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Ivy League Scholarships: What Students Need to Know
By
Will Geiger
Will Geiger is the co-founder of Scholarships360 and has a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. He is a former Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at Kenyon College where he personally reviewed 10,000 admissions applications and essays. Will also managed the Kenyon College merit scholarship program and served on the financial aid appeals committee. He has also worked as an Associate Director of College Counseling at a high school in New Haven, Connecticut. Will earned his master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania and received his undergraduate degree in history from Wake Forest University.
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Varonika Ware is a content writer at Scholarships360. Varonika earned her undergraduate degree in Mass Communications at Louisiana State University. During her time at LSU, she worked with the Center of Academic Success to create the weekly Success Sunday newsletter. Varonika also interned at the Louisiana Department of Insurance in the Public Affairs office with some of her graphics appearing in local news articles.
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Maria Geiger is Director of Scholarship Services at Scholarships360. She is a former online educational technology instructor and adjunct writing instructor. In addition to education reform, Maria’s interests include viewpoint diversity, blended/flipped learning, digital communication, and integrating media/web tools into the curriculum to better facilitate student engagement. Maria earned both a B.A. and an M.A. in English Literature from Monmouth University, an M. Ed. in Education from Monmouth University, and a Virtual Online Teaching Certificate (VOLT) from the University of Pennsylvania.
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The Ivy League is a college athletic conference that includes eight colleges. These colleges are on the East Coast and most are among the oldest colleges in the country. Despite being an athletic conference, the Ivy League has a reputation as the most selective and prestigious group of colleges in the world.
However, does the Ivy League offer scholarships? In this post, we’ll discuss the financial aid and scholarship opportunities that are (and aren’t available) at Ivy Leagues.
Related: What are Public Ivy League schools?
What colleges are in the Ivy League?
The Ivy League includes the following colleges and universities:
- Brown University (Providence, RI)
- Columbia University (New York, NY)
- Cornell University (Ithaca, NY)
- Dartmouth College (Hanover, NH)
- Harvard University (Cambridge, MA)
- University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA)
- Princeton University (Princeton, NJ)
- Yale University (New Haven, CT)
You might be wondering, “what about Stanford?” or “what about MIT?” They are both, like many other colleges around the world, stellar institutions, but they’re not an Ivy League school.
Applying for financial aid at Ivy Leagues
In order to qualify for financial aid at an Ivy League school, you need to be admitted to the college and complete financial aid applications annually, such as the FAFSA or CSS Profile.
Need-blind admissions
The good news is that all of the Ivy Leagues are need-blind for students from the United States. Harvard, Yale, and Princeton are even need-blind for international students. This means that the ability to pay is not a factor in the admissions process.
Need-based aid
Despite the need-blind admissions, students will need very strong credentials to be admitted to an Ivy League school because admission is extremely competitive. Even if a student is accepted, there is no guarantee that they will receive need-based aid.
Need-based financial aid includes grants that don’t need to be repaid, work study, and in some cases, federal student loans. In the case of some Ivy League schools, students won’t be packaged with any student loans so you can graduate debt-free.
If you are interested in an estimated financial aid package, you can use the Net Price Calculator.
Expert Perspective
Lynell Engelmyer | College admissions and financial aid advisor, Alexander Hamilton Scholars
See also: How to respond to Harvard supplemental essay prompts
Do Ivy League schools give merit scholarships?
No, Ivy Leagues do not award merit, talent, or athletic scholarships to prospective students. Instead, they offer some of the strongest need-based financial aid programs in the world.
For instance, all of the Ivy League schools are committed to meeting 100% of demonstrated need for prospective students. Columbia, Harvard, and Princeton don’t award loans as part of their financial aid offerings since all aid packages are composed of need-based grants.
Remember, there are a number of other top colleges and university that do award merit-based scholarships. As with other colleges, students will still need to submit the FAFSA (and in some cases the CSS Profile) to qualify for need-based financial aid.
You can also apply to private merit scholarships from external organizations if you attend an Ivy League. Try our list of merit based scholarships or scholarships by GPA as great places to start.
How to earn external scholarships for Ivy League schools
While Ivy League schools themselves do not offer merit scholarships, that doesn’t mean you can’t apply for merit scholarships to help fund your education.
Since Ivy Leagues are very competitive, most students who are eligible for admission to these schools are probably also eligible for many prestigious private scholarships. For example, you could apply for the full-ride Coolidge Scholarship, Questbridge Scholarship, or Cameron Impact scholarships. Some other highly competitive external scholarships you could consider are the Coca-Cola Scholars Program and the Horatio Alger undergraduate scholarships.
There are also many other kinds of scholarships out there, including easy-apply scholarships, scholarships by major, and many other opportunities to be found on our free scholarship app that custom-matches you to thousands of scholarships.
Does the Ivy League award athletics scholarships?
Even though the Ivy League is a NCAA Division 1 Athletics Conference, student-athletes are not eligible for athletics scholarships per Ivy League policy. Instead, student-athletes can receive the same need-based financial aid opportunities as other students.
Key Takeaways
Frequently asked questions about Ivy League scholarships
Which Ivy League gives the best financial aid?
Can you get a full scholarship to Harvard?
They will typically require that students make some contribution, oftentimes through loans, but this can be a drop in the bucket compared to the aid package they provide. You can also supplement your need-based aid with an external scholarship. Check out our free scholarship search tool as a first step to finding some.
What's the cheapest Ivy League school?
Do Ivy Leagues offer athletic scholarships?
However, athletics are important in the admissions process. Students with strong athletic histories are more likely to gain admission to the schools, and once they do, they are eligible for financial aid equaling 100% of their demonstrated financial need.
What is the easiest Ivy League to get into?