Top colleges that are free {need based aid}

Paying for College
1

<p>More and more colleges are offering 100% financial aid without loans if your family qualifies (my family does){need based aid}. I know i can get into state colleges and that they are pretty much a free ride ( if you have a good enough GPA/SAT --i do–). I am more concerned with top national universities and (top) Liberal Arts Colleges.
Let me start the list and i hope it expands…
Harvard U
Princeton U
Rice U
Stanford U
Columbia U</p>

<p>P.S. the only college that’s a possible school here for me is Rice U. So you can figure out my grades based on that. Everything else is a reach.</p>

2

<p>All schools that promise to meet 100% of need will do so with a minimum of loan debt (unless you are Muslim & are unable — for religious reasons — to pay interest, you should accept the fact that some loan debt in return for a great education is a more than fair trade). Some schools are even giving students with family incomes below a certain level aid packages with no loans (I believe Harvard does that below $40,000; Columbia & probably some other similar schools do the same).</p>

<p>Again, some loan debt is NOT a bad thing! No one should expect a handout. Usually, the loan debt for 100% meets-need schools will be the Perkins loan maximum per year in school. Not a bad deal!!</p>

<p>Google variations of “colleges that meet 100% of need” and also look at the websites for schools in which you are interested in applying. A little legwork will yield great results. A young man I know from a low-income family is at Wesleyan with phenomenal aid (some loans, but very manageable) — and he does NOT have exceptional stats. ACT highest score 29, not at top of class — but so much to offer the school & so much to gain from the school — LACs look for students like that to maintian a truly diverse campus.</p>

3

<p>Just to answer your question, i am Muslim so that’s why my parents strongly discourage me to take loans but i will take it if i have no other choice. I also fall beneath the income cut-off that you mentioned so i m looking towards a top 50 national university/ LAC with no tuition {100% need based grant} I am sure a lot of schools are out there i just mentioned a few. some more would help</p>

4

<p>You will need to check this…but I believe that most schools assume a student contribution. This is about $2500 for freshmen, and goes up each year. The assumption is that students will contribute to their educations and will earn this money during vacation or summer employment. I do not think this is waived for very many people. So “free” would still mean some student contribution in most cases, I believe.</p>

5

<p>Any extenuating circumstances can be brought up with the financial aid office. I was a financial aid director years ago, but I never encountered the Muslim/no loan dilemma. I don’t know how it would be handled. Ask! My best advice is to research, research, research. Find the schools you think you might be interested in. Then look up comparable schools (do a check on princeton review website & there are other sites you can use, too) – or do a web search for colleges and universities comparable to (name of school). This will give you a list to start with. Go to their websites, look for admissions page, then look at the financial aid info. They will detail their general policies (such as no-loan policy under certain income level).</p>

<p>It is also true that a small contribution will be expected of students & generally speaking, of parents, as well. Hopefully, you can swing this through employment. There will also be a work-study component in your package, meaning you will be expected to work 10-15 hours a week on-campus during the school year.</p>

<p>You can always call the financial aid offices at colleges you find interesting. They know best! You will find toll-free numbers on websites.</p>

6

<p>what’s this about muslim no loans thing</p>

<p>I’m muslim and I’ve never heard of that</p>

7

<p>Subscribe to the USN&WR info and it will give you lists of schools that give the best aid, and you can then hone in on the ones that interest you to get more specific info, like what % of need is met and how (loans vs grants).</p>

8

<p>Aspen D, we have a large Muslim population in our area, and I have read quite a bit in the local paper about the fact that many Muslims do not pay interest for religious reasons. There are lending companies set up by Muslims to help other Muslims finance large purchases, such as homes, without violating their faith. It doesn’t sound like all Muslims hold this belief, since you have not heard of it. To be honest, I don’t know any Muslims well enough to know their beliefs on the subject (I don’t know any Christians or Jews well enough to know that aspect of their lives, either, though!).</p>

9

<p>cyberajnabee – You may want to at least consider College of the Ozarks. My understanding is that no student pays tuition there. Students are admitted on the basis of academic achievement/potential AND financial need.</p>

<p>It’s a small liberal arts college in a small (but interesting) town - Branson, MO. Breathtaking scenery abounds.</p>

<p>The college is Christian, so it may or may not appeal to you. Locally, it’s known as “hard work U” since students work in lieu of paying tuition.</p>

10

<p>Princeton does not give any loans in its financial aid package. If your Expected Family Contribution is $0, then your complete tuition/room and board/student budget is covered by University grants except for $2,500 in work-study (job provided) and $1400 in summer savings. If you cannot save that amount over the summer, half will be covered by a grant and the other half will be converted to a work-study. Princeton’s no-loan policy makes it one of the most affordable universities for people from ALL economic levels, including the middle class which usually gets sandwiched between being too rich to qualify for good aid and too poor to pay full tuition.</p>

<p>I’m not as familiar with Havard but I do know that it gaurantees 0 EFC for students with families that have an annual income of less than $60,000. This is a great source of comfort for students who want to go to a top university but do not want their parents to have to suffer financially.</p>

<p>About grades, many of the universities you listed provide aid only on a need-based level. So, if you are accepted, you’ll get 100% of your need met. Your grades don’t matter after being accepted when it comes to receiving aid.</p>

11

<p>Most schools that give need based financial aid do not give out “full rides” because there is an expectation that the student is gong to be an active participant in the financing of his/her education. This means there will be a student contribution from summer earnings and self help once the student is on campus in the forms or work-study and/or subsidized loans.</p>

<p>At Stanford:</p>

<p>Does the new policy affect my student contribution or self-help expectation?</p>

<p>A. No. Students are still expected to contribute from their prior-year earnings (50% of after-tax income, minimum $1,700 for freshmen, $2,100 for all others) and from their own assets (35% of the current total value).** Students are also expected to cover a self-help (student loan and/or work-study job) expectation of $5,500 for 2006-07.** Some students from lower-income families will have a lower self-help expectation.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.stanford.edu/dept/finaid/newpolicy.html[/url]”>http://www.stanford.edu/dept/finaid/newpolicy.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Keep in mind that there will be other miscellaneous cost associated with attending college. These include: travel, books, computers, etc. which are not covered by the school.</p>

<p>Harvard states:</p>

<p>You will also have non-billed (out-of-pocket)nexpenses for books, personal and travel expenses — costs which will vary depending on your own
style and habits. For purposes of determining your eligibility for financial aid, we are using a combined book and personal expense allowance
of $2,795.</p>

<p>Student Contribution</p>

<p>We normally expect that incoming students willnearn money for college expenses by working during the summer. We believe a reasonable goal for
this summer in most cases is $1,500, or approximately $150 per week during the summer vacation period. (Summer expectations for upperclass
students are higher due to a longer summer working period.)</p>

<p>If you are not able to save enough from your summer earnings
to meet part or all of the expectation, it may be possible for you to borrow an additional amount.
<a href=“http://www.fao.fas.harvard.edu/downloads/understanding_your_award.pdf[/url]”>http://www.fao.fas.harvard.edu/downloads/understanding_your_award.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

12

<p>cyberajnabee, keep in mind that if you have stats that qualify you for the schools you begin by listing, you will probably also be able to find a true “free ride” (free tuition & perhaps room/board) at a less elite school. No, it won’t be an ultra-selective Ivy or similar, but it may be a great fit with your education goals and a bargain, too.</p>

<p>Meeting 100% of need does not mean “free” - far from it! As others have noted, most schools that offer that still expect contributions from student earnings, some loans, etc. If you really have great stats, check out some schools known for awarding large amounts of merit aid.</p>

13

<p>If you are Muslim it is completely against Islam to pay interest NOT LOANS. You are allowed to take out loans as long as you only have to pay back what you borrowed, however not that many people in this world will give someone a loan without interest which in essence makes it forbidden to Muslims.</p>

14

<p>I’d point out that it is technically possible to pay back a subsidized loan without paying interest – if it is paid back in full within the first 6 months after graduating, since payments and interest are deferred until that time. How that fits within the religious proscription I don’t know – that is, the person would still be signing an agreement that required interest to be paid.</p>

15

<p>Princeton and I believe Brown have no loans, but ivies cap loans reasonably anyway. There are no totally free rides at ivies. Merit aid at lower ranked schools, schools where you’re in the top 10% of admits stats wise, are your best chance for lots of aids outside of the few need based schools.</p>

16

<p>Harvard is < $60000 not $40000</p>

17

<p>Another facet of this to consider: many 100%-need schools also have various types of preferential packaging or merit-within-need schemes that usually aren’t made public. For example, even if the standard FA package includes, say, $1500 in summer earnings, $4000 in loan, and $1500 in work-study, a URM, superbly qualified student, or low-income student might be offered a package with less (or no) loan/work/student contribution.</p>

18

<p>I was wondering if anyone knew if Aid packages acknowledge the fact that Muslims cannot pay interest and somehow give them loans without interest or just give-them work-study/grants or whatever?</p>

19

<p>It would be an unfair advantage so I seriously doubt it.</p>

20

<p>Okay, just wondering, there are probably Islamic Banks or whatever that somehow get around interest with loans.</p>