Best Colleges: Economic Diversity: Liberal Arts Colleges
Economic diversity has received growing attention in higher education, particularly at elite schools that haven't traditionally enrolled large numbers of low-income students or students from low-income families. This table shows the percentage of undergraduates receiving federal Pell grants for low-income students. The proportion of students on Pell grants, which are most often given to undergrads with family incomes under $20,000, isn't a perfect measure of an institution's efforts to achieve economic diversity: A college might enroll a large number of students just above the Pell cutoff, for instance, and percentages at public universities may reflect the wide variation from state to state in the number of qualified low-income students. Still, many experts say that Pell figures are the best available gauge of how many low-income undergrads there are on a given campus. Pell grant percentages were calculated using 2007-2008 data on grant recipients collected by the U.S. Dept. of Education and given to U.S. News and fall 2007 total undergraduate enrollment collected from the colleges themselves by U.S. News.
| Percent of undergraduates receiving Pell grants: | |
|---|---|
| Lane College Jackson, TN | 90% |
| Jarvis Christian College Hawkins, TX | 84% |
| Talladega College Talladega, AL | 82% |
| Rust College Holly Springs, MS | 78% |
| Tougaloo College Tougaloo, MS | 75% |
| Paine College Augusta, GA | 74% |
| Dillard University New Orleans, LA | 73% |
| Johnson C. Smith University Charlotte, NC | 67% |
| Lindsey Wilson College Columbia, KY | 66% |
| Pine Manor College Chestnut Hill, MA | 65% |
| Bloomfield College Bloomfield, NJ | 62% |
| Bennett College Greensboro, NC | 61% |
| Olivet College Olivet, MI | 52% |
| Doane College Crete, NE | 51% |
| Salem College Winston-Salem, NC | 49% |
| West Virginia State University Institute, WV | 49% |
| Fisk University Nashville, TN | 47% |
| Atlantic Union College South Lancaster, MA | 47% |
| Ferrum College Ferrum, VA | 47% |
| Sterling College Sterling, KS | 43% |
| Evangel University Springfield, MO | 43% |
| Wells College Aurora, NY | 42% |
| California State University--Monterey Bay Seaside, CA | 41% |
| Guilford College Greensboro, NC | 40% |
| Spelman College Atlanta, GA | 40% |
| McPherson College McPherson, KS | 39% |
| Wesleyan College Macon, GA | 38% |
| Morehouse College Atlanta, GA | 38% |
| Thiel College Greenville, PA | 37% |
| Bethany College Bethany, WV | 37% |
| Colorado State University--Pueblo Pueblo, CO | 36% |
| University of Virginia--Wise Wise, VA | 36% |
| Lyon College Batesville, AR | 36% |
| Lambuth University Jackson, TN | 36% |
| Northland College Ashland, WI | 36% |
| Clarke College Dubuque, IA | 36% |
| Peace College Raleigh, NC | 35% |
| Emory and Henry College Emory, VA | 34% |
| North Greenville University Tigerville, SC | 34% |
| Carson-Newman College Jefferson City, TN | 33% |
| Huntingdon College Montgomery, AL | 33% |
| Texas Lutheran University Seguin, TX | 33% |
| Albertus Magnus College New Haven, CT | 33% |
| Brevard College Brevard, NC | 32% |
| University of Wisconsin--Parkside Kenosha, WI | 32% |
| Mesa State College Grand Junction, CO | 32% |
| Hollins University Roanoke, VA | 32% |
| Hiram College Hiram, OH | 32% |
| Houghton College Houghton, NY | 32% |
| Bethel College North Newton, KS | 31% |
| Oglethorpe University Atlanta, GA | 31% |
| Green Mountain College Poultney, VT | 31% |
| Cedar Crest College Allentown, PA | 31% |
| Agnes Scott College Decatur, GA | 31% |
| Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts North Adams, MA | 30% |
| Greensboro College Greensboro, NC | 30% |
| Millikin University Decatur, IL | 30% |
| Eastern Mennonite University Harrisonburg, VA | 29% |
| Maryville College Maryville, TN | 29% |
| Stephens College Columbia, MO | 29% |
| Monmouth College Monmouth, IL | 29% |
| Hastings College Hastings, NE | 29% |
| Metropolitan State College of Denver Denver, CO | 29% |
| University of Maine--Machias Machias, ME | 28% |
| Wingate University Wingate, NC | 28% |
| West Virginia Wesleyan College Buckhannon, WV | 28% |
| Eckerd College St. Petersburg, FL | 28% |
| Fort Lewis College Durango, CO | 28% |
| Mount Union College Alliance, OH | 28% |
| St. John's College Santa Fe, NM | 28% |
| Illinois College Jacksonville, IL | 27% |
| Sierra Nevada College Incline Village, NV | 27% |
| Alma College Alma, MI | 27% |
| Albright College Reading, PA | 27% |
| University of Minnesota--Morris Morris, MN | 27% |
| Ripon College Ripon, WI | 26% |
| Concordia College Bronxville, NY | 26% |
| Randolph College Lynchburg, VA | 26% |
| Smith College Northampton, MA | 26% |
| College of the Atlantic Bar Harbor, ME | 26% |
| Meredith College Raleigh, NC | 26% |
| Virginia Wesleyan College Norfolk, VA | 26% |
| Asbury College Wilmore, KY | 26% |
| Whittier College Whittier, CA | 25% |
| Lake Forest College Lake Forest, IL | 25% |
| Nebraska Wesleyan University Lincoln, NE | 25% |
| Coastal Carolina University Conway, SC | 25% |
| Hartwick College Oneonta, NY | 25% |
| College of Idaho Caldwell, ID | 25% |
| Warren Wilson College Asheville, NC | 25% |
| American Jewish University Bel Air, CA | 25% |
| Simpson College Indianola, IA | 24% |
| Lycoming College Williamsport, PA | 24% |
| Coe College Cedar Rapids, IA | 24% |
| St. Andrews Presbyterian College Laurinburg, NC | 24% |
| Goshen College Goshen, IN | 24% |
| Wartburg College Waverly, IA | 24% |
| University of Wisconsin--Green Bay Green Bay, WI | 23% |
| Millsaps College Jackson, MS | 23% |
| Carroll College Helena, MT | 23% |
| Westminster College New Wilmington, PA | 22% |
| Bennington College Bennington, VT | 22% |
| Georgetown College Georgetown, KY | 22% |
| Cornell College Mount Vernon, IA | 22% |
| Knox College Galesburg, IL | 22% |
| University of North Carolina--Asheville Asheville, NC | 22% |
| St. Vincent College Latrobe, PA | 22% |
| Westminster College Fulton, MO | 21% |
| Central College Pella, IA | 21% |
| Bridgewater College Bridgewater, VA | 21% |
| Transylvania University Lexington, KY | 21% |
| Earlham College Richmond, IN | 20% |
| Marymount Manhattan College New York, NY | 20% |
| Wittenberg University Springfield, OH | 20% |
| Mount Holyoke College South Hadley, MA | 20% |
| Allegheny College Meadville, PA | 20% |
| Occidental College Los Angeles, CA | 19% |
| Concordia College--Moorhead Moorhead, MN | 19% |
| Berry College Mount Berry, GA | 19% |
| Austin College Sherman, TX | 19% |
| Washington and Jefferson College Washington, PA | 18% |
| Siena College Loudonville, NY | 18% |
| Hendrix College Conway, AR | 18% |
| St. Lawrence University Canton, NY | 18% |
| Drew University Madison, NJ | 18% |
| Amherst College Amherst, MA | 18% |
| Willamette University Salem, OR | 18% |
| Luther College Decorah, IA | 18% |
| Wabash College Crawfordsville, IN | 18% |
| William Jewell College Liberty, MO | 18% |
| Gordon College Wenham, MA | 18% |
| Barnard College New York, NY | 18% |
| Hanover College Hanover, IN | 17% |
| McDaniel College Westminster, MD | 17% |
| Juniata College Huntingdon, PA | 17% |
| Ursinus College Collegeville, PA | 17% |
| Centenary College of Louisiana Shreveport, LA | 17% |
| Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr, PA | 17% |
| Moravian College Bethlehem, PA | 17% |
| Ohio Wesleyan University Delaware, OH | 17% |
| Hobart and William Smith Colleges Geneva, NY | 17% |
| St. Norbert College De Pere, WI | 16% |
| Birmingham-Southern College Birmingham, AL | 16% |
| Roanoke College Salem, VA | 16% |
| Susquehanna University Selinsgrove, PA | 16% |
| Calvin College Grand Rapids, MI | 16% |
| Lawrence University Appleton, WI | 16% |
| Gustavus Adolphus College St. Peter, MN | 16% |
| Albion College Albion, MI | 16% |
| Presbyterian College Clinton, SC | 16% |
| Hope College Holland, MI | 16% |
| Southwestern University Georgetown, TX | 16% |
| College of St. Benedict St. Joseph, MN | 16% |
| Beloit College Beloit, WI | 16% |
| College of Wooster Wooster, OH | 15% |
| Wheaton College Norton, MA | 15% |
| University of Puget Sound Tacoma, WA | 15% |
| Pitzer College Claremont, CA | 15% |
| St. Michael's College Colchester, VT | 15% |
| Augustana College Rock Island, IL | 15% |
| Williams College Williamstown, MA | 15% |
| Centre College Danville, KY | 15% |
| Randolph-Macon College Ashland, VA | 15% |
| Reed College Portland, OR | 15% |
| Goucher College Baltimore, MD | 14% |
| Hampshire College Amherst, MA | 14% |
| Wellesley College Wellesley, MA | 14% |
| St. John's University Collegeville, MN | 14% |
| DePauw University Greencastle, IN | 14% |
| Wofford College Spartanburg, SC | 13% |
| St. Mary's College Notre Dame, IN | 13% |
| Wheaton College Wheaton, IL | 13% |
| Union College Schenectady, NY | 13% |
| Skidmore College Saratoga Springs, NY | 13% |
| Trinity College Hartford, CT | 13% |
| Westmont College Santa Barbara, CA | 13% |
| Bard College Annandale on Hudson, NY | 13% |
| Lewis & Clark College Portland, OR | 13% |
| Macalester College St. Paul, MN | 13% |
| St. Anselm College Manchester, NH | 13% |
| Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME | 13% |
| Pomona College Claremont, CA | 13% |
| Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA | 13% |
| Sweet Briar College Sweet Briar, VA | 12% |
| Illinois Wesleyan University Bloomington, IL | 12% |
| College of the Holy Cross Worcester, MA | 12% |
| Grinnell College Grinnell, IA | 12% |
| Virginia Military Institute Lexington, VA | 12% |
| St. Olaf College Northfield, MN | 12% |
| Wesleyan University Middletown, CT | 12% |
| Oberlin College Oberlin, OH | 12% |
| Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA | 12% |
| Hampden-Sydney College Hampden-Sydney, VA | 11% |
| Haverford College Haverford, PA | 11% |
| Carleton College Northfield, MN | 11% |
| Hamilton College Clinton, NY | 11% |
| Whitman College Walla Walla, WA | 11% |
| St. Mary's College of Maryland St. Mary's City, MD | 11% |
| Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA | 11% |
| Merrimack College North Andover, MA | 11% |
| University of Richmond Univ. of Richmond, VA | 11% |
| Denison University Granville, OH | 11% |
| Christopher Newport University Newport News, VA | 11% |
| Gettysburg College Gettysburg, PA | 11% |
| Vassar College Poughkeepsie, NY | 11% |
| Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO | 10% |
| Sewanee--University of the South Sewanee, TN | 10% |
| Kalamazoo College Kalamazoo, MI | 10% |
| Stonehill College Easton, MA | 10% |
| Dickinson College Carlisle, PA | 10% |
| Middlebury College Middlebury, VT | 10% |
| Rhodes College Memphis, TN | 10% |
| Connecticut College New London, CT | 10% |
| Franklin and Marshall College Lancaster, PA | 9% |
| Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA | 9% |
| Furman University Greenville, SC | 9% |
| Colgate University Hamilton, NY | 9% |
| Scripps College Claremont, CA | 9% |
| Bates College Lewiston, ME | 8% |
| Washington College Chestertown, MD | 8% |
| Lafayette College Easton, PA | 8% |
| Kenyon College Gambier, OH | 8% |
| Colby College Waterville, ME | 7% |
| Muhlenberg College Allentown, PA | 7% |
| Davidson College Davidson, NC | 7% |
| Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA | 4% |
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