Amid issues with the FAFSA form, some institutions are offering great scholarships! Find out what are the top 10 colleges for student financial aid!
The cost of attending some four-year colleges and universities has become extremely high, with total expenses – tuition, fees, housing, books, and transportation – approaching $100,000 per year. However, most students and their families don’t end up paying this full amount. To manage these high costs, families typically rely on a combination of their own savings and income along with student financial aid.
This aid can include loans, work-study opportunities, and grants, which help to close the gap between what families can afford and the actual cost of college, explained Sameer Gadkaree, president of The Institute for College Access and Success, a nonprofit focused on making college more affordable. Yet, Gadkaree pointed out that it has become almost impossible for students to cover college costs without taking on debt.
Recent issues with the federal student aid application, known as FAFSA, have added to the concerns of many families. The U.S. Department of Education has already announced a delay in the plan’s availability this year, pushing its release to December, which could complicate the upcoming application season. As Robert Franek, editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review, noted, financial worries are the primary concern for many families, and any FAFSA delays will only increase anxiety.
Given these financial challenges, aid provided directly by colleges can play a crucial role in making education more affordable. The Princeton Review has ranked colleges based on student satisfaction with their financial aid packages. The 2025 edition of their college guide includes data from 168,000 student surveys conducted during the 2023-24 school year.
According to Franek, the top-ranked colleges not only offer substantial financial aid but also actively work to ease concerns about the affordability of higher education. He emphasized that these schools are effectively communicating to students that “you do not have to mortgage your future to pay for school – we are meeting you where you are”. For the top schools on The Princeton Review’s list, the average scholarship grant in the 2023-24 academic year exceeded $70,000.
“The takeaway is that they are noting the difficulty that students are having with financial aid and the general fear around scholarship dollars and literally directing financial aid to defuse that worry and that stress”, Franek said.
Top 10 Colleges for Student Financial Aid
Skidmore College
- Location: Saratoga Springs, New York
- Sticker price: $85,230
- Average need-based scholarship: $53,700
- Total out-of-pocket cost: $31,530
- Average share of need met for first-year students: 100%
Gettysburg College
- Location: Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
- Sticker price: $82,750
- Average need-based scholarship: $54,032
- Total out-of-pocket cost: $28,718
- Average share of need met for first-year students: 90%
Washington University
- Location: St. Louis, Missouri
- Sticker price: $87,644
- Average need-based scholarship: $65,777
- Total out-of-pocket cost: $21,867
- Average share of need met for first-year students: 100%
Olin College of Engineering
- Location: Needham, Massachusetts
- Sticker price: $86,993
- Average need-based scholarship: $56,825
- Total out-of-pocket cost: $30,168
- Average share of need met for first-year students: 100%
Wabash College
- Location: Crawfordsville, Indiana
- Sticker price: $65,200
- Average need-based scholarship: $39,846
- Total out-of-pocket cost: $25,354
- Average share of need met for first-year students: 94%
College of the Atlantic
- Location: Bar Harbor, Maine
- Sticker price: $58,401
- Average need-based scholarship: $39,055
- Total out-of-pocket cost: $19,346
- Average share of need met for first-year students: 96%
Thomas Aquinas College
- Location: Santa Paula, California
- Sticker price: $41,400
- Average need-based scholarship: $18,709
- Total out-of-pocket cost: $22,691
- Average share of need met for first-year students: 100%
Reed College
- Location: Portland, Oregon
- Sticker price: $87,010
- Average need-based scholarship: $47,265
- Total out-of-pocket cost: $39,745
- Average share of need met for first-year students: 100%
Williams College
- Location: Williamstown, Massachusetts
- Sticker price: $85,820
- Average need-based scholarship: $70,764
- Total out-of-pocket cost: $15,056
- Average share of need met for first-year students: 100%
Princeton University
- Location: Princeton, New Jersey
- Sticker price: $82,650
- Average need-based scholarship: $70,246
- Total out-of-pocket cost: $12,404
- Average share of need met for first-year students: 100%