While full rides to colleges and universities are rare in this country, 60-90 percent rides are not entirely uncommon. Even though colleges and universities are businesses, many also have a heart, particularly for your financial interests. Unlike the credit card companies that have inundated their campuses, most colleges and universities don’t want you to get so far in debt after graduation that you’re making life decisions -- such as whether to get married and have children, or even simply whether or not to buy a dog -- based on the calculations of your monthly Stafford payments.
Following is a list of those colleges and universities; they were chosen for their history of doling out generous, need-based aid packages; their academic reputations; and their geographic locations. Some are highly accessible, while others are more difficult to get into, but all offer the potential of “a most-expense paid” trip to college based on need.
Schools That Want You to Graduate Debt-Free
University of Virginia
(Access U.Va.). In an attempt to limit the amount of debt students have to pay off after graduation, in 2004 U.Va. capped student loans at 25 percent of the total cost of a four-year degree. Instead of loans, students from families whose income is equivalent to 200 percent of the federal poverty line or less are given grants, money that does not need to be paid back. Despite this practice, and a needs-blind admissions policy, less than 5 percent of the students who accepted offers to U.Va. in 2004 were from low-income families.
The moral of this story: Students from low-income families who have good grades should be applying to U.Va.!
U.S. News & World Report has consistently ranked the university as the best to second-best public university in the country. While it’s not a cinch to get into -- only 37-38 percent of applicants were accepted in recent years -- it’s doable for good students. (ACT scores of those accepted range from 26-31.)
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
(The Carolina Covenant)
.
Supporting the philosophy that “college should be possible for everyone who can make the grade, regardless of family income,” UNC offers an opportunity for students to graduate debt-free. For students coming from a family of four with an annual income of about $41,300, or a single parent who makes about $27,380, UNC offers an attractive financial package that includes work/study and a combination of federal, state, university, and private grants and scholarships. However, application is extremely competitive; of the 20,064 students who applied to UNC in the 2006-2007 academic year, only 6,993 were admitted.
University of Pennsylvania. Located in historic Philadelphia, this university is “committed to working with families to make a Penn education affordable for all students,” according to their Web site. For families with incomes less than $50,000 a year, Penn replaces loans with grants. In 2004, Penn granted need-based awards to approximately 72 percent of the freshmen who applied for financial aid for the 2007-2008 academic year. For each of these freshman, the average financial aid award was $31,595 -- a combination of grant, loan, and work study. Admission to Penn is competitive; in 2007, the university admitted only 16 percent of students who applied.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Located in New York, and offering degree programs within five schools -- Science; Architecture; Engineering; Humanities and Social Sciences; and Management and Technology -- RPI is known for its Nobel Prize-winning graduates and generous financial aid. However, admission is not as competitive as that at an Ivy League school. Most recent enrollment figures show that 67 percent of students who applied to RPI were accepted. RPI offers substantial grants and financial aid packages to students from its own funds.
Case Western Reserve University.
Located in the heart of Ohio, this school has a lot of heart for students who need financial aid: In the 2006-2007 academic year, 60 percent of Case Western Reserve applicants received financial aid with an average package totaling $32,131, according to U.S. News & World Report’s Where the money is: Schools that award the most (and least) need-based aid.
Offering both need-based grants and merit-based scholarships for academic achievement, leadership, artistic talent, or “other personal qualities that distinguish you in the applicant pool,” Case's admissions requirements are not as competitive as many of the schools’ listed here. Indeed, recent enrollment figures show that 67 percent of students who applied to Case were accepted.
George Washington University.
In the same neighborhood as the White House, with an eclectic student population (21 percent are from diverse backgrounds), George Washington University offers political life plus diversity. According to their Web site, and their practices, the university is also “committed to helping families meet costs.” A fixed-tuition plan that promises tuition will not change during a student’s four-year course of study, and a guaranteed financial assistance program that promises need-based financial aid packages each year, are just two ways they deliver on that promise. GW offers several need-based awards from both federal funds and private endowment, as well as scholarships based on academic potential. Of students who applied in the 2006-2007 academic year, GW accepted 38 percent.
Pomona College.
Located in Claremont, California, 35 miles from Los Angeles, Pomona is a beautiful campus. It’s also generous; during 2006-2007 alone, Pomona awarded approximately $22,600,000 in scholarships to 800 students. While admission is competitive -- only 18 percent of students were accepted in 2007 -- Pomona gives scholarships based on financial need rather than grades or test scores, unlike most colleges and universities.
Schools Most Likely to Pay Your Full Tuition
Berea College.
Since Berea College was founded in 1855 as the first interracial and coeducational college in the South, the college has charged no tuition. While it costs Berea more than $23,000 per year to support each accepted student, the college is more than willing to foot the bill for low-income Appalachian students who show strong academic potential, throwing in a free laptop computer as well. Thirty of 140 applicants were admitted in 2007; 64 percent of Berea first-year students are first-generation college students.
The Cooper Union New York.
Offering education in art, architecture, and engineering, The Cooper Union accepts exceptional students, giving them all free rides, or full tuition scholarships of $31,5000 per year. Living expenses are all students need to cover. Each year, about 2600 applicants apply, and about 275 are admitted.
Webb Institute: Naval Architecture & Engineering.
Located on the shore of New York’s Long Island Sound, the Webb Institute teaches naval architecture and marine engineering. According to the school’s Web site, students work in the industry every winter, and “sail, water ski, and sail board in their spare time.” The school says that students generally find good jobs in their fields after graduation. Tuition is free, but books and supplies and room and board are not. Demanding at least a B average in physics and mathematics courses, Webb looks at “the entire student” during the Admissions process, including “his or her abilities, attitudes, motivation, and previous performance, both scholastic and extracurricular.”
The Macaulay Honors College at CUNY, Hunter College.
Smack in the middle of Manhattan, the Macaulay Honors College at Hunter College offers all admitted freshmen four full years of tuition at Hunter, a free laptop, a $1000 yearly stipend OR free New York City living in one of Hunter’s residence halls. Add to this a four-year “cultural passport” which provides free or reduced cost entrance to almost all cultural institutions in New York City, and a $7500 Study Grant which students can use to study abroad, take unpaid internships, or help prepare for graduate school exams and other academic resources, and you have a pretty darn good honors program. The Macaulay Honors College at CUNY offers similar programs at the following New York colleges:
-
Baruch College
-
Brooklyn College
-
City College
-
Lehman College
-
Queens College
-
College of Staten Island
For More Information
For a full listing of schools most likely to pay you, see
Where the money is: Schools that award the most (and least) need-based aid.