--- title: 91 Great Colleges That Give Every Freshman a Scholarship description: Many lower quality colleges & universities use scholarships to attract students, but the 91 schools here meet MONEY's quality standards. authors: - name: Kim Clark url: https://money.com/author/kim-clark/ at_money_since: 2013 articles: 62 covers: - Education - Housing - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Personal Finance social: - https://x.com/Money_College former_staff: true published: '2016-12-13T16:31:10.000Z' modified: '2024-04-17T04:46:45.000Z' section: Education tags: - College - financial aid - grant - net cost - Scholarship - tuition word_count: 1393 canonical: https://money.com/college-everybody-scholarship-2016/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![91 Great Colleges That Give Every Freshman a Scholarship](https://img.money.com/2016/12/161312_col_freshmanscholar.jpg?quality=85&w=1012&h=569&crop=1) One of the surest ways to win a scholarship is also one of the easiest: Apply to a college that awards money to every student that attends. Of course, your odds are high of winning a scholarship at most private colleges. The typical private school awards scholarships to [88% of freshmen](http://www.nacubo.org/About_NACUBO/Press_Room/2015_Tuition_Discounting_Study.html). But be wary: Some of those are low-quality schools that use partial scholarships to lure students. And research has found nearly [40% of students are so dazzled by a prestigious-sounding scholarship](http://www.nber.org/chapters/c10102.pdf) that they’ll choose it even when they get in to higher-quality schools that are likely to be less costly over the long term -- because of speedier graduation rates, for instance, or ultimate earning power. So Money has scoured the data to find 91 colleges that award every freshman a scholarship and meet at least basic standards of quality -- a good graduation rate, and financial stability. (See the full list below.) Even at a good school offering a big scholarship, counselors and financial advisors recommend you ask about these five possible gotchas before you commit: - **Admissions odds:** Many of the highest-ranked and most generous colleges on the following list, such as [Cooper Union](https://money.com/best-colleges/profile/cooper-union-for-the-advancement-of-science-and-art/) and [Berea](https://money.com/best-colleges/profile/berea-college/), are so selective that they can be long shots even for good students. There are also several high-scholarship, high-quality schools with more forgiving acceptance rates, however. The Minnesota liberal arts campuses of [Saint John's University](https://money.com/best-colleges/profile/saint-johns-university/) (for men) and the [College of Saint Benedict](https://money.com/best-colleges/profile/college-of-saint-benedict/) (for women), for example, accept at least 79% of their applicants. - **Poor fit:** One of the most expensive college decisions you can make is to drop out, because college dropouts tend to make an average of [$400 a week less than do graduates](http://www.bls.gov/emp/ep_chart_001.htm). So make sure the school will provide the activities, courses and guidance to keep students involved and on the path to graduation -- preferably in four years. To check a school’s track record, enter the school’s name at [CollegeResults.org](http://collegeresults.org). and click on the “Similar Colleges” tab; you can choose to see graduation rates broken down by race and gender. - **Net price:** Do not get distracted by the scholarship size itself. Some colleges offer big scholarships but such high tuition that the net cost is still unaffordable, notes Lynn O’Shaughnessy, author of *[The College Solution](http://www.thecollegesolution.com/)*. To get a true comparison, subtract each school’s scholarship from the total cost of attendance to get its net price. She offers a sample comparison: The [College of Idaho](https://money.com/best-colleges/profile/the-college-of-idaho/) has a comparatively low sticker price (for a private college) of about $42,000 this year, so its typical scholarship (roughly $14,000 in recent years) brings the net cost down to about $28,000. On the other hand, Mills College typically offers grants of almost $24,000 a year -- but with a sticker price of more than $62,000, the typical student’s net price is likely to be closer to $38,000. - **Tricky renewals:** Most scholarships are awarded for only one year, notes Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Cappex.com, and let students renew each year only if they meet certain requirements -- whether family financial situation or academic achievement. Ask about any scholarship scholarship's renewal terms, Kantrowitz says, and be realistic about the prospects of any scholarship requiring more than a 3.0 -- the average freshman’s GPA typically drops by at least half a grade from their high school level. (In Tennessee, where students have to achieve a 3.0 to renew the state’s Hope Scholarship, [about half of students lose their scholarship](http://www.air.org/sites/default/files/AIR_Financial_Aid_Carruthers_Ozek_Sept2013.pdf) because of grades.) - **Inflation hits:** While need-based awards generally rise with tuition, merit awards are usually fixed. So although a $10,000 grant, say, makes a nice dent in the typical private school tuition of about $35,000, even just 3% inflation would raise the cost of tuition to more than $38,000 by senior year -- essentially reducing the value of the scholarship. Here are the 91 schools -- in order of their [Money Best Colleges](https://money.com/best-colleges/) ranking -- that have a history of offering scholarships to all freshmen.
NameRankCityStateAvg. freshman grant (2013-14)Cost of attendance (2015-16)
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art*8New YorkNY$31,000$62,710
Saint John's University25CollegevilleMN$21,849$52,230
College of Saint Benedict47Saint JosephMN$21,595$53,475
Saint Vincent College78LatrobePA$19,894$46,135
Bethel University82Saint PaulMN$14,608$47,586
Berea College123BereaKY$22,938$34,380
Juniata College129HuntingdonPA$20,841$53,590
Mount Mercy University137Cedar RapidsIA$14,564$41,516
Messiah College147MechanicsburgPA$14,639$45,360
Cedar Crest College160AllentownPA$19,291$48,715
Mount Saint Mary's University163Los AngelesCA$13,948$54,143
Mills College175OaklandCA$23,413$60,992
Southwestern University195GeorgetownTX$20,100$50,840
Dordt College205Sioux CenterIA$12,289$41,200
Westminster College206New WilmingtonPA$18,392$46,725
Marquette University213MilwaukeeWI$14,195$51,726
Moravian College217BethlehemPA$18,642$53,616
Nebraska Wesleyan University218LincolnNE$16,343$42,640
Rockhurst University221Kansas CityMO$22,558$49,900
Calvin College224Grand RapidsMI$13,022$44,050
Aurora University234AuroraIL$10,730$35,004
Illinois Institute of Technology235ChicagoIL$25,641$60,424
Hamline University238Saint PaulMN$19,426$49,302
Hanover College240HanoverIN$19,117$47,666
Goshen College241GoshenIN$15,817$43,700
Wells College258AuroraNY$24,631$52,350
Houghton College260HoughtonNY$14,210$41,806
Illinois College272JacksonvilleIL$17,472$42,350
John Carroll University280University HeightsOH$22,185$52,100
Le Moyne College291SyracuseNY$17,642$47,500
Simpson College296IndianolaIA$18,103$46,684
Agnes Scott College299DecaturGA$22,269$50,386
Albion College302AlbionMI$20,840$52,085
Augustana College306Sioux FallsSD$16,609$39,628
Presbyterian College315ClintonSC$23,008$49,580
Wisconsin Lutheran College316MilwaukeeWI$13,474$39,136
Taylor University323UplandIN$12,259$41,967
DeSales University324Center ValleyPA$15,650$47,978
Duquesne University325PittsburghPA$14,926$48,796
Marian University332Fond Du LacWI$11,227$38,180
Saint Norbert College334De PereWI$16,742$45,081
Luther College353DecorahIA$20,970$51,165
Concordia College at Moorhead353MoorheadMN$17,266$46,054
Monmouth University359West Long BranchNJ$13,106$50,250
Bay Path University367LongmeadowMA$18,750$47,209
Bellarmine University372LouisvilleKY$20,963$55,162
Loras College376DubuqueIA$16,882$40,217
Washington & Jefferson College387WashingtonPA$21,360$56,332
Central College389PellaIA$18,185$47,878
The College of Saint Scholastica389DuluthMN$17,230$46,036
Saint John Fisher College401RochesterNY$13,824$44,650
Allegheny College408MeadvillePA$21,942$56,710
Nazareth College408RochesterNY$14,075$47,063
Graceland University-Lamoni413LamoniIA$13,902$38,444
Transylvania University425LexingtonKY$16,390$47,030
St Bonaventure University431Saint BonaventureNY$16,568$44,717
Monmouth College432MonmouthIL$19,723$45,210
Alma College433AlmaMI$20,488$48,268
The College of Idaho445CaldwellID$14,177$38,600
Baldwin Wallace University450BereaOH$15,488$43,332
Piedmont College454DemorestGA$10,193$35,330
Bluefield College466BluefieldVA$10,524$36,882
Concordia University-Nebraska475SewardNE$14,370$37,770
Xavier University492CincinnatiOH$17,663$49,220
Saint Xavier University496ChicagoIL$13,888$44,706
Carlow University500PittsburghPA$12,934$40,506
Franklin College508FranklinIN$12,942$41,865
William Jewell College510LibertyMO$20,044$45,610
Northwestern College514Orange CityIA$15,344$42,100
University of Northwestern-St Paul526Saint PaulMN$11,909$41,120
Lycoming College532WilliamsportPA$21,369$49,856
Concordia University-Chicago535River ForestIL$14,054$41,112
University of New England551BiddefordME$16,286$51,830
Lipscomb University555NashvilleTN$12,635$44,156
University of Mount Union565AllianceOH$11,663$40,825
Hendrix College597ConwayAR$26,629$56,214
Ohio Wesleyan University600DelawareOH$24,413$58,260
Centenary College607HackettstownNJ$13,747$46,899
Converse College608SpartanburgSC$16,551$32,177
Bluffton University616BlufftonOH$16,454$44,058
Carroll University618WaukeshaWI$13,620$42,657
Wheelock College626BostonMA$16,566$50,866
Mount Mary University628MilwaukeeWI$15,098$41,520
University of Saint Francis-Fort Wayne634Fort WayneIN$10,784$39,350
Bridgewater College646BridgewaterVA$19,341$46,430
Berry College656Mount BerryGA$15,176$46,384
Grand View University661Des MoinesIA$11,364$36,082
Stetson University675DeLandFL$23,648$57,734
King's College677Wilkes-BarrePA$14,643$48,828
Guilford College681GreensboroNC$16,165$48,000
Arcadia University692GlensidePA$21,861$55,360
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