Colleges That Claim to Meet Full Financial Need
For most parents, paying for college isn't easy; but some schools offer enough institutional dollars to students to offset expensive sticker prices.
Many schools that report meeting the full financial need of students are private colleges and universities. For the 2015-2016 school year, only 66 colleges and universities out of 1,100 schools claimed to meet full financial need, according to data reported to U.S. News in an annual survey.
The amount given in financial need is usually decided by the information that a family provides on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. On the FAFSA, families submit financial information such as income, tax data, assets and household size. From this information, a family's estimated contribution is determined.
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Financial awards from colleges and universities use a combination of loans, scholarships, grants and work-study to cover the gap between the total cost of attendance and the amount a family is expected to pay. A school that claims to meet 100 percent covers the gap entirely.
For the most part, National Liberal Arts Colleges represent the bulk of these schools that meet full demonstrated need with 40 schools in total, followed by National Universities with 25. Only one Regional University made the list: Walla Walla University in Washington.
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More than half of the schools that make this list are need blind: a policy that judges students on their merits, not on their ability to pay tuition. Some of the schools with this policy include Amherst College in Massachusetts, Yale University in Connecticut and Stanford University in California -- to name a few.
Only two public universities -- the University of Virginia and University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill -- that are also National Universities reported meeting 100 percent of financial need. Both schools also practice need-blind admissions.
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Several schools that don't appear on the list were very close to meeting full need, including Johns Hopkins University in Maryland at 99.9 percent, SUNY Polytechnic Institute at 99 percent and the University of Florida at 99 percent.
Below are the colleges and universities that claimed to meet 100 percent of demonstrated financial need for full-time, degree-seeking undergraduates in fall 2015.
School name (state) | U.S. News rank and category |
Amherst College (MA) | 2, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Barnard College (NY) | 27 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Bates College (ME) | 27 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Boston College | 31, National Universities |
Bowdoin College (ME) | 6, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Brown University (RI) | 14, National Universities |
31, National Liberal Arts Colleges | |
California Institute of Technology | 12 (tie), National Universities |
Carleton College (MN) | 7 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Claremont McKenna College (CA) | 9 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Colby College (ME) | 12 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Colgate University (NY) | 12 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
College of the Holy Cross (MA) | 32 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Colorado College | 24 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Columbia University (NY) | 5 (tie), National Universities |
Connecticut College | 50, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Cornell University (NY) | 15 (tie), National Universities |
Dartmouth College (NH) | 11, National Universities |
Davidson College (NC) | 9 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Duke University (NC) | 8 (tie), National Universities |
Franklin and Marshall College (PA) | 47 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Georgetown University (DC) | 20 (tie), National Universities |
Grinnell College (IA) | 19 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Hamilton College (NY) | 12 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Harvard University (MA) | 2, National Universities |
Harvey Mudd College (CA) | 21 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Haverford College (PA) | 12 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Kenyon College (OH) | 27 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Lafayette College (PA) | 36 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Macalester College (MN) | 24 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 7, National Universities |
Middlebury College (VT) | 4 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Mount Holyoke College (MA) | 36 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Northwestern University (IL) | 12 (tie), National Universities |
Oberlin College (OH) | 24 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Occidental College (CA) | 44 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Pomona College (CA) | 7 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Princeton University (NJ) | 1, National Universities |
Rice University (TX) | 15 (tie), National Universities |
Salem College (NC) | 122 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Scripps College (CA) | 23, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Smith College (MA) | 12 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Soka University of America (CA) | 41 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Stanford University (CA) | 5 (tie), National Universities |
Swarthmore College (PA) | 4 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Thomas Aquinas College (CA) | 53 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Trinity College (CT) | 38 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Tufts University (MA) | 27 (tie), National Universities |
Union College (NY) | 38 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
University of Chicago | 3 (tie), National Universities |
University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill | 30, National Universities |
University of Notre Dame (IN) | 15 (tie), National Universities |
University of Pennsylvania | 8 (tie), National Universities |
University of Richmond (VA) | 27 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
University of Southern California | 23, National Universities |
University of Virginia | 24 (tie), National Universities |
Vanderbilt University (TN) | 15 (tie), National Universities |
Vassar College (NY) | 12 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Wake Forest University (NC) | 27 (tie), National Universities |
Walla Walla University (WA) | 52 (tie), Regional Universities (West) |
Washington and Lee University (VA) | 11, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Washington University in St. Louis | 19, National Universities |
Wellesley College (MA) | 3, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Wesleyan University (CT) | 21 (tie), National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Williams College (MA) | 1, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Yale University (CT) | 3 (tie), National Universities |
The financial need data above are correct as of Sept. 19, 2016. For complete financial aid data, full rankings and much more, access the U.S. News College Compass.
Farran Powell 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 fpowell@usnews.com.
