US Colleges that Meet 100% of Demonstrated Need for Undocumented and DACA Students
In general, schools that meet 100% of demonstrated need strive to be affordable financial options for the students they admit by providing need-based financial aid that is directly tied to each student and family’s resources. The following colleges have a stated commitment to provide undocumented and DACA students with a financial aid package that covers 100% of their calculated financial need.
College financial aid opportunities are directly connected to a student’s residency or citizenship status. Understanding the process to apply for financial aid can be tricky for everyone, regardless of status. So, when helping students explore college options, presenting all available options without making a student disclose their family’s status can empower them in this process.
How Colleges Calculate Financial Need
Financial need is the difference between the cost of attendance and the amount the student’s family is expected to contribute. It’s determined based on information a student submits in a college’s required financial aid application materials. Undocumented and DACA students typically won’t submit a FAFSA, since they aren’t eligible for federal aid. Instead, some colleges require the CSS Profile to learn about the student’s financial situation, while others have their own unique financial aid application. In seventeen states and the District of Columbia, undocumented or DACA students also qualify for in-state tuition at public institutions.
If you are offered admission to a college that meets 100% of demonstrated need, the college will use your submitted financial aid materials to calculate an annual expected family contribution (often referred to as your “EFC”). The expected family contribution is based on a family’s earnings, assets, household size, and other factors; it will generally be lower for lower-income families and higher for higher-income families. The EFC may be as low as $0 for students from families with the greatest financial need.
Then, the college will subtract your expected family contribution from the cost of attendance, which is the total annual sum that includes tuition, fees, housing and meal costs, and personal expenses. The remainder is considered your financial need and you will receive a comprehensive financial aid package that is equivalent to this remaining cost. In other words, the total cost of attendance minus your expected family contribution equals your demonstrated financial need. At colleges that meet 100% of need, your financial aid package will cover the entirety of your demonstrated need.
Financial Aid Packages Can Include Different Types of Financial Assistance
Financial aid packages for undocumented and DACA students will only include available institutional or state funding from certain state or private institutions. They may be composed of grants and scholarship funding (money you do not need to repay), student loans (money you do need to repay), and student employment funding. Some institutions do not include student loans as an expectation in their financial aid package, meeting 100% of demonstrated need with only grant funding (also referred to as “gift aid”).
US Colleges that Meet 100% of Demonstrated Need for Undocumented and DACA Students
| College | Location | Policy Details |
|---|---|---|
| Amherst College | Amherst, MA | "Amherst is committed to meeting 100% of the full demonstrated financial need of every admitted student, regardless of citizenship or immigration status." |
| Babson College | Wellesley, MA | "Students of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Program and undocumented immigrant students are treated equally to any U.S. citizen or permanent resident." |
| Barnard College | New York, NY | "Barnard accepts applications from undocumented and DACA applicants and provides 100% of financial need for all of our admitted first-year students, regardless of citizenship status." |
| Bates College | Lewiston, ME | "As with all students, Bates will meet 100% of demonstrated financial need for those admitted to the college, regardless of citizenship or immigration status." |
| Bowdoin College | Brunswick, ME | "Bowdoin meets all admitted undocumented students' full demonstrated need, regardless of DACA status." |
| Brown University | Providence, RI | "Like first-time, first-year domestic students, undocumented and DACA applicants will be considered under the University's need-blind admission policy. Brown will meet 100 percent of each student's demonstrated financial need upon matriculation." |
| Bryn Mawr College | Bryn Mawr, PA | "We will continue to meet full, demonstrated financial need for all students, including undocumented and international students, enrolled at Bryn Mawr." |
| Carleton College | Northfield, MN | “Undocumented students are eligible for Carleton-based grants and loans. [...] It is important to note that if we cannot meet your demonstrated financial need, we will not offer you admission.” |
| Case Western Reserve University | Cleveland, OH | "Case Western Reserve meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for all admitted undergraduate students." |
| Claremont McKenna College | Claremont, CA | "CMC still meets 100% of demonstrated need for students who are not eligible for federal aid." |
| Colby College | Waterville, ME | "Colby meets 100 percent of the demonstrated need of all admitted students, for all four years, regardless of citizenship." |
| Colgate University | Hamilton, NY | "Colgate University meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for all admitted students, including undocumented and DACA students." |
| Colorado College | Colorado Springs, CO | “We meet full demonstrated need of every admitted student, which in the case of DACA and undocumented students, is accomplished by using private grant aid from the college.” |
| Columbia University | New York, NY | "Columbia is committed to meeting 100% of the demonstrated financial need of all students admitted as first-years or transfer students pursuing their first degree, regardless of citizenship status." |
| Connecticut College | New London, CT | "We meet the full demonstrated need of every applicant we admit." |
| Cornell University | Ithaca, NY | "Undergraduate students who hold DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival) status granted by the federal government and students who have been long-term undocumented individuals will be considered domestic students by Cornell University for purposes of admissions and financial aid, and thus are eligible for need-blind admissions and need-based institutional financial aid." |
| Dartmouth College | Hanover, NH | "Undocumented and DACA students receive Dartmouth’s need-based financial aid in the same way that U.S. citizens or permanent residents do." |
| Denison University | Granville, OH | "Denison is committed to making its exceptional education affordable for all admitted students by meeting 100% of each student’s demonstrated financial need, and international students are eligible for the same need-based financial aid and merit-based scholarships as domestic students." |
| Duke University | Durham, NC | "Beginning with the class entering in the fall of 2017, Duke will meet 100% of the demonstrated financial need for undocumented students (both DACA and undocumented) admitted to the University as Early Decision, Regular Decision, or Transfer Students." |
| Emory University | Atlanta, GA | "Emory University meets 100 percent of demonstrated financial need for undergraduate undocumented students (with or without DACA) who are admitted as first-degree-seeking students, and who graduated from a US high school." |
| Franklin & Marshall College | Lancaster, PA | "[We] meet the full demonstrated need of every student." |
| Georgetown University | Washington, DC | "Although undocumented students and DACA beneficiaries are not eligible for federal aid, Georgetown University does provide need-based scholarships to undocumented and DACA-eligible undergraduate students who qualify." |
| Grinnell College | Grinnell, IA | "We meet 100% of the demonstrated institutional need of admitted students." |
| Hamilton College | Clinton, NY | "In keeping with Hamilton’s generous financial aid policy for international students, for those undocumented students who are admitted, Hamilton will meet 100 percent of their demonstrated financial need." |
| Harvard University | Cambridge, MA | "If you are undocumented you are eligible for financial aid from Harvard. Harvard makes no distinction based on citizenship in the financial aid process or in the amount of aid for which students are eligible." |
| Haverford College | Haverford, PA | "Haverford welcomes applications from undocumented students. We meet 100% of the demonstrated need of all admitted students." |
| Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, MD | "Students with undocumented or DACA status are considered domestic applicants for admissions and financial aid purposes at JHU. Domestic applicants are admitted without regard to the family’s ability to pay, and 100% of their financial need is covered with institutional grants and work opportunities." |
| Lafayette College | Easton, PA | "[Lafayette] will meet the demonstrated need of all admitted students." |
| Lehigh University | Bethlehem, PA | "Lehigh University provides need‐based financial assistance to a limited number of admitted non-US citizens who have applied for financial aid and who have demonstrated financial need. It is our goal to meet 100% of the demonstrated need (not including travel and personal expenses) for as many admitted students as possible with the limited funds available." |
| Macalester College | Saint Paul, MN | "The College meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for all admitted students." |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | Cambridge, MA | "Regardless of an applicant’s citizenship status, MIT provides generous financial aid that meets 100% of a family’s demonstrated need—even if you are DACA or undocumented." |
| Middlebury College | Middlebury, VT | "Middlebury meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for all of our admitted students, regardless of country of citizenship or immigration status." |
| Minerva Schools at KGI | San Francisco, CA | "If you are admitted and demonstrate financial need, we will offer you an aid package — no matter who you are or what country you are from." |
| Mount Holyoke College | South Hadley, MA | "Mount Holyoke College considers DACA and undocumented status students for both merit scholarships and need-based financial aid." |
| Oberlin College | Oberlin, OH | "If admitted, Oberlin College will meet 100% of every student’s demonstrated need with institutional financial aid." |
| Occidental College | Los Angeles, CA | "Occidental College meets 100% of the demonstrated need of all admitted students who apply for financial aid during the admission process. Undocumented students are considered for need-based financial aid like any U.S. citizen or permanent resident." |
| Pomona College | Claremont, CA | "Financial need does not affect admission decisions for U.S. citizens or students graduating from a U.S. high school, including those who are undocumented or DACAmented. 100% of need is met for all admitted students." |
| Princeton University | Princeton, NJ | "Princeton’s admission and financial aid policies are the same for undocumented or DACA students as they are for all other students applying to the University. If admitted, undocumented students can be confident that their full financial need, as determined by the Undergraduate Financial Aid Office, will be met." |
| Reed College | Portland, OR | "We meet the full financial need of all admitted students, including undocumented students." |
| Rice University | Houston, TX | "Undocumented and DACA students receive the same financial consideration for aid as domestic students. Rice is need-blind and will cover 100% of the demonstrated need of enrolled undergraduate students regardless of their federal eligibility." |
| Sewanee, The University of the South | Sewanee, TN | "DACA and Undocumented students are able to apply to Sewanee, with access to our full range of academic scholarships and financial aid." |
| Smith College | Northampton, MA | "Smith meets 100 percent of the demonstrated need of all admitted students who apply for financial aid by the published deadlines. Because federal financial aid is not available for undocumented and DACA students, Smith provides institutional, need-based financial aid in its place." |
| Soka University of America | Aliso Viejo, CA | "Soka University of America’s Office of Financial Aid partners with students and families in order to ensure that Soka Education is accessible to all students who are admitted. In an effort to promote greater diversity and access, SUA has designed comprehensive merit and need-based financial aid program that ensures the fair distribution of state and institutional grants, scholarships, and university loan programs for undocumented and DACA students." |
| Stanford University | Stanford, CA | "While undocumented and DACA students are not eligible for federal financial aid, Stanford uses institutional funds to meet the full demonstrated need of all admitted undocumented students." |
| Swarthmore College | Swarthmore, PA | "For undocumented and DACA students, Swarthmore’s admissions process is need-blind. We do not take your financial need or application for financial aid into account when making the decision about whether to admit you to the College. Swarthmore College is committed to meeting 100 percent of admitted students’ determined financial need, and our aid awards do not include loans that need to be repaid." |
| Trinity College | Hartford, CT | "Any student requiring financial assistance to attend Trinity College is eligible for financial aid, regardless of immigration status. Although the college is not a need-blind institution, it is committed to meeting 100% of the demonstrated financial need of any admitted student." |
| Tufts University | Medford, MA | "Tufts University meets 100% of demonstrated need for all admitted students. We consider all undocumented students living in the U.S. as domestic applicants who are eligible for domestic need-based financial aid. Because undocumented students are not eligible for federal aid, Tufts provides institutional financial aid in its place." |
| University of Chicago | Chicago, IL | "All students who apply, regardless of citizenship, are considered for admission to the University and for every type of private financial aid which the University offers." |
| University of Notre Dame | Notre Dame, IN | "Notre Dame admits DACA and undocumented students. Admission for these students is need-blind and full demonstrated need of each undergraduate student is met. If the student has DACA status, work, and University scholarship will be used to meet demonstrated need. If the student is undocumented (no DACA status), University scholarship will be used to meet demonstrated need for undergraduate students." |
| University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA | "If an applicant is able to meet Penn’s rigorous admission standards and is admitted, Penn’s aid program will meet the admitted student’s full demonstrated need, as determined by Student Financial Services, regardless of citizenship." |
| University of Richmond | Richmond, VA | "For students who are neither U.S. Citizens nor U.S. Permanent Residents — including undocumented, refugee, aslyee, and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival students who graduated from U.S. high schools — the commitment to meeting a student’s full demonstrated need means that the University provides financial aid awards that do not include loans." |
| University of Rochester | Rochester, NY | "The University of Rochester is committed to meeting 100% of the demonstrated need of all admitted students. Undocumented students are considered for need-based financial like any other U.S. citizen or permanent resident." |
| Vassar College | Poughkeepsie, NY | "Although funding is limited, the College is committed to meeting the full, demonstrated financial need of undocumented or DACA students admitted to Vassar following the same procedures Vassar uses to grant aid to accepted international students." |
| Washington and Lee University | Lexington, VA | "All First-Year applicants including domestic, international and undocumented students are eligible and encouraged to apply for our merit scholarships and university need-based grants. W&L meets 100 percent of demonstrated need entirely through scholarship, grants, and student employment." |
| Washington University in St. Louis | St. Louis, MO | "Washington University meets 100% of need for all admitted students. This policy applies to domestic students, international students, DACA students and undocumented students." |
| Wellesley College | Wellesley, MA | "Wellesley is committed to meeting 100 percent of calculated need for all admitted undocumented and DACA students who apply for financial aid during the admission process." |
| Wesleyan University | Middletown, CT | "Wesleyan meets 100% of the demonstrated need of all admitted students who applied for financial aid during the admission process. Undocumented students are considered for need-based financial aid like any U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Because federal financial aid is not available for undocumented students, institutional funding is used in its place." |
| Williams College | Williamstown, MA | "Williams meets 100 percent of demonstrated financial need for all undocumented and DACA-designated students, just as we do for every admitted student, regardless of citizenship or visa status." |
| Yale University | New Haven, CT | "Yale awards all financial aid on the basis of financial need, and it meets the full demonstrated need of all students, regardless of citizenship or immigration status. This includes undocumented students living in the U.S., with or without DACA status." |
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