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Lists / Selective Colleges that Meet 100% of Financial Need

Selective Colleges that Meet 100% of Financial Need

Created by College Confidential
Photo: Vlada Karpovich/Pexels

If you are interested in applying to a selective college and are worried about the possibility of a high tuition price, there is no need to worry. Many selective schools provide financial help to ensure students can realistically cover the cost of tuition.

Schools that meet 100% need have financial aid options to offset the full price of tuition. This means that the school will offer aid to fill in 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 selective schools that meet 100% of financial need.

Lafayette College

The average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student at Lafayette College is around $35,000 a year. In the most recent year 816 of the 2,514 undergrads enrolled at Lafayette received financial aid.

  • Lafayette College
    Easton, PA 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate41%
  • Kenyon College

    At Kenyon College, the average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $43,914 a year. In 2021, 776 of the 1,617 undergrads enrolled at Kenyon received financial aid.

  • Kenyon College
    Gambier, OH 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate37%
  • Middlebury College

    The average financial aid package for a student at Middlebury College is around $55,069 a year. At Middlebury, over half of enrolled undergrads use financial aid to help pay for school.

  • Middlebury College
    Middlebury, VT 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate13%
  • Washington and Lee University

    At Washington and Lee, the average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $59,667 a year. In 2021, 825 of the 1,822 undergrads received financial aid.

  • Washington and Lee University
    Lexington, VA 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate19%
  • Oberlin College

    At Oberlin College the average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $47,452 a year. In the most recent academic year, 1,405 of the 2,647 undergrads enrolled at Oberlin received financial aid.

  • Oberlin College
    Oberlin, OH 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate34%
  • Colgate University

    The average financial aid package for a student at Colgate University is around $62,415 a year. In 2021, 975 of the 3,042 undergrads at Colgate University received financial aid.

  • Colgate University
    Hamilton, NY 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate17%
  • Hamilton College

    The average financial aid package for a student at Hamilton College is around $53,018 a year. In 2021, 1,000 of the 1,900 undergrads enrolled at Hamilton College received financial aid.

  • Hamilton College
    Clinton, NY 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate14%
  • Carleton College

    The average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $54,854 a year at Carleton College. In 2021, 1,158 of the 1,940 undergrads enrolled at Carleton College used financial aid to finance their education.

  • Carleton College
    Northfield, MN 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate18%
  • Mount Holyoke College

    At Mount Holyoke College, the average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $42,815 a year. In 2021, 1,315 of the 1,915 undergrads at Mount Holyoke received financial aid.

  • Mount Holyoke College
    South Hadley, MA 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate52%
  • Smith College

    The average financial aid package for a student at Smith University is around $40,765 a year. In 2021, well over half of the undergraduate students at Smith used financial aid to to cover the cost of tuition.

  • Smith College
    Northampton, MA 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate37%
  • Williams College

    The average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student at Williams College is around $51,972 a year. In the most recent academic year, 1,032 of 1,962 undergrads enrolled at Williams received financial aid.

  • Williams College
    Williamstown, MA 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate9%
  • Grinnell College

    The average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student at Grinnell College is around $49,436 a year. Over half of the undergrad students at Grinnell College use financial aid to to cover the cost of tuition.

  • Grinnell College
    Grinnell, IA 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate11%
  • Connecticut College

    At Connecticut College the average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $46,902 a year. In 2021, 927 of the 1,737 undergrads enrolled at Connecticut College received financial aid.

  • Connecticut College
    New London, CT 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate41%
  • University of Virginia

    The average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student at The University of Virginia is around $29,925 a year. In 2021, 5,827 of the 17,311 undergrads enrolled received financial aid.

  • University of Virginia
    Charlottesville, VA 4-Year, Public
    Acceptance Rate21%
  • University of Richmond

    At The University of Richmond the average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $53,629 a year. In the most recent academic year, over half of Richmond undergrads used financial aid to to cover the cost of tuition.

  • University of Richmond
    University of Richmond, VA 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate29%
  • Haverford College

    The average financial aid package for a student at Haverford College is around $55,852 a year. In 2021, 589 of the 1,307 undergrads enrolled at Haverford received financial aid.

  • Haverford College
    Haverford, PA 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate18%
  • Bryn Mawr College

    The average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $52,557 a year.

  • Bryn Mawr College
    Bryn Mawr, PA 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate39%
  • Franklin & Marshall College

    The average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student at Franklin & Marshall College is around $58,315 a year. Most recently, 1,286 of the 2,254 undergrads enrolled received financial aid.

  • Franklin & Marshall College
    Lancaster, PA 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate38%
  • Denison University

    At Denison University, the average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $47,449 a year. In the most recent academic year 1,131 of the 2,258 undergrads enrolled received financial aid.

  • Denison University
    Granville, OH 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate26%
  • Vassar College

    The average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student at Vassar is around $55,995 a year. Just over half of Vassar undergrads use financial aid to to cover the cost of tuition.

  • Vassar College
    Poughkeepsie, NY 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate20%
  • The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

    At UNC Chapel Hill, the average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $17,600 a year. In 2021, 8,369 of the 19,399 undergrads enrolled received financial aid.

  • The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
    Chapel Hill, NC 4-Year, Public
    Acceptance Rate19%
  • Wake Forest University

    The average financial aid package for a Wake Forest student is around $58,372 a year. In 2021, 1,467 of the 5,441 undergrads enrolled at Woke Forest received financial aid.

  • Wake Forest University
    Winston-Salem, NC 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate25%
  • Tufts University

    At Tufts, the average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $50,302 a year. In 2021, 2,200 of the 6,114 undergrads enrolled at Tufts received financial aid.

  • Tufts University
    Medford, MA 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate11%
  • Wellesley College

    The average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year students at Wellesley is around $59,632 a year. In the most recent academic year over half of enrolled undergrads at Wellesley received financial aid.

  • Wellesley College
    Wellesley, MA 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate20%
  • Boston College

    At Boston College the average financial aid package is around $46,417 a year. In 2021, 3,955 of the 9,445 undergrads enrolled at Boston College received financial aid.

  • Boston College
    Chestnut Hill, MA 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate19%
  • College of the Holy Cross

    The average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student at Holy Cross is around $44,288 a year. In 2021, over half of undergraduate students at Holy Cross received financial aid.

  • College of the Holy Cross
    Worcester, MA 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate43%
  • University of Notre Dame

    At Notre Dame, the average financial aid package is around $55,639 a year. Around half of undergrads at Notre Dame use financial aid to finance their education.

  • University of Notre Dame
    Notre Dame, IN 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate15%
  • Wesleyan University

    The average financial aid package for full-time, first-year students at Wesleyan is around $63,036 a year. In 2021 nearly half of Wesleyan undergrads received financial aid.

  • Wesleyan University
    Middletown, CT 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate19%
  • Harvey Mudd College

    At Harvey Mudd, the average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $51,118 a year. Most recently, 442 of the 854 Harvey Mudd undergrads received financial aid.

  • Harvey Mudd College
    Claremont, CA 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate10%
  • Reed College

    For first-year students at Reed College, the average financial aid package is around $48,044 a year. Over half of undergrad students at the college received financial aid in the most recent academic year.

  • Reed College
    Portland, OR 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate31%
  • Union College

    At Union College, the average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $48,910 a year. In the most recent year, over half of undergraduate students at Union College received financial aid.

  • Union College
    Schenectady, NY 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate47%
  • Washington University in St. Louis

    At Washington University in St. Louis, the average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $55,624 a year. In the most recent year, 2,951 of the 7,653 undergrads enrolled received financial aid.

  • Washington University in St. Louis
    St. Louis, MO 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate13%
  • Georgetown University

    The average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student at Georgetown is around $42,920 a year. In 2021, 2,456 of the 7,357 Georgetown undergraduate students received financial aid.

  • Georgetown University
    Washington, DC 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate12%
  • Trinity College

    The average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $50,612 a year at Trinity College. In the most recent year, over half of enrolled undergrads at Trinity received financial aid.

  • Trinity College
    Hartford, CT 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate36%
  • Occidental College

    At Occidental College, the average financial aid package for a full-time, first-year student is around $52,300 a year. In 2021, 1,158 of 1,839 Occidental undergrads received financial aid.

  • Occidental College
    Los Angeles, CA 4-Year, Private
    Acceptance Rate38%
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