10 Colleges That Offer International Students Most Financial Aid

For international students, studying in the United States can be a pricey endeavor. Many U.S. colleges are expensive, cash-strapped, and in demand, giving some institutions little motivation to help international students financially. And unlike their American peers, international students typically don't qualify for federal loans to help them fund their education. 

But while financial aid for international students tends to be very scarce, it does exist. At least 776 colleges offered some amount of financial aid to undergraduate international students for the 2010-2011 school year, according to school-reported data to U.S. News. The average award packages ranged from several hundred dollars to tens of thousands, with the highest average packages topping $50,000. 

The list below includes the 10 ranked schools that awarded the highest average financial aid packages to undergraduate international students for the 2010-2011 school year. Those schools enrolled varying numbers of students from abroad, but all awarded, on average, $47,469 or more. 

Yale University tops the list of schools that offer the most generous average aid packages to undergraduate international students, reporting that the average award in 2010-2011 was $51,044. Like Yale, all the universities on the list below are private schools. Many are national liberal arts colleges, which means they focus on undergraduate education and grant at least half of all degrees in liberal arts majors, such as English, humanities, and philosophy. Nearly all are located in the northeastern United States, in states including Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York. 

Keep in mind that these statistics aren't a guarantee of financial aid at a certain school. Since these awards are averaged over the number of international undergraduates enrolled, it's possible that some students may have received much more money than their international peers at the same school. In addition, schools that are designated by U.S. News as Unranked, meaning they did not meet certain criteria required by U.S. News to be numerically ranked, were not eligible to be on this list. 

These 10 schools awarded the highest average aid packages to undergraduate international students for the 2010-2011 school year:

School name (State)	Average aid awarded to international undergraduates	Number of international undergraduates enrolled	U.S. News rank & category
Yale University (CT)	$51,044	348	3, National Universities
Wesleyan University (CT)	$50,743	84	12, National Liberal Arts Colleges
Skidmore College (NY)	$50,000	56	49, National Liberal Arts Colleges
Amherst College (MA)	$49,010	146	2, National Liberal Arts Colleges
Trinity College (CT)	$48,999	119	37, National Liberal Arts Colleges
Gettysburg College (PA)	$48,908	43	47, National Liberal Arts Colleges
University of Chicago	$48,436	63	5, National Universities
Williams College (MA)	$47,713	128	1, National Liberal Arts Colleges
Vassar College (NY)	$47,623	122	14, National Liberal Arts Colleges
Colby College (ME)	$47,469	94	21, National Liberal Arts Colleges

Don't see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News College Compass to see all schools that offer financial aid to international students, complete rankings, and much more.
http://www.usnews.com/education/articles/2012/02/21/10-colleges-that-offer-international-students-most-financial-aid