US Colleges that Meet 100% of Demonstrated Need
The following colleges have a stated commitment to provide all admitted US citizens and US permanent residents with a financial aid package that covers 100% of their calculated financial need. (Some colleges also cover all demonstrated need for undocumented students, which we’ve covered here.)
In general, schools that meet 100% of demonstrated need strive to be affordable financial options for the students they admit by providing need-based financial aid that is directly tied to each student and family’s resources.
How Colleges Calculate Your Financial Need
Financial need is the difference between the cost of attendance and the amount your family is expected to contribute. It’s determined based on information a student submits in a college’s required financial aid application materials, typically including the FAFSA and one or more supplemental documents. Some colleges require the CSS Profile to learn about the student’s financial situation, while others have their own unique financial aid application.
If you are offered admission to a college that meets 100% of demonstrated need, the college will use your submitted financial aid materials to calculate an annual expected family contribution (often referred to as your “EFC”). The expected family contribution is based on a family’s earnings, assets, household size, and other factors. It will generally be lower for lower-income families and higher for higher-income families. The EFC may be as low as $0 for students from families with the greatest financial need.
Then, the college will subtract your expected family contribution from the cost of attendance, which is the total annual sum that includes tuition, fees, housing and meal costs, and personal expenses. The remainder is considered your financial need and you will receive a comprehensive financial aid package that is equivalent to this remaining cost. In other words, the total cost of attendance minus your expected family contribution equals your demonstrated financial need. At colleges that meet 100% of need, your financial aid package will cover the entirety of your demonstrated need.
Financial Aid Packages Can Include Different Types of Financial Assistance
Financial aid packages may be composed of grants and scholarship funding (money you do not need to repay), student loans (money you do need to repay), and student employment funding. Some institutions do not include student loans as an expectation in their financial aid package, meeting 100% of demonstrated need with only grant funding (also referred to as “gift aid”).
US Colleges that Meet 100% of Demonstrated Need
| College | Location | Loan Policy |
|---|---|---|
| Amherst College | Amherst, MA | Meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need without loans, regardless of family income |
| Babson College | Wellesley, MA | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Barnard College | New York, NY | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Bates College | Lewiston, ME | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Boston College | Chestnut Hill, MA | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Boston University | Boston, MA | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Bowdoin College | Brunswick, ME | Meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need without loans, regardless of family income |
| Brandeis University | Waltham, MA | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Brown University | Providence, RI | Meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need without loans, regardless of family income |
| Bryn Mawr College | Bryn Mawr, PA | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| California Institute of Technology (Caltech) | Pasadena, CA | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Carleton College | Northfield, MN | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburgh, PA | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland, OH | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Claremont McKenna College | Claremont, CA | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Colby College | Waterville, ME | Meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need without loans, regardless of family income |
| Colgate University | Hamilton, NY | Meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need without loans, regardless of family income |
| College of the Holy Cross | Worcester, MA | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Colorado College | Colorado Springs, CO | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Columbia University | New York, NY | Meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need without loans, regardless of family income |
| Connecticut College | New London, CT | For families with a total income below certain levels, the financial aid package will not include loans. |
| Cornell University | Ithaca, NY | For families with a total income of $60,000 or less and total assets of less than $100,000 (including primary home equity), the finanial aid package will not include loans. |
| Curtis Institute of Music | Philadelphia, PA | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Dartmouth College | Hanover, NH | For families with total incomes of $125,000 or less who possess typical assets, the financial aid package will not include loans. |
| Davidson College | Davidson, NC | Meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need without loans, regardless of family income |
| Denison University | Granville, OH | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Duke University | Durham, NC | For families with a total income of $40,000 or less, the financial aid package will not include loans. |
| Emory University | Atlanta, GA | For families with total incomes of $50,000 or less, the financial aid package will not include loans. |
| Franklin & Marshall College | Lancaster, PA | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering | Needham, MA | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Georgetown University | Washington, DC | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Grinnell College | Grinnell, IA | Meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need without loans, regardless of family income |
| Hamilton College | Clinton, NY | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Harvard University | Cambridge, MA | Meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need without loans, regardless of family income |
| Harvey Mudd College | Claremont, CA | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Haverford College | Haverford, PA | For families with a total income of $60,000 or less, the financial aid package will not include loans. |
| Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, MD | Meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need without loans, regardless of family income |
| Kenyon College | Gambier, OH | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Lafayette College | Easton, PA | For families with a total income of $50,000 or less, the financial aid package will not include loans. |
| Lehigh University | Bethlehem, PA | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Macalester College | Saint Paul, MN | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | Cambridge, MA | Meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need without loans, regardless of family income |
| Middlebury College | Middlebury, VT | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Minerva Schools at KGI | San Francisco, CA | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Mount Holyoke College | South Hadley, MA | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Northeastern University | Boston, MA | Meets 100% of demonstrated need for every admitted student eligible for federal financial aid |
| Northwestern University | Evanston, IL | Meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need without loans, regardless of family income |
| Oberlin College | Oberlin, OH | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Occidental College | Los Angeles, CA | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Pitzer College | Claremont, CA | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Pomona College | Claremont, CA | Meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need without loans, regardless of family income |
| Princeton University | Princeton, NJ | Meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need without loans, regardless of family income |
| Reed College | Portland, OR | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Rice University | Houston, TX | Through The Rice Investment, middle-income families with typical assets will receive grant aid to cover full tuition if total income is up to $130,000 per year, and half tuition for families with total income between $130,001-$200,000. Students receiving aid under The Rice Investment will have all demonstrated need met without any loans. |
| Scripps College | Claremont, CA | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Sewanee, The University of the South | Sewanee, TN | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Skidmore College | Saratoga Springs, NY | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Smith College | Northampton, MA | Meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need without loans, regardless of family income. *Beginning in Fall 2022 |
| Soka University of America | Aliso Viejo, CA | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| St. Olaf College | Northfield, MN | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Stanford University | Stanford, CA | Meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need without loans, regardless of family income |
| Swarthmore College | Swarthmore, PA | Meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need without loans, regardless of family income |
| Thomas Aquinas College | Grand Rapids, MI | Meets 100% of demonstrated need for every qualified incoming first-year undergraduate students |
| Trinity College | Hartford, CT | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Tufts University | Medford, MA | Families with incomes of $60,000 or less will typically receive a financial aid package that includes no loans. |
| Union College | Schenectady, NY | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| University of Chicago | Chicago, IL | Meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need without loans, regardless of family income |
| University of Miami | Coral Gables, FL | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | Chapel Hill, NC | Families with a total income that is at or below 200% of the poverty guideline may qualify for the Carolina Covenant, an aid program that provides an opportunity to attend and graduate from UNC-Chapel Hill debt-free. Covenant covers 100% of demonstrated financial need without loans. |
| University of Notre Dame | Notre Dame, IN | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA | Meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need without loans, regardless of family income |
| University of Richmond | Richmond, VA | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| University of Rochester | Rochester, NY | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| University of Virginia | Charlottesville, VA | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| US Air Force Academy | Colorado Springs, CO | Provides a 100% fully funded education covering tuition, room, and board |
| US Military Academy (West Point) | West Point, NY | Provides a 100% fully funded education covering tuition, room, and board |
| US Naval Academy | Annapolis, MD | Provides a 100% fully funded education covering tuition, room, and board |
| Vanderbilt University | Nashville, TN | Meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need without loans, regardless of family income |
| Vassar College | Poughkeepsie, NY | For families with a total income below certain levels, the financial aid package will not include loans. |
| Wake Forest University | Winston-Salem, NC | May include federal student loans in financial aid package |
| Washington and Lee University | Lexington, VA | Meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need without loans, regardless of family income |
| Washington University in St. Louis | St. Louis, MO | Families with incomes of $75,000 or less will typically receive a financial aid package that includes no loans. |
| Wellesley College | Wellesley, MA | Families with incomes of $60,000 or less will typically receive a financial aid package that includes no loans. |
| Wesleyan University | Middletown, CT | US students from families who earn $120,000 or less (with typical assets) will receive a financial aid package with no loans. |
| Williams College | Williamstown, MA | Families with incomes of $75,000 or less will typically receive a financial aid package that includes no loans. |
| Yale University | New Haven, CT | Meets 100% of your demonstrated financial need without loans, regardless of family income |