15 U.S. Colleges That Offer the Most Financial Aid to International Students

an effort to recruit more international students, many colleges offer substantial financial aid packages.

For instance, the average amount given to international students was roughly $22,000 at the 937 undergraduate schools that submitted this data to U.S. News in an annual survey for the 2022-2023 school year. But the average aid was more than triple that – nearly $73,000 – at the 15 schools that gave the most financial aid to international students. These 15 colleges each awarded need-based aid, while five also provided merit aid.

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Wellesley College awarded the largest amount of financial aid per international student on the list, about $78,000. During the 2022-2023 academic year, 82 international students received aid from the private liberal arts school in Massachusetts.

With the exception of California-based Stanford University, the schools that gave the most financial assistance to international students are located on the East Coast. Massachusetts is home to four, followed by three in New York. The rest are in Connecticut, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Virginia.

Additionally, all but Skidmore College in New York – ranked at No. 39 among National Liberal Arts Colleges – placed in the top 20 of their respective ranking categories. Financial resources per student, including spending on instruction, administration and research, makes up 10% of the U.S. News Best Colleges ranking. While financial aid is not included in that ranking factor, better-resourced schools tend to also have more money for financial aid.