Colleges and Universities That Claim to Meet Full Financial Need
To gauge the affordability of a college or university, the sticker price is a good place to start. But savvy students should dig deeper.
One data point to unearth is the average percent of financial need met. As universities cover more of the tuition bill than ever before, they're devoting most of that money to helping students without the resources to pay full price.
[Explore the 2015 Best Value Schools rankings list.]
Schools that meet 100 percent of need use a combination of loans, scholarships, grants and work-study to fill the gap between the cost of attendance -- tuition, fees, room, board and other expenses -- and what a family can pay. The latter figure is typically determined by the information you provide on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, including tax data, assets and family size, depending on the school's formula -- which may also take into account information not provided on the FAFSA.
Of the 1,137 colleges and universities that submitted financial need data to U.S. News, just 62 of them cover full need.
Many of these schools rank high, with about one-third placing in the top 10 in their categories.
Among them are Princeton University and Williams College, ranked No. 1 among National Universities and National Liberal Arts Colleges, respectively.
[See photos of the top 20 National Universities.]
In fact, nearly every top 20 school among the National Universities and National Liberal Arts Colleges rankings is on this list. One exception is the University of California--Berkeley, No. 20 among National Universities, which says it meets 97.5 percent of demonstrated need.
The other is the United States Naval Academy, No. 13 among National Liberal Arts Colleges, which charges no tuition.
Of those schools that made it on the list, only two aren't top-50 finishers in their categories. California's Thomas Aquinas College, tied with three other schools at No. 77 among National Liberal Arts Colleges, and Bethany College in Kansas, ranked No. 68 among Regional Colleges (Midwest), fall short.
Private schools also tended to dominate this list, with only three public universities reporting that they meet full need.
[Find out which private schools are the most and least expensive.]
Those include the University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill, No. 30 among National Universities, the University of Virginia, tied at No. 23 in the same category, and the United States Merchant Marine Academy, No. 3 among Regional Colleges (North).
Below are the colleges and universities that claimed to meet 100 percent of demonstrated financial need for full-time, degree-seeking undergraduates in fall 2013.
School name (state) | U.S. News rank and category |
|---|---|
Amherst College (MA) | 2, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Barnard College (NY) | 32, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Bates College (ME) | 19, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Bethany College (KS) | 68, Regional Colleges (Midwest) |
Boston College | 31, National Universities |
Bowdoin College (ME) | 5, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Brown University (RI) | 16, National Universities |
Bryn Mawr College (PA) | 27, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
California Institute of Technology | 10, National Universities |
Carleton College (MN) | 8, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Carroll University (WI) | 41, Regional Universities (Midwest) |
Claremont McKenna College (CA) | 8, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Colby College (ME) | 15, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Colgate University (NY) | 22, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
College of the Holy Cross (MA) | 34, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Columbia University (NY) | 4, National Universities |
Cornell University (NY) | 15, National Universities |
Dartmouth College (NH) | 11, National Universities |
Davidson College (NC) | 11, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Duke University (NC) | 8, National Universities |
Franklin and Marshall College (PA) | 37, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Georgetown University (DC) | 21, National Universities |
Grinnell College (IA) | 19, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Hamilton College (NY) | 15, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Harvard University (MA) | 2, National Universities |
Harvey Mudd College (CA) | 15, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Haverford College (PA) | 8, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Johns Hopkins University (MD) | 12, National Universities |
Macalester College (MN) | 24, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA) | 7, National Universities |
Middlebury College (VT) | 7, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Mount Holyoke College (MA) | 41, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Northwestern University (IL) | 13, National Universities |
Oberlin College (OH) | 23, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Occidental College (CA) | 44, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Pitzer College (CA) | 35, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Pomona College (CA) | 5, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Princeton University (NJ) | 1, National Universities |
Rice University (TX) | 19, National Universities |
Scripps College (CA) | 24, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Smith College (MA) | 19, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Stanford University (CA) | 4, National Universities |
Swarthmore College (PA) | 3, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Thomas Aquinas College (CA) | 77, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Trinity College (CT) | 45, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Tufts University (MA) | 27, National Universities |
United States Merchant Marine Academy (NY) | 3, Regional Colleges (North) |
University of Chicago | 4, National Universities |
University of North Carolina--Chapel Hill | 30, National Universities |
University of Notre Dame (IN) | 16, National Universities |
University of Pennsylvania | 8, National Universities |
University of Richmond (VA) | 30, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
University of Southern California | 25, National Universities |
University of Virginia | 23, National Universities |
Vanderbilt University (TN) | 16, National Universities |
Vassar College (NY) | 11, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Washington and Lee University (VA) | 14, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Washington University in St. Louis | 14, National Universities |
Wellesley College (MA) | 4, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Wesleyan University (CT) | 15, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Williams College (MA) | 1, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Yale University (CT) | 3, National Universities |
The financial need data above are correct as of Sept. 8, 2014. For complete financial aid data, full rankings and much more, access the U.S. News College Compass.
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.
