Check out this list of colleges which pledge to meet between 90%-100% of admitted students financial need! This means these schools pledge to cover cost of attendance, minus your Expected Family Contribution. It is worth reaching out to these schools to ask more about how they do this, or ask a College Success Coach for help getting more information! Other colleges which offer programs for low-income students are included!
This information IS subject to change. Please reach out to each college or your college coach for confirmation regarding any information found below.
– Updates for the 2018 -19 academic year coming soon –
Another program to consider is Questbridge:
- High achieving high school students with mostly A’s & B’s and ACT composite scores of greater than 28 with financial need can apply early decision to elite colleges, and if chosen, will be awarded a full-tuition scholarship
- Students will need to begin the application process the September of their senior year
Note: Check out our list of “undocumented friendly colleges” if this applies to you, for information on schools where undocumented/DACAmented students are offered financial assistance!
California
California Institute of Technology
- Replaces loans with grants in the financial aid package for US students with family incomes of less than $60,000
- Student contribution of $1,500 from summer earnings
Claremont McKenna College (CA)
- Maximum loan package $4,000/year for all students
Harvey Mudd College (CA)
Occidental College (CA)
Pitzer College (CA)
Pomona College (CA)
- Replaces loans with grants in the financial aid package
Scripps College (CA)
Stanford University (CA)
Thomas Aquinas College (CA)
University of Southern California
Colorado
Colorado College (CO)
Connecticut
Connecticut College (CT)
- Replaces loans with grants in the financial aid package for families making less than $50,00 or with EFC <$5,000
- Will reduce loan package by up to 50% by replacing with grants for families making $50,000-$75,000 with an EFC between $5,000-$15,000
Trinity College (CT)
Wesleyan University (CT)
- Replaces loans with grants in the financial aid packages for families making less than $40,000/year
Yale University (CT)
Washington, DC
Georgetown University (DC)
Georgia
Emory University (GA)
- Replaces loans with work-study & grants for families making less than $50,000
- Caps 4-year need-based debt at $15,000 for students making $50,000-$100,000
Illinois
Northwestern University (IL)
- Replaces loans with grants in the financial aid package for students with high financial need (usually families making under $55,000/year), must be Pell grant eligible with need greater than 80% of cost of attendance
University of Chicago (IL)
Iowa
Grinnell College (IA)
- Caps loans at $2,000/year for students with financial need
Indiana
Wabash College (IN)
University of Notre Dame (IN)
Louisiana
Tulane University (LA)
Maine
Bates College (ME)
Bowdoin College (ME)
- Replaces loans with grants & work-study in the financial aid package
Colby College (ME)
- Replaces loans with grants
Maryland
Johns Hopkins University (MD)
Massachusetts
Amherst College (MA)
- Replaces loans with grants & work-study in the financial aid package
Boston College (MA)
Clark University (MA)
Franklin W. Olin College
Harvard University (MA)
- 0-10% contribution for families making less than $60,000
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MA)
Mount Holyoke College (MA)
Smith College (MA)
Tufts University (MA)
- Eliminates loans from the financial aid package for families making less than $40,000/year
Wellesley College (MA)
- Eliminates loans from the financial aid packages for families making less than $60,000/year
- Maximum of $8,600 in loans for students whose families make $60,000-$100,000
Williams College (MA)
- Replaces loans with grants in the financial aid package
Wheaton College (MA)
Minnesota
Carleton College (MN)
Macalester College (MN)
Saint Olaf College (MN)
Michigan
Michigan State University (MI)
- Replaces loans with grants & work-study for low-income families with incomes at or below the poverty lines
Missouri
Washington University, St. Louis, (MO)
- Eliminates loans from the financial aid packages for students from families making less than $60,000/year
New York
Barnard College (NY)
Colgate University (NY)
Columbia University (NY)
- Reduces loans & family contribution for families making less than $100,000; no loans for families making less than $50,000
Cornell University (NY)
- Replaces loans with grants for families making less than $60,000; caps loans at a sliding scale for families making less than $100,000
Hamilton College (NY)
Union College (NY)
University of Rochester (NY)
Vassar College (NY)
- Eliminates loans from the packages of students from families making less than $60,000/year
New Jersey
Princeton University (NJ)
- Replaces loans with grants for all students who qualify for financial aid
New Hampshire
Dartmouth College (NH)
- No loans for families making less than $100,000
- Loans limited to $2,500-$5,500 annually for families making $100,000-$200,000
New Mexico
Saint John’s College (NM)
North Carolina
Davidson College (NC)
- No loans in the financial aid package
Duke University (NC)
- Replaces loans with grants for families making less than $40,000
- Eliminates parental contribution from families making $40,000-$60,000
- Limits loans from $1,000-$4,000/year for families making $40,000-$100,000
- Caps loans at $5,000/year for families making more than $100,000
North Carolina State University (NC)
- Caps need based loans at $2,500/year for families with income less than 150% of the poverty level
Wake Forest University (NC)
Ohio
College of Wooster (OH)
Denison University (OH)
Kenyon College (OH)
- No loans in the financial aid package for students with high financial need
Miami University of Ohio (OH)
- Covers full tuition & fees for families making less than $35,000
Oberlin College (OH)
- Replaces loans with grants for students eligible for Pell Grant
Oregon
Reed College (OR)
Pennsylvania
Bryn Mawr College (PA)
Bucknell University (PA)
Dickinson College (PA)
Franklin and Marshall College (PA)
Gettysburg College (PA)
Haverford College (PA)
- Replaces loans with grants in the financial aid packages
Lafayette College (PA)
- No loans in the financial aid package for families earning less than $50,000
- Limits loans to $2,500/year for families earning $50,000-$100,000
Lehigh University (PA)
- No loans in the financial aid package for families earning less than $50,000
- Caps loans at $3,000/year for families earning $50,000-$75,000/year
Swarthmore College (PA)
- Meets full financial need without loans
University of Pennsylvania (PA)
- Eliminates loans from the financial aid package
Rhode Island
Brown University (RI)
- Eliminates loans for families earning less than $100,000/year
Tennessee
Bryan College (TN)
- Covers full-tuition & fees for full-time, first generation students with family income of less than $35,000
Sewanee: The University of the South (TN)
Vanderbilt University (TN)
- Replace loans with grants for students with financial need
Texas
Rice University (TX)
- Eliminates loans from the financial aid package for families making less than $80,000/year
- Caps total loans at around $10,000/year for families with financial need
Vermont
Middlebury College (VT)
Virginia
University of Richmond (VA)
Washington and Lee University (VA)
- Eliminates loans from the financial aid package for all students who apply for aid by the deadline
Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin, Madison (Madison, WI)
- Offers the FASTrack program for a small group of students to meet full financial need for all four years
- Students are automatically considered upon application, and single, financially dependent students with high need will be assisted
Washington
University of Washington
- Covers full tuition & fees for students from families making about 235% of the poverty level who qualify for Pell Grant