The 13 Colleges With The Best Financial Aid

As college tuition rapidly becomes more expensive, a good financial aid package is an imperative part of the collegiate decision making process.

To that end, Princeton Review named the colleges with the best financial aid. Pennsylvania liberal arts college Swarthmore topped the list, with ivy league Princeton University coming in second.

Check out our slide show of the 13 colleges with the best financial aid, then tell us, how important was financial aid to your college decision? Weigh in below!

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Swarthmore College

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Comments

[CAPTK]

02:03 PM on 09/02/2011

Financial aid has been HUGE for my decisions. To this point, I have a BS, two Masters, and am working on a PhD now. The undergrad and the PhD both are from what are considered by most ranking systems to be in the top tier of global universities, and to date my out of pocket expense for tuition has been a grand total of $450.

(no, I'm not missing any zeroes there)

[brooksjohnson9]

02:25 AM on 08/28/2011

Are they kidding, with the cost of these schools, you will still be paying 50 years later!

[Laura Stevenson]

05:01 PM on 08/20/2011

Financial aid was the number one factor when I chose where to go to college. I am very lucky to have financial aid through the Council of Independent Colleges tuition exchange program--basically, a tuition waiver. With various scholarships and very little in loans, my education has been affordable so far. I compromised academic rigor and social atmosphere in order to avoid massive debt. And while I have never been unhappy, I do sometimes wish things could have been different. I just hope that I can attend a good graduate program for my M.S. (and hopefully with another waiver or fellowship). That would absolutely make my decision worthwhile, since everyone says that the school where you get your graduate degree/s are most important than undergrad.

[Tyler Hendrix]

04:37 AM on 08/21/2011

Financial aid makes me a Nervous Rex.

[Alex Salen]

05:55 PM on 08/19/2011

I'd like to know how much your family's income plays into getting accepted to some of these places first. My family had an income of $0 for a couple of years. I almost had to leave my high school because of it, but my high school was run by good people who were willing to let me take several years to pay. I also had a 4.6 GPA, was highly successful in 2 varsity sports, in NHS, an IB diploma candidate, participated in theater, and part of more clubs than was really acceptable. I hardly slept. I worked hard. I fainted at school from time to time because I worked so hard to go to a top school. I got a 32 ACT score.

I hardly got in anywhere and I can't help but suspect that it had something to do with the fact that my family's income was so low that these schools would have to let me go for free.

[TobacXela]

10:03 AM on 08/25/2011

Admission to almost all of these schools is need-blind, which means the admissions office has no idea whether or not you qualify for financial aid, and even if it did, they would never act on it. These schools WANT people with diverse incomes - Yale, at least, brags about how many students they have on financial aid to demonstrate economic diversity. If anything, your family income would have helped your application, not hurt it. Plenty of people with better scores and extracurriculars than you don't get into these schools - it had nothing to do with your income. (And I know this because I go to Yale - for free. My family makes less than $25,000/year.) Get over yourself.

[xrepublican]

10:12 PM on 08/16/2011

Brown has funded scholarships that pay based on need - you get in and your costs are covered.

Funded by a guy who spent one year there - all he could afford. Made the Forbes 400 list later in life - and the philanthropy list at the same time. First recipient (now graduated) was a girl from a family that made $17,000 a year. Full freight. Lots of kids who'd never be able to afford it otherwise - 20-30 a year. But you still have to get accepted.

[Tim Steigenga]

01:32 PM on 08/16/2011

Financial Aid is great but it is even better when tuition and fees are one-fifth the cost in the first place. For the best value in higher education see the Wilkes Honors College of Florida Atlantic University: www.honorscollege.edu

[lhpr11]

07:22 PM on 08/15/2011

this is the reason why i enjoy the Huffington Post, they have a great college section, and they have information that is useful to college students. This list will be helpful when i am looking into graduate school, but i still have to work hard at my undergraduate studies to give myself a chance to attend the schools mentioned above.

[notoriusbrut]

08:50 AM on 08/16/2011

financial aid is a federal standard that's teh exact same at any accredited school. if they would have details about how this list was made that could help you - i.e. institutional scholarships, federal grant programs outside of financial aid's realm, out of state grants, grants for certain majors, etc... PS my professional certification carries way more weight than my masters education, piece of advice - don't just buy paper to have paper, research, weigh your options and do what's best for you - good luck!!

[palindrom]

08:57 AM on 08/17/2011

"financial aid is a federal standard that's teh exact same at any accredited school."

I don't think that's true -- I know the level of financial aid to grant is a major topic of disucssion at my school, indicating that we have considerable leeway. Now, federal grants and loans, that may be another story, but these institutions do put aside a fair amount of their budget for financial aid.

[realpragmatist]

09:32 AM on 08/16/2011

I am glad that you are thinking about grad school. All the best. From my life experience, and knowing others, please remember that these Ivy League and Ivy League caliber schools only give you a beginning. It is what you get out of the school by your hard work and your interest to learn that ultimately decides what you get out of it, irrespective of the school you get into.
In other words, more than the "brand equity" of school that you go to, irrespective of what school you attend, you get what you put into, and the people skills you develop and the fun you have.
All the best. If possible, please don't stop until you have a Phd if you have the interest and ability to do so.

[Old Cav Trooper]

01:29 PM on 08/15/2011

Richmond? Cheap buggers didn't give me one cent in aid back in the seventies.

[mcbull]

01:26 PM on 08/15/2011

Very important. Could not have attended without it. Reed College was very good with financial aid.

[PhunkeyPhish]

01:01 PM on 08/15/2011

yeah New College!

[realpragmatist]

01:00 PM on 08/15/2011

The problem with this list is that it is next to impossible (and I mean literally "next to impossible" as I do not like to use absolutes like "impossible") to get into HYPMS (Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, and Stanford) unless you have studied in some expensive prep school like Andover-Phillips Academy or Harker (San Jose). The advantages of studying in such schools in going to these top Ivies is pronounced. Else, you have to be a legacy case. Other than this, it is "next to impossible".

[hstdem]

01:24 PM on 08/15/2011

My daughter graduated from a parochial high school in Kansas and went to MIT.

[onlyaquarterdelusional]

12:47 PM on 08/16/2011

Good for you. Pat yourself on the back. You deserve it...from just another parent.

[hstdem]

01:27 PM on 08/15/2011

Also, thanks to Pell Grants and other financial aid, she ended up owing $3000 in loans, which were paid off last year.

BTW- her father works full-time for the KS National Guard.

[Oakland]

12:23 PM on 08/15/2011

What a pile. Unless it's a legacy, minority, or some whiz kid that graduated HS at age 12, it isn't going to happen. I know tons of kids with 3.9 GPAs and high SAT and ACT scores that they just pass right over. One of these kids have their parents in bankruptcy, and they got zip. Grants and Ivy's are rigged. George W. Bush proved that.

[ricchh]

01:07 PM on 08/15/2011

Yes, you do have to be smart to get into an ivy league school, surprise, surprise. Yes, there are many "smart" kids that apply, but like any position, only a few will be accepted. That's the way it is.

[Oakland]

06:53 AM on 08/17/2011

legacies and diversity - tell the story.

[hstdem]

01:25 PM on 08/15/2011

My daughter worked her butt off all through high school and was accepted to MIT.

She graduated two years ago and got a job immediately.

[UniversalStop]

01:40 PM on 08/15/2011

Congratulations, but that doesn't mean that she's the norm.

[realpragmatist]

05:43 PM on 08/15/2011

She is an exception about whom you should rightfully to be very proud. You and her have earned your bragging rights. I would also be very happy if I was that good. I mean all this in the most positive way. Congrats to you as a parent. I wish I could have made my parents that happy. MIT was my dream school for graduate program. I did not even dare apply.

[vespachild]

11:46 AM on 08/15/2011

well is there another way to go to a private college other than some kind of fincancial aid?
i mean state schools (like Rutgers where i went) are becoming more and more expensive, and it is hard to pay for them too

[mrm3]

11:36 AM on 08/15/2011

Just reinforced the personal policy I have of not going to get a Master's degree unless it's at an Ivy

[palindrom]

09:35 PM on 08/15/2011

Are you actually thinking of getting a Masters, and if so, (a) why, and (b) in what subject? I'm genuinely curious.

[tarheel08]

11:34 AM on 08/15/2011

One school left out is Berea College in Kentucky. The college's mission is to give an education to the poor, & the students are responsible for all but $1k per year of a private education. I've known people who've worked and taught there, and its a place I highly recommend to those living in the Appalachia region of the US but may not be able to afford a traditional private college.

[UniversalStop]

01:41 PM on 08/15/2011

I was also wondering why Berea wasn't on the list.

[palindrom]

09:36 PM on 08/15/2011

I think it's a magnificent idea, and it seems to be realized very well also