About two out of three four-year colleges in the US are private. Private colleges are the most diverse of all five college types. Because they are privately funded and run, these colleges have the ultimate flexibility. There are colleges for...

Those who want to be with people like them:

• Women (Agnes Scott/Scripps/Salem/Barnard)

• Men (Wabash/Hampton-Sydney)

• Military Cadets (Norwich/The Citadel)

• Students of Color (Howard/Spelman)

Those who know exactly which field they want to pursue:

• Art (Pratt/SCAD/Ringling)

• Business (Babson)

• STEM (Kettering/Colorado College of the Mines/CalTech)

Those who want a specific vibe:

• Religious (Harding/Yeshiva/Catholic University of America)

• Environmentally progressive (Warren Wilson/Pitzer)

• Progressive academics #NoLetterGrades (Reed/Hampshire)

Private colleges can also be “normal” research or liberal arts universities with a mix of people, majors, and vibes.

Bottomline: Fit—whether you and a college mesh together—is incredibly important, and private colleges can customize fit in a way no other category can.

Sadly, most students and families never consider private colleges because of their sticker prices. Thankfully, that’s a mistake you’re going to avoid for two reasons:

1. You know that sticker price does not equal net price

You’re about to learn how to identify private colleges that will lower their sticker prices for you.

Why would a college do that?

Because you’re awesome. And because they want you to help them look good.

How do I know which colleges will likely give me the best deal?

Amazing question. Two answers.

Generally speaking, there are two qualities that best determine how affordable a private college is likely to be for you.

Two Qualities of a Likely Affordable Private College

Location and selectivity are both factors that can drop the cost of a private college to under that of in-state public tuition. Having one of these characteristics going for you is great. Two is better.

How do these help?

1. In-state options may offer extra scholarship/grant opportunities, and

2. In general, the less selective a private college is, the more merit scholarships it tends to give out. 

Let’s explore this a bit more.

Location

Even though at a private college the tuition is the same for in and out of state students, location can still impact affordability. Many states offer incentives (like the ones we talked about in the Public In-State Universities section) to keep students in-state, incentives you wouldn’t be eligible for if you attend a private college elsewhere. 

Need to Know for Quadrant #1 and #2 Students

Funds from your state’s sponsored scholarship program (if it has one) can often be applied at private colleges in your state as well as public ones. Couple examples: Bright Futures, Hope, Palmetto.

Need to Know for Quadrant #1 and #3 Students

Some state grants—like the NC Need-based Scholarship—could stack on top of your federal grants at a private college. Fun fact: The state grants applied to private colleges can often be for bigger amounts to help offset the bigger price tag. Less fun fact: Percentage-wise state grants may not cover as much of the bill at a private college. That’s where selectivity (#PossibilityOfScholarship) comes in.

Selectivity

As you may have noticed in The Five College Types section, private colleges are most likely to be financial fits for students who are academically competitive. 

What does “academically competitive” look like?

Great grades and (maybe) great test scores and (almost definitely) great extracurricular activities.

How great?

It depends. While you may be among the most outstanding applicants at one college, you may just scrape into another college by sheer luck or perhaps–as we like to think–one super amazing essay.

Below are some things to ponder depending on the selectivity level of the colleges you’re considering.

Highly Selective (<25% admitted)

Merit-based Aid (Scholarship) Chances = Low

Getting into these schools is hard enough. Getting a scholarship at a college where most applicants are valedictorians, football captains, national debate winners—or maybe all three!—is downright daunting but not impossible.

Scholarships at these colleges are likely not automatic and competition will be fierce.

Many highly selective colleges offer full-ride scholarships. Here’s just one: Vanderbilt University’s Ingram Scholars. 

Action Item: Take a look at these recipient profiles for the Ingram Scholars. These people are rockstars! 

If this excites you, awesome. If this intimidates you, hey, me too. Either way, this is the level of awesome highly selective colleges are seeking out to fill their very limited full-ride slots.

Need-based Aid (Grant) Chances = High

At these colleges, need-based aid is far more likely to come your way because 

1. The sticker prices are sky high and, therefore, more students—even those who answered “rich” in our two question quiz earlier—have some demonstrated need according to the CSS Profile (More on this hilariously long form in Step 3.) 

and

1. These colleges are so popular that many folks who can pay full price do so happily, and so there are fewer students the college has to share money between.

Awesome Fact: Some of these colleges even cover the full need of every student.

Awesomer Fact: A few dozen on that full-need list–including my alma mater Davidson (#GoCats)--go even further by covering your full need without asking you to take out any loans. If you are a Quadrant #1 kid, this is your golden ticket.

Your golden ticket will lead to a less creepy adventure.

Selective (25%-50% admitted) & Less Selective (50%+ Admitted) 

Scholarship Programs

Many universities offer partial and full-ride scholarships to the highest academic achievers. (Duh.) But what you may not have considered before is that while competition will be tough, you have a higher likelihood of being in the top tier of incoming students at a less selective school than the ones you’d be stretching to get into.

Honors Colleges

Not all colleges have an honors college or program. But if a college you’re interested in does have one, it’s worth checking out for many reasons: one of which is that admission to the honors college/program may come with a scholarship.

Discount Rate/Automatic Surprise “Scholarships”

Okay so these look like scholarships. And they do reduce the bill the college asks you to pay. But really these are more like last minute coupons these colleges give out to students who they want and who, usually, they think can pay some of the cost but who won’t want to/be able to pay all of the cost.

There’s no way to predict exactly who will get these, how much they will get or why (unless you are the awarding college’s enrollment manager and hold the keys to the super secret algorithm your college is using that year). Just know that a student from any Financial Fit Quadrant could get a “scholarship” discount during his/her senior spring to entice you to deposit at a college.

Merit/Need

An amazing tool to help you identify cost-effective colleges is Jennie and Jeff’s Financial Aid Chart. (College Essay Guy aptly dubbed this the “Colleges That Make it Rain” List.) Students with low EFCs should sort by “% Need Met,” and students with high EFCs should sort by “Average Merit Aid Award” then refer to the “% Receiving Merit Aid” column next to it to weigh the probability of actually receiving merit money. 

Schools with “FM” (“Federal Methodology”) in the “Needs Methodology” Column require only the FAFSA, whereas those with an “IM” (“Institutional Methodology”) require the CSS Profile or another extra form in addition to the FAFSA. This makes the biggest difference in financial aid for students with separated parents. FAFSA only needs the financial information of the parent(s) you live with (including step-parents), while CSS Profile schools usually take both your parents and their spouses (if applicable) into account. So a student with divorced parents who have drastically different incomes would be more likely to receive grants at the FM schools if the student lives with the parent who makes less income.

“No Tuition”, “Work,” and “Co-op” Colleges

A few colleges have adopted an interesting approach to covering tuition: they don’t charge any. These “no tuition” colleges usually have a required work-study component to their aid program. (So be prepared to work in the dining hall or possibly on a campus farm.) This may be a great option for you as the “no tuition” fine print usually has a need requirement attached to it and their affordability allows them some selectivity.

That said, make sure to learn the specifics of their aid program—e.g., do they cover just tuition or room and board too?—before assuming this is a sure thing. Here are a couple you can check out, if you’re interested: Berea College, Olin College of Engineering, Curtis Institute of Music, Warren Wilson, College of the Ozarks, Paul Quinn College, Deep Springs College.

Which college type would you like to explore next?

• Public In-state Universities

• Public Out-of-State Universities

• Two-year Colleges

• International Universities

Or perhaps now you’ve got a solid list of 6-8 colleges you’re confident can be affordable and are ready to move on to the next of our four steps: the FAFSA.

Or maybe you need a break. Take it. Leave this tab open. It’ll be waiting for you when you’re ready.