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The Finals: Merit Rankings

Which school is the most generous when it comes to awards for students without financial need?


Like everything else in admissions, it depends. Even among just the four colleges sending teams to the NCAA championship games, there are a couple of ways to look at it.



Most merit

Which college gives the most? Taking into consideration the portion of students given awards and the average scholarship they receive, our "most merit" rankings are as follows.

  1. South Carolina

  2. UConn

  3. Iowa

  4. Purdue

Merit affordability

Which colleges, though, are actually the most affordable for the theoretical student who was awarded the average amount for a student without financial need? By our calculations, that's a different story:


  1. Purdue

  2. Iowa

  3. South Carolina

  4. UConn


(Shameless plug: You can see another 150 or so merit rankings in our subscription product. We rank using a proprietary algorithm.)


See how few of Purdue's students receive awards and yet Purdue is in the top affordability spot? Sticker prices matter. Even if very few students pay the full cost of attendance, the gap between net price and sticker has to be filled by something; all too often it's a loan.


Enjoy the final game!

Best,

Leigh

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