Every year, high school seniors searching for the best value for their education. This year is especially crucial because the US economy continues its downward spiral. Parents are bogged down by burdensome mortgages and other financial responsibilities. Paying for school seems impossible.
Robert Franek, the VP/ Publisher of The Princeton Review (TPR), says, “The cost of college at most institutions is sobering, and the need for financial aid greater than ever in these tough economic times. But we encourage applicants never to cross a school off their list because of its sticker price, and always to get information about the schools’ financial aid offerings, and their award prospects which can be truly compelling.”
Best Schools Financial Aid, Princeton Review Rankings
TPR makes the search simple by doing the work for prospective students and their parents. TPR surveyed administrators and students receiving financial aid from 623 universities from 2016 to 2017. According to TPR’s website, the criteria is as follows:
“School data included the percentage of their students determined to have need who received aid, the percentage of need met, and the percentage of students whose aid was fully met. The rating also factored in data from The Princeton Review‘s surveys of students attending the schools about their satisfaction with their aid awards.”
For prospective students and their parents, these rankings can strongly influence decisions on where to apply.
Top-Rated Colleges
All of the schools on this list received the highest score of 99. Upon collecting data and analyzing the surveys, TPR gives each institution a rating between 60 to 99. 99 is the best score possible. In the following alphabetical list, all 13 schools received a 99 rating:
- American Jewish University
- Beloit
- Bowdoin
- California Institute of Technology
- Claremont McKenna
- Gettysburg
- Harvard
- Lake Forest
- Swarthmore
- Thomas Aquinas
- Wabash
- Washington Univ. in St. Louis
- Williams
Every year The Princeton Review announces the Financial Aid Honor Roll to help students and their parents narrow their search for the schools that give the best financial aid packages. It can be hard to receive money for school, but with the help of this list, students and parents can be led down the right path for their educational funding.