Most Students Receiving Merit Aid
Many colleges advertise generous merit scholarships without explaining that there are actually several different kinds of merit aid. Some colleges, for example, give fancy merit-sounding names to scholarships that they award to qualified students who have also shown that they can't afford the college's full price.
The federal government only awards Pell grants based on the student's "need" for money to pay for college. Some elite colleges also only award aid to students who they believe can't afford tuition, since they say all of their students are meritorious.
This chart lists the colleges that report the highest percentage of their students in the 2011-2012 academic year who "had no financial need and who were awarded institutional non-need-based scholarship or grant aid" excluding athletic awards and tuition benefits.
| Save | School | Percent of students receiving non-need based aid |
|---|---|---|
|
Creighton University
Omaha, NE |
29% | |
|
Manhattan College
Riverdale, NY |
29% | |
|
Jamestown College
Jamestown, ND |
29% | |
|
St. Michael's College
Colchester, VT |
29% | |
|
Berry College
Mount Berry, GA |
29% | |
|
Wesleyan College
Macon, GA |
29% | |
|
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology
Terre Haute, IN |
29% | |
|
University of Rochester
Rochester, NY |
29% | |
|
College of Idaho
Caldwell, ID |
28% | |
|
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester, MA |
28% | |
|
Westmont College
Santa Barbara, CA |
28% | |
|
St. John's University
Collegeville, MN |
28% | |
|
Austin College
Sherman, TX |
28% | |
|
Stonehill College
Easton, MA |
28% | |
|
New College of Florida
Sarasota, FL |
28% | |
|
Mercer University
Macon, GA |
28% | |
|
Iowa State University
Ames, IA |
28% | |
|
Calvin College
Grand Rapids, MI |
27% | |
|
Illinois Wesleyan University
Bloomington, IL |
27% | |
|
Juniata College
Huntingdon, PA |
27% | |
|
Covenant College
Lookout Mountain, GA |
27% | |
|
William Woods University
Fulton, MO |
27% | |
|
Minot State University
Minot, ND |
27% | |
|
Catholic University of America
Washington, DC |
27% |
