Part 1: Middle-Class Families CAN Go to College for Free!
Using College Board’s financial aid data is vital - we’ll walk you through it!
The best place to look for colleges that provide full financial aid is the US News and World Report.
How can middle class families get a full ride? Or full tuition? What’s the difference?
List of colleges that provide full financial aid.
Step-by-step: how to check how much financial aid a school typically provides.
Get a prediction of how much financial aid YOUR family will get!
Frustrated That You Can’t Get Financial Aid But Can’t Afford to Pay Full Price?
The three biggest myths about financial aid:
What colleges meet 100% of need - meaning they pay everything that (the FAFSA says) you can’t afford?
Prestigious schools like Harvard and Stanford meet 100% of need - selective, private colleges with large endowments! Public universities often don’t meet nearly as much need - look at the differences between Harvard and SUNY Binghamton (data from bigfuture.collegeboard.org).
Here are the four financial aid metrics to look at (circled below on each screenshot):
Percentage of need met
Percentage of kids whose full need was met
Scholarships/grants vs loans/work-study
Average indebtedness at graduation
From Harvard College’s “Costs” page on bigfuture.collegeboard.org
From SUNY Binghamton’s “Costs” page on bigfuture.collegeboard.org
What is the ideal value for each of the four circled financial aid metrics?
Had full need met: 100%
Average indebtedness at graduation: no more than $5500/year (so $22K total or thereabouts)
100% of need met
Financial aid distribution - a higher amount for scholarships/grants = money you don’t have to pay back
How do I find a college that will meet 100% of need?
US News College Rankings - easy place to start. The higher they’re ranked, the more likely they are to give you a full ride. Don’t forget that small liberal arts colleges are ALSO part of this list - places like Amherst, Williams, and Swarthmore meet 100% of need.
Can middle class families get a full ride or free tuition to college?
Most families underestimate how much money they’ll get from a school. Most of the very “expensive” schools actually guarantee FULL RIDES or FREE TUITION to middle class students with incomes up to $125k!What’s the difference between a “full ride” vs “free tuition”?
Full ride = free tuition + free room & boardFree tuition = just tuition is paid for; you need to cover your own room and board
How much is room and board usually?
Between $15-20K per yearIs there a list of elite/prestigious schools that guarantee full rides/free tuition?
Stanford University
full ride for families under $100K
Free tuition for families earning between $100K - $150K
Princeton University
Full ride under $65K
Free tuition for families making between $160K
Dartmouth College - free tuition for families under $125K
MIT - free tuition for families under $140K
Yale University - full ride under $75K
Harvard University - full ride under $85K
Duke University
full ride under $65K
free tuition under $150K
Columbia University
full ride under $66K
free tuition for families under $150K
Cornell University - full ride under $75K
Brown University - full ride under $60K
Rice University
Full ride for families under $75K
Free tuition for families under $140K
Half tuition for families under $200K
University of Pennsylvania - full ride under $75K
Texas A&M University
Full ride under $60K
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - free ride under $80K (in-state students)
Wondering about a college that's not listed as "having a full ride" above? Here's how to look:
1. Look on bigfuture.collegeboard.org for schools that meet 100% of your need, or as close to it as possible.
2. If they meet 100% of financial need: Go to that school’s financial aid page and search for the words “income threshold.” Here’s an example from Columbia:
This means that they will calculate the EFC of any family with a total income of less than $60k as $0 a year. Paired with a 100% need met guarantee, they will cover everything for such a student - a full ride.
3. These thresholds are not very common EXCEPT among elite schools: If you don’t see it, the school likely doesn’t have it.
If they don’t have an income threshold, then look for the % of need met. The higher % of need met, the more money they will offer you.
Can I find out exactly what financial aid I can expect from college for MY family, given MY finances?
Google the school’s name + net price calculator: Eg. “yale net price calculator”. In about 2 minutes, it will ask you some basic questions, and you will be able to get three estimates - low, best, and high. (You’ll notice that Yale is also a no-loan school.)
Is it true: Good financial aid only comes with Ivies and highly selective schools?
You’re right - schools with the best aid policies have some of the lowest acceptance rates - they don’t give out merit aid because no student would not qualify. But don’t worry! Check our blog for more information on merit-based aid, which focuses on slightly less competitive colleges - allowing star students to go to slightly less selective schools for a full ride or huge tuition reduction.
