The Top Colleges with the Most Financial Aid – ‘These Schools Are Smoking Deals’

More students and families are struggling to afford college this year due to the pandemic. The cost of a four-year degree from a college or university, however, is also the highest it’s ever been.

According to CollegeBoard’s Trends in College Pricing and Student Aid report, for the 2020-1 academic year, in-state students paid $10,560 at four-year public colleges while students at four-year private institutions paid $37,650.

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“This year, due to Covid, students are making changes in the way they think about their college applications,” said Robert Franek, The Princeton Review’s editor-in-chief, according to CNBC. “They are much more sensitive around cost and staying closer to home,” he stated.

This news comes on the heels of The Princeton Review’s recent release of it Best Value Colleges Ranking List for 2021. This list of 200 schools is based on academics, financial aid, debt, graduation rates, and alumni career and salary. This data comes from its surveys of administrators and attending students at 650 colleges in 2019 and 2020. 

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“These schools are smoking deals for students and their families once you factor in need-based scholarships,” Franek said. For private schools, the average scholarship award is over $50,000, bringing out-of-pocket costs under $20,000. 

Here are the top public and private colleges for financial aid, based on data from The Princeton Review, as reported by CNBC.

The following public schools, ranked from 5 to 1, offer the most for students looking for affordable education and a good amount of financial aid.

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• Location: Manhattan, New York
• Sticker price per year (in-state): $21,098
• Average need-based scholarship: $8,142
• Total out-of-pocket cost: $12,956

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• Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Sticker price per year (in-state): $27,984
• Average need-based scholarship: $21,665
• Total out-of-pocket cost: $6,319

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• Location: Tallahassee, Florida
• Sticker price per year (in-state): $16,986
• Average need-based scholarship: $13,033
• Total out-of-pocket cost: $3,953

• Location: Chapel Hill, North Carolina
  
• Sticker price per year (in-state): $20,515
• Average need-based scholarship: $18,410
• Total out-of-pocket cost: $2,105

• Location: Charlottesville, Virginia
• Sticker price per year (in-state):$29.983
• Average need-based scholarship: $24,776
• Total out-of-pocket cost: $5,207

The following private schools, ranked from 5 to 1,  may cost a bit more but still offer an attractive amount of aid to student who qualify.

• Location: Nashville, Tennessee
• Sticker price per year: $68,980
• Average need-based scholarship: $52,242
• Total out-of-pocket cost: $16,738

• Location: Pomona, California
• Sticker price per year: $71,980
• Average need-based scholarship: $55,082
• Total out-of-pocket cost: $16,898

• Location: New Haven, Connecticut
• Sticker price per year: $72,100
• Average need-based scholarship: $56,602
• Total out-of-pocket cost: $15,498

• Location: Princeton, New Jersey
• Sticker price per year: $65,810
• Average need-based scholarship: $53,572
• Total out-of-pocket cost: $12,238

• Location: Poughkeepsie, New York
• Sticker price per year: $68,110
• Average need-based scholarship: $49,190
• Total out-of-pocket cost: $18,920

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