Wooster No. 6 in Best Colleges for Financial Aid, According to Study by LendEDU

WOOSTER, Ohio – The College of Wooster’s commitment to making its first-rate education affordable for all by providing generous financial aid packages was validated by a report, released Tuesday by LendEDU, an organization that helps consumers learn about and compare various financial products. In the detailed study, Wooster ranks sixth in the nation, and second in Ohio, in best colleges for financial aid.

LendEDU’s in-depth analysis utilized data from both the National Center for Education Statistics and Peterson’s Undergraduate Financial Aid Database to come up with the rankings. The study awarded a total score for each of the 829 colleges and universities in the U.S. after weighing three factors: need-based financial aid (60%), non-need-based financial aid (34%), and financial aid for international students (6%). An emphasis was placed on need-based financial aid because those students require the most help in paying for college.

Wooster, which recently established a “Tuition Free Guarantee” for students who are eligible for the  Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG), totaled a score of 93.13, just shy of Denison University (93.62) among schools across the Buckeye State. They were both well ahead of No. 3 Case Western Reserve University (88.67).

“We released this report to help college students better understand which colleges may be affordable for them by taking into account more than just the cost of attendance,” Dave Rathmanner, vice president for content at LendEDU, explained. “The College of Wooster is clearly doing a great job at helping its students afford their education.”

In its announcement, LendEDU noted “when choosing a college, it’s important to consider the financial aid package you are offered instead of just the overall cost of attendance … (as) generous scholarships and grants can make even the most expensive universities affordable.”

For Wooster, this marks yet another top-20 distinction this academic year from a respected group of higher education experts. Wooster was among four top-20 categories, including No. 2 in senior capstone and No. 5 in undergraduate research/creative projects, in U.S. News & World Report’s “Best Colleges 2020” guidebook and seven top-20 categories in The Princeton Review’s “The Best 385 Colleges: 2020 Edition,” including most accessible professors, students study the most, and lots of race/class interaction.

Posted in News on January 15, 2020.