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Lists / Highly Selective Colleges that Meet 100% of Financial Need

Highly Selective Colleges that Meet 100% of Financial Need

Created by College Confidential
Photo: Vlada Karpovich/Pexels

If you are interested in applying to a school with a low acceptance rate and are worried about a possibly high cost of tuition, there is no need to worry. Many highly selective schools provide financial help to ensure students can realistically cover the cost of tuition.

Schools that meet full need offer financial aid to offset the full price of tuition. This means that the school will offer aid equal to the difference between a student’s Expected Family Contribution, which is determined by a variety of factors including income, and the school’s cost of attendance. ​

Colleges can meet full financial need by offering grants, loans, and job opportunities.

Here is a list of highly selective schools with an acceptance rate under 15% that meet 100% of financial need.

Amherst College

At Amherst College the average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $59,861 a year.

  • Amherst College
    Amherst, MA 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate9%
  • The Colorado College

    At The Colorado College, the average financial aid package for an undergraduate student is around $60,181 a year. Currently, 753 of the 2,025 undergrads enrolled have received financial aid.

  • The Colorado College
    Colorado Springs, CO 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate14%
  • Johns Hopkins University

    The average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $53,723 a year. The majority of Johns Hopkins undergrads use financial aid to cover the cost of tuition. In the most recent academic year, 2,765 of the 5,427 undergrads enrolled received financial aid.

  • Johns Hopkins University
    Baltimore, MD 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance RateN.A.
  • Cornell University

    At Cornell, the average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $52,017 a year. In 2021, 7,093 of the 15,043 undergrads enrolled received financial aid.

  • Cornell University
    Ithaca, NY 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate9%
  • Dartmouth College

    At Dartmouth, the average financial aid package is around $56,579 a year for a full-time, first-year students. In 2021, 2,159 of the 4,170 undergrads enrolled received financial aid.

  • Dartmouth College
    Hanover, NH 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate6%
  • Bowdoin College

    The average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $50,204 a year. in 2021, 883 of the 1,777 undergrads enrolled received financial aid.

  • Bowdoin College
    Brunswick, ME 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate9%
  • Bates College

    At Bates, the average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $53,090 a year. In 2021, 737 of the 1,876 undergrads enrolled received financial aid.

  • Bates College
    Lewiston, ME 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate17%
  • Princeton University

    Princeton has an average financial aid package of around $50,459 a year for a full-time, first-year students and majority of undergrads enrolled received financial aid.

  • Princeton University
    Princeton, NJ 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate4%
  • Duke University

    At Duke, the average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $59,056 a year, and the majority of undergrads enrolled received financial aid.

  • Duke University
    Durham, NC 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate8%
  • Northwestern University

    Northwestern has an average financial aid package of around $55,856 a year for full-time, first year students, and the majority of undergrads enrolled receive financial aid.

  • Northwestern University
    Evanston, IL 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate7%
  • California Institute of Technology

    At Caltech, the average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $50,854 a year. Over half of enrolled undergrads received financial aid in the most recent year.

  • California Institute of Technology
    Pasadena, CA 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate4%
  • Stanford University

    The average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student at Stanford is around $59,882 a year. In the most recent year 3,425 of the 6,366 undergrads enrolled received financial aid.

  • Stanford University
    Stanford, CA 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate4%
  • Claremont McKenna College

    At Claremont Mckenna, the average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $58,542 a year. In 2021, 551 of the 1,343 undergrads enrolled received financial aid.

  • Claremont McKenna College
    Claremont, CA 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate11%
  • Pomona College

    At Pomona College the average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $57,406 a year and majority of undergrads enrolled received financial aid.

  • Pomona College
    Claremont, CA 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate7%
  • Rice University

    The average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $53,687 a year. In the most recent year, 1,805 of the 4,076 undergrads enrolled received financial aid.

  • Rice University
    Houston, TX 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate9%
  • Vanderbilt University

    The average Vanderbilt financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $56,842 a year. Around half of undergrads receive financial aid.

  • Vanderbilt University
    Nashville, TN 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate7%
  • Brown University

    At Brown, the average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $56,474 a year. In the most recent year, 2,941 of the 6,792 undergrads enrolled received financial aid.

  • Brown University
    Providence, RI 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate6%
  • University of Pennsylvania

    At University of Pennsylvania, the average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $58,352 a year. In 2021, half of undergrads enrolled received financial aid.

  • University of Pennsylvania
    Philadelphia, PA 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate6%
  • Barnard College

    The average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $46,644 a year. In 2021, 1,001 of the 2,744 undergrads enrolled received financial aid.

  • Barnard College
    New York, NY 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate11%
  • Columbia University

    At Columbia, the average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $60,608 a year, and in 2021, the majority of Columbia undergrads received financial aid.

  • Columbia University
    New York, NY 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate4%
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology

    The average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $54,052 a year. In the most recent year the majority of MIT undergrads received financial aid.

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    Cambridge, MA 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate4%
  • Harvard University

    The majority of Harvard University undergrads use financial aid to help pay for school. In 2021, 3,745 of the 5,222 undergrads enrolled received financial aid. The average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $62,338 a year.

  • Harvard University
    Cambridge, MA 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate5%
  • University of Chicago

    The majority of University of Chicago undergrads use financial aid to to cover the cost of tuition and in the most recent year, 2,717 of 6,989 undergrads received financial aid. The average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $60,875 a year.

  • University of Chicago
    Chicago, IL 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate6%
  • Yale University

    In the most recent year, 2,676 of the 4,703 undergrads at Yale received financial aid. The average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $61,407 a year.

  • Yale University
    New Haven, CT 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate5%
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