contribution and no loan for families with income below $65,000.
Davidson College	Davidson, NC	Around 51% of students receive need-based aid, and 70 percent receive aid from some source.
Duke University	Durham, NC	No loans if family income is less than $40,000 (sliding scale after that).
Grinnell College	Grinnell, Iowa	100% demonstrated financial need met with no loans. Students contribute from student employment ($2500), work study ($2500), or savings.
Harvard University	Cambridge, MA	1 in 5 students pays nothing to attend Harvard.
Haverford College	Haverford, PA	No loans if family income is less than $60,000.
Johns Hopkins University	Baltimore, MD	"ability to pay is not considered as part of the admissions process...loan-free financial aid packages meet 100% of demonstrated financial need."
Lehigh University	Bethlehem, PA	No loans if family income is less than $75,000 (sliding scale after that). Loans are capped at $5,000 per academic year.
MIT	Cambridge, MA	Need-blind. No loans if family income is less than $90,000.
Northwestern University	Evanston, IL	All financial aid packages are loan-free.
Pomona College	Claremont, CA	At Pomona, 57% of students receive need-based scholarship aid from the College.
Princeton University	Princeton, NJ	"The average grant covers 100% of tuition."
Rice University	Houston, TX	Students whose parents make less than $75,000 will receive coverage for tuition, fees, room, and board.
Smith College	Northampton, MA	“Beginning in the fall of 2022, Smith College has eliminated loans from its undergraduate financial aid packages for students receiving need-based institutional grants.
Stanford University	Stanford, CA	"More than 55% [of students] receive aid from Stanford, including athletic scholarships."
Swarthmore College	Swarthmore, PA	At Swarthmore, 55% of students received financial aid in 2019-2020.
Texas A&M University	College Station, TX	“For students whose family income is $60,000 or less, tuition will be covered by grants and/or scholarships.”
Tufts University	Medford, MA	Students with annual family incomes of less than $60,000 will typically receive a financial aid package that includes no student loans.
University of Chicago	Chicago, IL	"Free tuition for families with incomes under $125,000 per year (with typical assets), while families earning less than $60,000 (with typical assets) will have tuition, fees, and room and board covered by financial aid."
UNC Chapel Hill	Chapel Hill, NC	Low-income North Carolina students may qualify for aid without loans through the Carolina Covenant.
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign	Urbana, IL	If you’re an Illinois resident whose family makes $67,100 or less, you may be eligible for the Illinois Commitment financial aid package, which covers the cost of tuition and campus fees.
University of Notre Dame	Notre Dame, IN	In 2020, the median need-based scholarship given to first-year students was $50,000.
University of Pennsylvania	Philadelphia, PA	The average aid package for students in 2020-2021 was $56,095.

 

Amherst College

Amherst College is a private liberal arts college that is located in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1821 and is one of the oldest and most prestigious liberal arts colleges in the country.

It is one of the nine colonial colleges, and it is often consistently ranked among the top liberal arts colleges in the United States. This college is also known for its academic standards and its commitment to undergraduate teaching. It often offers a wide range of undergraduate majors, including English, history, mathematics, science, and the arts.

Amherst College offers financial aid programmes to ensure that admitted students can attend without undue financial burden. It also requires the students and their families to complete the free registration and the college scholarship (CSS) profile to determine their financial needs.

Bowdoin College

Bowdoin College is a private liberal arts college that is located in Brunswick, Maine, in the United States. It was founded in 1794 and is one of the oldest institutions of higher education in the country. It is one of the nine colonial colleges and is consistently ranked among the top liberal arts colleges in the United States.

The college is often set in a picturesque New England setting, characterised by beautiful architecture, expensive lawns, and tree-linked walkways. The college uses the free application for federal student-based aid (FAFSA) and the college scholarship service (CSS) profile to assess a student's financial need.

 

Brown University

Brown University is a private Ivy League research university that is located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It was founded in 1764, which makes it the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the country and one of the most renowned universities in the world.

Brown is also a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), a group of 65 leading research universities in the United States and Canada. This university is often a member of the Ivy League Athletic Conference. Brown is known for its commitment to undergraduate education and its distinctive open curriculum.

Brown University also offers a variety of financial aid resources, which include grants, scholarships, work-study, and loans.

 

Colby College

Colby College is a private liberal arts college that is located in Waterville, Maine, in the United States. It was founded in 1813 and has a total undergraduate enrollment of 2,262 students. Colby often offers a rigorous liberal arts curriculum that focuses on undergraduate education. It is also known for its strong academic reputation, its commitment to undergraduate research, and its beautiful campus.

Colby College offers a rigorous liberal arts curriculum with a focus on undergraduate education. It is known for its strong programmes in the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, and interdisciplinary studies.

Colby's financial aid consists of grants, work-study, and loans. The amount of financial aid that a student receives often depends on their family's income and assets.

 

College of the Ozarks

The College of the Ozarks is a private Christian college that is located in Point Lookout, Missouri.

It is often known for its work-study programme, which allows students to pay for their tuition and other expenses by working on campus. As it is also known as "Hard Work U," it was established in 1906, and the college is dedicated to providing quality education to its students.

The college places a strong emphasis on the integration of faith, learning, and character development. It is also affiliated with the Presbyterian Church and promotes Christian values and principles. Here, students are encouraged to explore their faith and engage in their spiritual lives through chapel services, Bible services, and various religious services.

The College of the Ozarks seeks to ensure that the tuition assurance programme guarantees that all students will graduate debt-free, regardless of their financial needs.

 

 Columbia University

Columbia University is a private Ivy League research university in New York City. It was established in 1745 and is the oldest institution of higher education in the state of New York. It is renowned for its academic excellence, research contributions, and global impact.

It was established in 1745 as King’s College, and it is one of the oldest institutes of higher education in the state of New York and the fifth-oldest in the United States. Columbia University is composed of various undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges, which include the schools of engineering and applied sciences, the schools of general studies, the graduate schools of arts and sciences, and several professional schools such as the Columbia Law School and Columbia Business School.

Financial aid depends on their family's income and assets. Families whose income is $20,000 or less are generally eligible for financial aid.

 

Cornell University

Cornell University is a private research university that is located in Ithaca, New York. It is the oldest institution of higher education in the state of New York and is also renowned for its academic excellence, research contributions, and global impact. It is a large university, with an undergraduate enrollment of over 70 majors and over 100 graduate programmes.

Cornell University is a highly selective university, with an acceptance rate of 10%. However, it is a great place to learn and grow, and its alumni have gone on to make significant contributions to the world. Cornell University often offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programmes across the various fields of study, which include agriculture, life science, architecture, the arts, science, etc.

Cornell offers a 100% demonstration of need for all undergraduate students, with no loans required for families below $60,000 and assets below $100,000.

 

Dartmouth College

Dartmouth College is a prestigious private Ivy League research university that is located in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. It was often founded in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock and is one of the nine colonial colleges that were chartered before the American Revolution.

Dartmouth College is a highly selective college, with an acceptance rate of just 6.2%. The average SAT score for admitted students is 1520, and the average score is 33. Dartmouth College offers over 50 undergraduate majors across various disciplines, including the humanities, sciences, social sciences, engineering, and business. It often has several graduate programmes. Which includes professional schools in business, medicine, engineering, and more.

Dartmouth College files a free application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the Dartmouth College CSS profile.

 

Davidson College

Davidson College is a liberal arts college that is located in Davidson, North Carolina, in the United States. It was founded in 1837.

It has established a strong reputation for academic excellence, intellectual rigour, and commitment to developing well-rounded individuals.

Davidson is a four-year undergraduate institution that enrols 1,973 students from the 50 states and territories, Washington, DC, and 46 countries. Davidson offers a strong commitment to undergraduate research and encourages students to engage in hands-on learning experiences. The college often offers 37 majors and 39 minors in liberal arts disciplines, as well as other interdisciplinary academic programmes.

The college files the free application for federal student aid (FAFSA) and the Davidson College financial aid form.

 

Duke University

Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina. It was established in 1838 and is renowned for its academic excellence, cutting-edge research, and vibrant campus life. Duke has been ranked among the top universities in the United States by major educational publications. It is often a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), a prestigious group of 65 research universities in the United States and Canada.

Duke is often known for its strong emphasis on interdisciplinary research and collaboration. It also has a strong athletic tradition. Duke University is home to 200 research centres and institutes, and its faculty members have won numerous awards for their research. The amount of financial aid that the students receive will depend on their family's income and assets.

 

 FAQ's

Q. Can the financial aid packages change every year?

ANS. Yes, financial aid packages can change from year to year. When applying for financial aid, students typically need to apply again and again every year and provide updated financial information.

Q. Can international students receive financial aid from these colleges?

ANS. Many colleges offer financial assistance to international students, even though the availability and amount of aid may vary. So it is very important for international students to check each college's specific policies regarding financial aid.

Q. Are these colleges need-blind in their admissions process?

ANS. The colleges that have been mentioned above in the list need blind admissions, which means that a college does not consider an applicant's financial need while making the admission decision. In contrast, need-aware colleges may consider an applicant's financial need as part of the admissions process.