99 Colleges That Give Every Freshman a Scholarship

This list is from 2015. Check here for the most up-to-date list of the colleges that give every freshman a scholarship.

Want to be absolutely sure you get a scholarship?

Money has identified 99 colleges that have generally made it a practice to give every single freshman a scholarship. They also have graduation rates that are at or above the median for their type (public or private), a key indicator of college quality.

Bear in mind that these schools are only a little more generous than most. A recent survey found that the average private college now awards scholarships to 89% of freshmen.

Of course, practices can change. A few colleges that used to offer lots of scholarships, such as Converse College in South Carolina, have tried lowering their tuition and reducing their aid budgets instead. That gives families less bragging rights but a clearer and earlier indication of how much they’ll actually have to pay.

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Schools that have used the high-sticker-price/many-scholarship strategy, such as College of the Atlantic, are also tweaking their aid policies in other ways. College of the Atlantic doesn't guarantee every freshman a scholarship but promises a $1,800 (over four years) "learning enhancement fund" for all incoming freshmen to use for a research project. In 2013, the last year for which federal data are available, about 95% of the college's freshmen got scholarships averaging a little more than $31,000.

The reason most private colleges are continuing—and even ratcheting up—the practice of charging high sticker prices and awarding lots of scholarships is simple: It works.

Studies show that many students and parents are affected by a phenomenon sometimes called “the Chivas Regal effect” and interpret high prices as an indicator of quality. And other research shows that about a third of students can be swayed to choose one college over another by scholarships.

Smart college counselors advise students looking for schools that offer lots of scholarships to make sure they don't get so dazzled by a big scholarship that they ignore the true net price they'll have to pay: A $20,000 scholarship to a $60,000 college means you'll have to pay much more than you would if you got no scholarship at a $30,000 college. (You can compare average net prices of degrees, based on typical aid packages and the length of time it takes most students to graduate, for more than 700 colleges using the Money College Planner.)

In addition, students should seek the kind of aid that best fits their circumstances and that they are most likely to get renewed each year they are in school.

Merit aid. Aid awarded without regard to the student’s financial situation can sound attractive. But many scholarships have strings attached that mean you’ll lose the scholarship if your grades slip. The best kind of merit grants, such as those offered by Cooper Union, only require you to pass your courses to renew them each year.

Need-based aid. Schools that give big grants to meet your financial need typically require you to fill out a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) every year so they can adjust your grant according to their estimate of your current financial needs. That means you may get bigger grants if, for example, a younger sibling starts college while you’re still in school. But it also means the school could cut your grant if, say, a parent gets a raise. A few schools, such as Illinois Institute of Technology, however, promise they won’t cut either merit or need-based grants as long as you pass your classes.

* Latest year for which data are available from the U.S. Department of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.

** Money's estimated cost of degree is calculated by multiplying the estimated average net price for all undergraduates by the average time it takes students at that school to graduate, which is typically more than four years. It also includes an inflation factor.