Colleges Offering Merit Aid to 95%+ of Students Without Need

Colleges with best financial aid

Colleges Offering Merit Aid to 95%+ of Students Without Need

Published September 4, 2019

Colleges with best financial aid
If you’re a family that won’t qualify for need-based aid, it’s time to start looking for merit scholarships.

What Are Merit Scholarships?

Merit-based aid is money colleges award that is not based on any financial need.
These scholarships are usually awarded based on academic performance and sometimes based on special talents in athletics, sports, the arts, etc.
If a school determines your family does not have a financial need (even though you may not agree), your student can still be awarded merit aid.
Not all colleges award merit aid, so it’s important to know which schools do award merit-based scholarships to a large percentage of their freshmen class.

Using Data to Find Merit Scholarships

We did a sort of our database of colleges and ranked them by the percent of students, without financial need, who received merit-based scholarships.
Our data is based on the latest IPEDs data and publicly available Common Data Set files that colleges publish on their websites.
Data on merit scholarships primarily comes from information in a college’s Common Data Set.
Unfortunately, not all colleges make this information public, so our college list may not be completely inclusive of all the appropriate schools.
But for the purpose of giving a glimpse into the colleges that award merit scholarships to the greatest percentage of students, this is a good start.
In addition to looking at what percent of students without need receive merit aid, data on graduation rates, average size of merit aid, and total price is also included.
You can sort the data by any column. It’s important to remember that just because a college offers merit aid to a large percentage of freshmen, doesn’t mean the amount they offer is significant enough compared to the total cost of the college.
In addition, it’s important to consider graduation rates. Most schools only offer merit aid for four years, so graduating in five years or longer can add significant expense.

NameStateType4 yr Grad- uation Rate5 yr Grad- uation Rate% Fresh- men W/out Need% Freshmen W/out Need Receiving Merit AidAvg Merit Award for Freshmen W/out NeedTotal Price 16-17 (Out-of-State Students)Common Data Set Year
Abilene Christian UniversityTXPrivate486124114$12,937$45,9802016-17
University of UtahUTPublic295350111$7,276$41,355
2017-18
Ferrum CollegeVAPrivate19292110$11,802$45,4802016-17
Westminster CollegeMOPrivate566331107$10,864$38,6502014-15
DePauw UniversityINPrivate788334107$24,251$60,8882017-18
George Fox UniversityORPrivate566322105$14,413$47,3282017-18
Malone UniversityOHPrivate455212104$14,850$42,6502017-18
Schreiner UniversityTXPrivate424516100$9,977$37,2312015-16
Drury UniversityMOPrivate465331100$10,765$38,3412017-18
Barton CollegeNCPrivate374910100$11,557$44,2862017-18
Central CollegeIAPrivate586413100$12,893$49,2142016-17
Seton Hill UniversityPAPrivate435514100$12,918$48,4702015-16
Saint John Fisher CollegeNYPrivate657216100$13,272$46,1202017-18
Mount Vernon Nazarene UniversityOHPrivate565711100$13,799$39,1662016-17
Mount Mary UniversityWIPrivate26399100$13,973$43,8502016-17
Oberlin CollegeOHPrivate718446100$16,847$68,6702017-18
Wheeling Jesuit UniversityWVPrivate485715100$17,087$39,0062016-17
Mount Saint Mary's UniversityCAPrivate49614100$17,739$56,4552017-18
Goshen CollegeINPrivate566615100$17,970$46,3002017-18
California Lutheran UniversityCAPrivate677323100$19,444$57,9122016-17
Cardinal Stritch UniversityWIPrivate275038100$19,678$41,8442017-18
Lenoir-Rhyne UniversityNCPrivate354510100$19,779$49,340
2017-18
Luther CollegeIAPrivate727818100$20,486$52,5952017-18
Nazareth CollegeNYPrivate586713100$20,933$48,2992017-18
Cazenovia CollegeNYPrivate41433100$21,011$48,8202017-18
Wittenberg UniversityOHPrivate626715100$21,589$51,4162016-17
Capital UniversityOHPrivate535915100$22,863$47,1402017-18
Hollins UniversityVAPrivate505316100$25,759$52,4352015-16
Beloit CollegeWIPrivate647138100$25,897$57,5062016-17
Wabash CollegeINPrivate647118100$28,340$53,1502017-18
Agnes Scott CollegeGAPrivate666916100$29,363$51,992
2017-18
Lipscomb UniversityTNPrivate48563299$12,865$46,0462016-17
Bethel UniversityMNPrivate68752099$15,500$48,986
2017-18
Messiah CollegePAPrivate73762499$15,583$46,590
2016-17
University of Puget SoundWAPrivate70784299$16,832$61,652
2016-17
University of DaytonOHPrivate59743199$17,549$56,3702017-18
Southwestern UniversityTXPrivate66713399$22,126$52,6502016-17
Neumann UniversityPAPrivate30491298$10,120$44,1962016-17
Aurora UniversityILPrivate41561498$11,637$36,0682016-17
Point Park UniversityPAPrivate51571098$13,160$36,068
2015-16
Palm Beach Atlantic UniversityFLPrivate40492098$13,237$44,004
2017-18
Baldwin Wallace UniversityOHPrivate54661898$14,011$44,6462016-17
Houston Baptist UniversityTXPrivate25401998$14,160$43,832
2016-17
Hardin-Simmons UniversityTXPrivate37521598$15,249$37,944
2017-18
Hamline UniversityMNPrivate51581098$15,898$50,755
2016-17
University of La VerneCAPrivate48641398$16,896$57,849
2014-15
Goucher CollegeMDPrivate48602798$19,581$59,416
2017-18
John Carroll UniversityOHPrivate65752498$21,195$53,740
2016-17
Alma CollegeMIPrivate56651398$21,206$50,613
2015-16
Lebanon Valley CollegePAPrivate72751398$21,402$54,930
2017-18
University of Detroit MercyMIPrivate45643198$22,176$53,574
2016-17
Bridgewater CollegeVAPrivate58651498$22,511$47,940
2017-18
Augustana CollegeILPrivate71762398$23,237$51,8582017-18
Allegheny CollegePAPrivate70751998$25,905$58,9202017-18
Mississippi State UniversityMSPublic32542997$4,036$36,7022017-18
Walla Walla UniversityWAPrivate24463197$10,457$38,133
2016-17
Texas Wesleyan UniversityTXPrivate17254697$11,231$41,530
2016-17
Rose-Hulman Institute of TechnologyINPrivate69803797$11,758$62,503
2016-17
Covenant CollegeGAPrivate59652797$13,034$44,700
2016-17
Hobart William Smith CollegesNYPrivate72763397$13,688$67,316
2016-17
Eckerd CollegeFLPrivate61663197$16,285$57,162
2017-18
Gordon CollegeMAPrivate61692797$16,886$48,6722017-18
Elizabethtown CollegePAPrivate69742097$17,589$56,2002011-12
Xavier UniversityOHPrivate62713297$18,351$50,8802016-17
Juniata CollegePAPrivate72752897$19,204$56,0102014-15
Trinity UniversityTXPrivate68764997$20,388$54,7142016-17
Austin CollegeTXPrivate69732597$24,114$52,0472017-18
Hendrix CollegeARPrivate64691797$27,435$58,1202016-17
Lycoming CollegePAPrivate59691297$28,502$51,6522017-18
Albion CollegeMIPrivate61701397$28,917$54,1502017-18
California State University-NorthridgeCAPublic10361596$1,173$31,6492015-16
Wentworth Institute of TechnologyMAPrivate47632296$4,716$52,5042016-17
Calvin CollegeMIPrivate62753096$10,663$45,2702015-16
Averett UniversityVAPrivate34411396$13,144$44,3362014-15
Saint Ambrose UniversityIAPrivate53631696$14,455$43,5032017-18
Marquette UniversityWIPrivate60793696$15,206$53,4852017-18
Hampden-Sydney CollegeVAPrivate60653096$20,519$59,2482016-17
Kalamazoo CollegeMIPrivate73802096$20,728$57,1162017-18
Centre CollegeKYPrivate85863596$23,084$52,4602017-18
Bellarmine UniversityKYPrivate53621596$25,298$57,7942016-17
University of MaineMEPublic36553095$6,073$42,8622016-17
Oklahoma Christian UniversityOKPrivate33473495$7,184$32,5702016-17
Drexel UniversityPAPrivate27663095$14,619$71,3752016-17
Hillsdale CollegeMIPrivate73834695$15,192$38,9222016-17
Ohio Northern UniversityOHPrivate60721995$16,160$44,7282016-17
Eastern Mennonite UniversityVAPrivate47601495$16,738$47,6002016-17
Saint Michael's CollegeVTPrivate73782895$17,100$55,4552016-17
DeSales UniversityPAPrivate59672095$17,423$50,7602016-17
Linfield College-McMinnville CampusORPrivate57691995$19,324$54,7302016-17
Pacific UniversityORPrivate48571395$20,244$55,6062016-17
Willamette UniversityORPrivate70773095$22,438$60,9992016-17
Lawrence UniversityWIPrivate64783195$23,151$56,8232017-18

Due to lack of consistent sources, the data in this chart is from multiple years. IPEDS data (graduation rate and total price) is from ’16-’17. Common Data Set information (freshmen w/o need and average merit award) is from the most recent year of publically available data. Percentages that are over 100% may come from mistakes in information that is self-reported by colleges.

Looking for Generous Colleges for YOUR Student?

If you’re looking for colleges that will be generous to YOUR student, we recommend you check out our College Insights tool.
It will provide you with a list of schools that will be most generous with their money based on your child’s stats and preferences.
All the information is in one place, so you don’t have to hop from college website to college website in order to find what you’re looking for.
Try our College Insights tool today!

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