Best Colleges for Financial Aid
A look at the best colleges for financial aid including need-based aid, non-need-based aid, and aid for international students.
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With college costs continually increasing, it can be hard for students and their families to pay for college with savings alone. This is where financial aid comes in.
Some forms of financial aid include scholarships, grants, student loans, and work-study programs.
When choosing a college, it’s important to consider the financial aid package you are offered instead of just the overall cost of attendance. Generous scholarships and grants can make even the most expensive universities affordable.
To help prospective students find colleges and universities where they are likely to receive great financial aid packages, we analyzed 829 four-year institutions throughout the United States to find which are the best for financial aid.
These ratings are based on need-based financial aid (60% weight), non-need-based financial aid (34% weight), and financial aid offered to international students (6% weight). An emphasis was placed on need-based financial aid as these students require the most help in paying for college.
On this page:
- Best Colleges for Financial Aid Overall
- Need-Based Financial Aid Scoring
- Non-Need-Based Financial Aid Scoring
- Financial Aid for International Students Scoring
- Methodology
Best Colleges for Financial Aid – Overall Rankings
The following table shows the overall rankings including the three scores that made up the total score: need-based financial aid (60%), non-need-based financial aid (34%), and international students financial aid (6%).
Schools were also ranked on a state-level for students who are interested in colleges only in specific states. To easily see a state’s rankings, you can sort the table based on the State column and scroll down to the state you are interested in.
Need-Based Financial Aid Scoring
The following table shows the data used to calculate the need-based financial aid score. Note that the schools are sorted based on the overall rank of that school (including all three sub-scores), not the specific rankings for need-based financial aid.
The need-based financial aid score considered the likelihood of students with financial need receiving need-based scholarships and grants as well as the percentage of need met for students with financial need who received need-based aid.
Non-Need-Based Financial Aid Scoring
The following table shows the data used to calculate the non-need-based financial aid score. Note that the schools are sorted based on the overall rank of that school (including all three sub-scores), not the specific rankings for non-need-based financial aid.
The non-need-based financial aid score considered the average amount of non-need-based scholarships and grants given to each student normalized by cost of attendance (COA). We considered the cost of attendance because more expensive schools may still be more costly than other schools even if their students receive larger amounts of scholarships and grants on average.
Financial Aid for International Students Scoring
The following table shows the data used to calculate the financial aid for international students score. Note that the schools are sorted based on the overall rank of that school (including all three sub-scores), not the specific rankings for financial aid for international students.
The financial aid for international students score considered the average amount of financial aid given to each international student normalized by cost of attendance (COA). We considered the cost of attendance because more expensive schools may still be more costly than other schools even if their students receive larger amounts of scholarships and grants on average.
Methodology
Data used in this study came from Peterson’s Undergraduate Financial Aid Database and the National Center for Education Statistics’ Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). All data reflects the 2017-18 school year, which is the most recent data available from Peterson’s. Both Peterson’s data and IPEDS’ data comes from surveys administered to colleges and universities.
We excluded schools if we did not have information for any of the data points included in the study. After removing schools with incomplete information, we were left with 829 colleges and universities.
The final score was made up of the three individual scores with the following weights: need-based financial aid score (60%), non-need-based financial aid score (34%), and international financial aid score (6%).
Need-Based Financial Aid Scoring
The need-based financial aid score was made up of two individual scores which were weighted equally: (1) The likelihood of students with financial need receiving need-based aid, (2) The percent of total need met for students with financial need who were awarded need-based aid.
To calculate the likelihood of students with financial need receiving need-based scholarships and grants, we divided the number of full-time undergraduates who received any need-based financial aid by the number of full-time undergraduates determined to have financial need. The percent of total need met for students with financial need who were awarded need-based aid comes directly from the Peterson’s dataset. For the latter, need-based aid includes both institutional and non-institutional aid given to students, excluding any aid that was awarded in excess of need as well as resources that were awarded to replace expected family contribution (such as PLUS Loans, unsubsidized loans, and private student loans).
Non-Need-Based Financial Aid Scoring
To calculate the non-need-based financial aid score, we started by dividing the total amount non-need-based scholarships and grants (including both institutional and non-institutional aid) awarded to degree-seeking undergraduates by the undergraduate enrollment, then dividing the result by the overall cost of attendance.
The first two numbers came directly from the Peterson’s dataset. The cost of attendance number came from the IPEDS dataset. To calculate the cost of attendance, we multiplied the percentage of students paying in-state tuition rates by the total price for in-state students living off campus (not with family) and added that to the percentage of students paying out-of-state tuition rates by the total price for out-of-state students living off campus (not with family). The dataset did not include data on how many in-state and out-of-state students were living on campus vs. off campus, so we used the total price for students living off campus (for both in-state and out-of-state students) as this data was available for more schools as compared to students living on campus.
Once we found the average amount of non-need-based aid given to each student normalized by the average cost of attendance, we scored each on a scale of 0 to 100 by using the standard normal cumulative distribution function.
International Financial Aid Scoring
To calculate the international financial aid score, we started by dividing the average amount of financial aid awarded to undergraduate degree-seeking international students by the overall cost of attendance.
The first number came directly from the Peterson’s dataset. The cost of attendance number came from the IPEDS dataset. To calculate the cost of attendance, we multiplied the percentage of students paying in-state tuition rates by the total price for in-state students living off campus (not with family) and added that to the percentage of students paying out-of-state tuition rates by the total price for out-of-state students living off campus (not with family). The dataset did not include data on how many in-state and out-of-state students were living on campus vs. off campus, so we used the total price for students living off campus (for both in-state and out-of-state students) as this data was available for more schools as compared to students living on campus.
Once we found the average amount of aid given to each international student normalized by the average cost of attendance, we scored each on a scale of 0 to 100 by using the standard normal cumulative distribution function.
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