For international students, studying in the United States can be a pricey endeavor. Many U.S. colleges are expensive, cash-strapped, and in demand, giving some institutions little motivation to help international students financially. And unlike their American peers, international students typically don't qualify for federal loans to help them fund their education.
[Read more about international student trends.]
But while financial aid for international students tends to be very scarce, it does exist. At least 776 colleges offered some amount of financial aid to undergraduate international students for the 2010-2011 school year, according to school-reported data to U.S. News. The average award packages ranged from several hundred dollars to tens of thousands, with the highest average packages topping $50,000.
The list below includes the 10 ranked schools that awarded the highest average financial aid packages to undergraduate international students for the 2010-2011 school year. Those schools enrolled varying numbers of students from abroad, but all awarded, on average, $47,469 or more.
[See which universities enroll the most international students.]
Yale University tops the list of schools that offer the most generous average aid packages to undergraduate international students, reporting that the average award in 2010-2011 was $51,044. Like Yale, all the universities on the list below are private schools. Many are national liberal arts colleges, which means they focus on undergraduate education and grant at least half of all degrees in liberal arts majors, such as English, humanities, and philosophy. Nearly all are located in the northeastern United States, in states including Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York.
Keep in mind that these statistics aren't a guarantee of financial aid at a certain school. Since these awards are averaged over the number of international undergraduates enrolled, it's possible that some students may have received much more money than their international peers at the same school. In addition, schools that are designated by U.S. News as Unranked, meaning they did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News to be numerically ranked, were not eligible to be on this list.
These 10 schools awarded the highest average aid packages to undergraduate international students for the 2010-2011 school year:
| Yale University (CT) | $51,044 | 348 | 3, National Universities |
| Wesleyan University (CT) | $50,743 | 84 | 12, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Skidmore College (NY) | $50,000 | 56 | 49, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Amherst College (MA) | $49,010 | 146 | 2, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Trinity College (CT) | $48,999 | 119 | 37, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Gettysburg College (PA) | $48,908 | 43 | 47, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| University of Chicago | $48,436 | 63 | 5, National Universities |
| Williams College (MA) | $47,713 | 128 | 1, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Vassar College (NY) | $47,623 | 122 | 14, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
| Colby College (ME) | $47,469 | 94 | 21, National Liberal Arts Colleges |
Don't see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News College Compass to see all schools that offer financial aid to international students, complete rankings, and much more.
U.S. News surveyed more than 1,800 colleges and universities for our 2011 survey of undergraduate programs. Schools self-reported a myriad of data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News's data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While the data comes from the schools themselves, these lists have no influence over U.S. News's rankings of Best Colleges or Best Graduate Schools.
Katy Hopkins
http://www.chicagotribune.com
22/02/2012
Copyright © 2012, Tribune Media Services
