85 Best US Colleges Offering Maximum Financial Aid to International Undergrad Students
Last Updated on November 14, 2021
Being the home to 60 – 70% of the top 100 universities in the world, the US attracts several international students for undergraduate studies. Abroad education does cost money; especially if you are targeting the top colleges in the US. But, if you demonstrate merit and financial need, the US colleges do offer generous financial aid towards tuition and boarding fees. In this post, we will look at the top US colleges that offer maximum financial aid to international students at the undergraduate level.
The US College Admissions process is pretty competitive. On top of that, undergraduate education in the US is really expensive for international students. Then there are few top public colleges (for instance, UT Austin and UC Berkeley) that do not offer financial aid to the international students at all. The admission and financial aid allocations are quite complex. In this post, we will try to give you insights on admissions and financial aid at the top US colleges.
Admission and Financial Aid Guide for Undergraduate Studies in the USA for 2019 – 2020
| College | % International (Int'l) Undergrad Students | Cost of Attendance (Tuition + Boarding) | Ave. amount of Financial Aid as % of Cost of Attendance | Ave. Cost of Attendance after Financial Aid | % of Int'l Students Receiving Financial Aid | Overall Acceptance Rate (%) | Ave. SAT Score | Ave. ACT Score Composite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American University | 11 | $72,000 | 37 | $45,000 | 8 | 29 | 1200 - 1350 | 26 - 30 |
| Amherst College | 9.2 | $78,000 | 79 | $16,500 | 87 | 14 | 1350 - 1450 | 30 - 34 |
| Austin College | 2.5 | $61,000 | 39 | $37,500 | 94 | 52 | 1050 - 1290 | 22 - 27 |
| Babson College | 27.8 | $75,000 | 46 | $41,000 | 14 | 24 | 1190 - 1380 | 26 - 30 |
| Bard College | 7.8 | $78,000 | 63 | $29,000 | 48 | 58 | 1250 - 1400 | 29 - 33 |
| Barnard College | 9.1 | $79,000 | 78 | $17,000 | 11 | 15 | 1280 - 1500 | 28 - 32 |
| Bates College | 7.4 | $78,000 | 71 | $22,500 | 55 | 22 | 1270 - 1450 | 29 - 32 |
| Boston University | 21.3 | $77,500 | 45 | $42,500 | 5.2 | 25 | 1280 - 1400 | 27 - 32 |
| Bowdoin College | 5 | $76,000 | 73 | $20,000 | 52 | 14 | 1290 - 1510 | 30 - 34 |
| Brandeis University | 21 | $78,000 | 66 | $26,500 | 8.7 | 34 | 1230 - 1450 | 29 - 33 |
| Brown University | 12.4 | $77,500 | 72 | $21,500 | 18.4 | 9.1 | 1330 - 1570 | 30 - 43 |
| Bryn Mawr College | 22.7 | $76,500 | 72 | $21,500 | 38.3 | 38 | 1310 - 1500 | 27 - 31 |
| Bucknell University | 6.3 | $77,000 | 57 | $33,500 | 47.4 | 31 | 1210 - 1400 | 28 - 32 |
| Caltech | 8.5 | $74,000 | 69 | $23,000 | 40.2 | 7.7 | 1500 - 1590 | 34 - 36 |
| CSU Los Angeles | 7 | $42,000 | 34 | $27,500 | 2.2 | 46 | 890 - 1100 | 16 - 21 |
| Carleton College | 10 | $76,500 | 58 | $32,000 | 32.4 | 21 | 1310 - 1530 | 30 - 33 |
| Claremont McKenna College | 16.7 | $79,000 | 62 | $30,000 | 11.2 | 9.8 | 1350 - 1530 | 30 - 33 |
| Clark University | 14.1 | $63,500 | 37 | $40,000 | 73 | 56 | 1200 - 1410 | 29 - 32 |
| Colby College | 10.3 | $77,000 | 65 | $26,500 | 41.4 | 16 | 1240 - 1430 | 28 - 32 |
| Colgate University | 9.4 | $77,500 | 77 | $17,000 | 56.1 | 28 | 1280 - 1470 | 29 - 32 |
| Colorado College | 9 | $75,000 | 61 | $29,000 | 53.4 | 15 | 1320 - 1480 | 29 - 33 |
| Columbia University | 15.6 | $81,000 | 82 | $14,500 | 26.4 | 6.1 | 1450 - 1580 | 33 - 35 |
| Connecticut College | 7.3 | $77,500 | 63 | $28,500 | 63.2 | 35 | 1270 - 1400 | 27 - 32 |
| Cooper Union for Adv. of Sci. & Art | 20 | $71,500 | 36 | $45,500 | 92.5 | 13 | 1250 - 1490 | 30 - 34 |
| Cornell University | 10.3 | $77,000 | 77 | $17,500 | 11.8 | 12 | 1390 - 1550 | 32 - 35 |
| Dartmouth College | 9.2 | $78,500 | 76 | $19,000 | 63.5 | 8.7 | 1370 - 1570 | 30 - 34 |
| Davidson College | 6.9 | $70,000 | 07 | $21,000 | 48 | 20 | 1420 - 1540 | 28 - 32 |
| Denison University | 10 | $73,000 | 38 | $45,000 | 96.6 | 37 | 1200 - 1380 | 28 - 31 |
| Duke University | 10.4 | $78,500 | 79 | $17,000 | 30.1 | 10 | 1390 - 1570 | 31 - 35 |
| Emory University | 16.9 | $73,500 | 58 | $31,000 | 6.5 | 22 | 1350 - 1520 | 30 - 35 |
| Grinnell College | 19 | $73,000 | 51 | $36,000 | 63.5 | 29 | 1350 - 1520 | 30 - 33 |
| Hamilton College | 6.4 | $76,500 | 69 | $24,000 | 51.2 | 24 | 1360 - 1510 | 30 - 34 |
| Harvard University | 11.5 | $75,500 | 85 | $11,000 | 76.5 | 5 | 1460 - 1590 | 32 - 36 |
| Harvey Mudd College | 10.1 | $82,000 | 33 | $55,000 | 34.1 | 15 | 1450 - 1560 | 33 - 35 |
| Haverford College | 9.3 | $79,000 | 78 | $17,500 | 20.7 | 20 | 1380 - 1530 | 31 - 34 |
| Johns Hopkins University | 9.5 | $77,500 | 47 | $41,500 | 6.7 | 12 | 1460 - 1540 | 31 - 34 |
| Kenyon College | 5.6 | $76,000 | 71 | $22,000 | 60.6 | 34 | 1240 - 1460 | 28 - 32 |
| Lafayette College | 10 | $76,500 | 69 | $23,500 | 48.5 | 31 | 1260 - 1430 | 27 - 31 |
| Lehigh University | 8.6 | $74,000 | 63 | $27,500 | 20.7 | 25 | 1210 - 1430 | 28 - 32 |
| MIT | 10.3 | $74,500 | 76 | $18,000 | 75.7 | 6.7 | 1490 - 1590 | 33 - 36 |
| Michigan State University | 11.8 | $59,500 | 50 | $29,500 | 7.8 | 70 | 940 - 1260 | 23 - 28 |
| Middlebury College | 10.9 | $77,500 | 75 | $19,500 | 49.6 | 17 | 1280 - 1510 | 30 - 33 |
| Mount Holyoke College | 27.4 | $72,000 | 45 | $39,500 | 53.2 | 52 | 1270 - 1460 | 29 - 33 |
| NC State University-Raleigh | 4.7 | $48,000 | 30 | $34,000 | 15.7 | 51 | 1190 - 1390 | 26 - 30 |
| Northwestern University | 9.1 | $79,000 | 70 | $23,500 | 13.9 | 8.9 | 1390 - 1560 | 31 - 34 |
| Oberlin College | 10.2 | $79,000 | 47 | $42,000 | 54.3 | 34 | 1260 - 1450 | 28 - 32 |
| Occidental College | 6.8 | $78,000 | 47 | $41,000 | 10.7 | 42 | 1280 - 1440 | 29 - 33 |
| Pomona College | 11.5 | $77,000 | 76 | $18,500 | 42.3 | 8 | 1370 - 1550 | 31 - 35 |
| Princeton University | 11.7 | $73,000 | 67 | $24,000 | 68.8 | 6 | 1430 - 1570 | 32 - 35 |
| Rice University | 12.3 | $69,500 | 48 | $36,500 | 23 | 16 | 1490 - 1550 | 31 - 34 |
| San Diego State University | 7.1 | $45,000 | 44 | $25,500 | 3.8 | 35 | 1080 - 1290 | 23 - 28 |
| Santa Clara University | 3.9 | $74,500 | 57 | $32,000 | 8.3 | 54 | 1210 - 1430 | 27 - 32 |
| Smith College | 13.9 | $77,000 | 73 | $20,500 | 44 | 32 | 1290 - 1490 | 30 - 33 |
| Soka University of America | 43 | $54,000 | 90 | $5,500 | 100 | 37 | 1200 - 1390 | 25 - 29 |
| St. John's College (Annapolis) | 22.1 | $74,000 | 51 | $36,500 | 98 | 55 | 1220 - 1430 | 28 - 31 |
| St. John's College (Santa Fe) | 30.1 | $74,000 | 72 | $21,000 | 100 | 63 | 1190 - 1380 | 27 - 32 |
| Stanford University | 9.2 | $75,000 | 82 | $14,000 | 29.1 | 4.7 | 1390 - 1580 | 32 - 36 |
| Swarthmore College | 12.8 | $76,000 | 79 | $16,000 | 32.7 | 9.1 | 1360 - 1540 | 31 - 34 |
| Trinity College | 11.8 | $78,000 | 79 | $17,000 | 63 | 34 | 1230 - 1400 | 28 - 32 |
| Tufts University | 10.5 | $78,500 | 70 | $23,500 | 27.7 | 15 | 1360 - 1520 | 30 - 34 |
| Union College | 7.1 | $77,000 | 64 | $27,500 | 51.2 | 37 | 1270 - 1430 | 29 - 32 |
| University of Alabama-Birmingham | 1.9 | $50,000 | 77 | $11,500 | 41 | 92 | 900 - 1200 | 26 - 30 |
| UC Los Angeles | 11.7 | $67,000 | 41 | $39,500 | 2.9 | 14 | 1240 - 1500 | 27 - 33 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 9.8 | $67,000 | 45 | $37,500 | 2.1 | 33 | 1240 - 1470 | 26 - 32 |
| University of Chicago | 13.1 | $82,000 | 71 | $23,500 | 18.3 | 9 | 1460 - 1580 | 32 -35 |
| University of Miami | 14.3 | $72,000 | 33 | $48,500 | 20.8 | 36 | 1220 - 1410 | 28 - 32 |
| University of Mississippi | 1.6 | $44,500 | 45 | $24,000 | 60.5 | 84 | 1070 - 1190 | 21 - 27 |
| University of New Hampshire | 3.8 | $54,000 | 57 | $23,500 | 14.8 | 77 | 1070 - 1240 | 22 - 27 |
| UNC Charlotte | 2.5 | $42,500 | 51 | $21,000 | 7 | 66 | 1000 - 1170 | 21 - 25 |
| UNC Greensboro | 2.2 | $42,500 | 52 | $20,500 | 8.7 | 78 | 940 - 1120 | 21 - 25 |
| University of Notre Dame | 6.7 | $76,500 | 63 | $28,500 | 40.2 | 19 | 1360 - 1520 | 32 - 34 |
| University of Pennsylvania | 12.6 | $79,000 | 64 | $28,000 | 26.1 | 8.4 | 1420 - 1560 | 31 - 34 |
| University of Richmond | 11.5 | $73,000 | 64 | $26,500 | 39.3 | 33 | 1250 - 1460 | 29 - 32 |
| University of Rochester | 24.8 | $77,500 | 41 | $45,500 | 65.1 | 34 | 1300 - 1490 | 29 - 33 |
| University of Vermont | 6.4 | $63,500 | 32 | $43,000 | 26.7 | 67 | 1180 - 1350 | 24 - 29 |
| Vanderbilt University | 7.1 | $73,000 | 74 | $19,000 | 28.5 | 11 | 1400 - 1570 | 32 - 34 |
| Vassar College | 8.2 | $78,000 | 78 | $17,000 | 40.1 | 24 | 1350 - 1510 | 30 - 33 |
| Villanova University | 2 | $75,000 | 61 | $29,500 | 54 | 36 | 1260 - 1410 | 28 - 32 |
| Wabash College | 6.8 | $62,000 | 56 | $27,500 | 96.3 | 64 | 1060 - 1280 | 22 - 27 |
| Washington and Lee University | 3.5 | $72,000 | 78 | $16,000 | 92.2 | 22 | 1350 - 1490 | 29 - 33 |
| Wellesley College | 12.2 | $77,000 | 80 | $15,500 | 29.3 | 19 | 1340 - 1510 | 30 - 33 |
| Wesleyan University | 12.1 | $77,500 | 80 | $16,000 | 27.3 | 18 | 1300 - 1500 | 29 - 33 |
| Whitman College | 6.9 | $72,500 | 32 | $49,500 | 53.8 | 52 | 1250 - 1450 | 28 - 32 |
| Williams College | 8.2 | $78,000 | 81 | $15,000 | 54.1 | 15 | 1380 - 1570 | 32 - 35 |
| Yale University | 10.7 | $77,000 | 78 | $17,000 | 54.9 | 6.5 | 1420 - 1590 | 32 - 36 |
Note: I have included those colleges that fall within the top 100 in the US and offer at least 30% of the total cost of attendance as financial aid to the international students.
Data has been aggregated after referring to respective college sites and other sites like US News, Peterson’s, Forbes, Quora, PrepScholar, CollegeData, and IvyAchievement.
Data on fees and financial aid were aggregated in October 2018. Please refer to respective university websites for more accuracy.
As you can see from the above table, undergraduate studies in the US is not as expensive as it appears for the deserving ones. In fact, private colleges can be cheaper than the public ones for international students for undergraduate studies in the US.
Apart from financial aid, there are also opportunities to reduce the study expenses through on-campus jobs, co-ops, and internships. If planned and executed well, an international student can manage a 4-year undergraduate degree withing USD $70,000.
For more insights on applications and financial aid, please refer to the following articles:
How to Get into the Ivy League and Elite Colleges in the US
7 Key Components Top Colleges Look for in International Applicants
How to Create a Balanced College List for US Admissions
Merit-Based Scholarships vs Need-Based Scholarships
Tips on How to Write Great College Essays
Common App Essay Prompts and Answer Strategies
Featured Image Source: Stanford University
