10 Colleges Where Merit Aid Is Most Common
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Universities do a lot to make college costs more palatable for families.
In fact, among private universities, slashing high tuition prices is par for the course. The tuition discount rate, a measure of how much tuition and fee revenue a college forgoes, for first-time, full-time freshmen was 48 percent in the 2014-2015 school year, according to the most recent discounting survey from the National Association of College and University Business Officers.
But sometimes these resources are offered to students even after colleges determine that they don't have financial need.
Merit aid, which can take the form of scholarships or grants, is linked to academic performance, community service or other accomplishments, not financial background. The practice of awarding merit aid has inspired controversy, with detractors arguing that it draws away resources from needy students.
[Discover eight rules for maximizing merit aid.]
These 10 merit-aid-granting colleges awarded non-need-based aid to the highest percentage of students, with each awarding that type of aid to more than 40 percent of full-time undergraduates in 2014-2015, according to data reported to U.S. News by 1,087 ranked colleges and universities in an annual survey.
New York City's Cooper Union, which tops the list, presents an unusual case. The school awards merit aid to all undergraduates in the form of a half-tuition scholarship -- its full ride scholarship for all students was discontinued recently.
Among the Cooper Union student body, of which 100 percent receive this non-need-based aid, 68 percent demonstrated no financial need.
[Explore 11 tuition-free colleges.]
While that might seem like a lot of students, the previous year's class demonstrated even less need as a group. In 2013-2014, nearly 72 percent of Cooper Union undergraduates received this non-need aid without displaying financial need.
The following schools awarded merit aid to the highest percentage of undergraduates for the 2014-2015 school year. The percentage includes students who had no financial need and were awarded non-need-based scholarship or grant aid. Students with financial need who were awarded non-need-based scholarship or grant aid are not included in the percentage.
Schools designated by U.S. News as Unranked were excluded from this list. U.S. News did not calculate numerical ranks for Unranked programs because they did not meet certain criteria that U.S. News requires.
School name (state) | Percentage of students who were awarded merit aid without financial need in 2014-2015 | U.S. News rank and category |
|---|---|---|
68% | 2, Regional Colleges (North) | |
50.5% | 51 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges | |
46.7% | 1, Regional Universities (West) | |
45.5% | 4, Regional Universities (South) | |
43.8% | 55 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges | |
43.4% | 67 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges | |
43.3% | 120 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges | |
42.3% | 51 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges | |
42.1% | 72 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges | |
41.3% | 51 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Don't see your school on the list? Access the U.S. News College Compass to find merit aid data, complete rankings and much more. School officials can access historical data and rankings, including of peer institutions, via U.S. News Academic Insights.
U.S. News surveyed nearly 1,800 colleges and universities for our 2015 survey of undergraduate programs. Schools self-reported myriad data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News' data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Colleges rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data come from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News' rankings of Best Colleges, Best Graduate Schools or Best Online Programs. The merit aid data above are correct as of Sept. 22, 2015.
Susannah Snider is an education reporter at U.S. News, covering paying for college and graduate school. You can follow her on Twitter or email her at ssnider@usnews.com.
