Do Ivy League schools give scholarships?

As a college counselor, this was a common question from students and parents. The short answer is, “it depends.” In this post, we will break down the various types of scholarship and financial aid that Ivy League schools do and don’t give.

However, first things first: Let’s discuss what the Ivy League is and what colleges are members.

What is the Ivy League?

The Ivy League is a college athletics 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 is widely known as being the most selective and prestigious group of colleges in the world.

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 there are only eight schools in the Ivy League athletics conference.

Do these schools give out merit scholarships?

No, the Ivy League as a group does not award merit, talent, or athletic scholarships to prospective students. Instead, Ivy League colleges 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. Some of the institutions, such as Columbia, Harvard, and Princeton, do not award loans as part of their financial aid packages. All of their aid packages are composed of need-based grants that do not need to be repaid.

Will I get financial aid at an Ivy League school?

First things first: In order to qualify for financial aid at an Ivy League school, you need to be admitted first, which is not easy.

The good news is that all of the Ivy League schools are need-blind for students from the United States (Harvard, Yale, and Princeton are also need-blind for international students). Need blind admissions means that the ability to pay is not a factor in the admissions process. Nonetheless, students will need very strong credentials to be admitted to an Ivy League schools because admission is extremely competitive.

However, if you are interested in an estimated financial aid package, you can use the Net Price Calculator.

So what top colleges do offer merit scholarships?

There are a number of top colleges and university that award merit-based scholarships. In order to qualify for need-based financial aid, you will also need to submit the FAFSA and for some colleges, the CSS profile.