20 Colleges with Full Ride Scholarships

Its no secret college tuition is rising. Thats why full ride scholarships are usually considered the holy grail of financial aid.Full ride scholarships ensure all of your students primary educational expenses are covered. In some cases, these awards go even further, providing stipends for handling costs beyond tuition, fees, room, board, and required supplies.While most students have heard of full ride scholarships, they are actually incredibly rare. Many treat them as if they are magical, mythical creatures; the unicorn of college financial aid.But, even if they arent commonplace, that doesnt mean landing one is impossible.Contents1 The Difference Between Full Ride and Full Tuition Scholarships2 How to Get a Full Ride Scholarship3 Colleges with Full Ride Scholarships4 Non-Institutional Full Ride Scholarships5 Alternatives to Full Ride ScholarshipsThe Difference Between Full Ride and Full Tuition ScholarshipsSome people use the terms full ride and full tuition interchangeably, even t hough they are very different things. With a full ride scholarship, all of your students major expenses are covered with a single award. This includes:TuitionFeesRoom and BoardSupplies and EquipmentAt times, full ride scholarships even go further, providing students with additional money they can use any way they would like. This can offset various costs of living, like transportation or their smartphone bill.Full tuition scholarships are different. While they cover 100 percent of the tuition costs and usually include some fees, but they dont typically handle the other expenses.While having tuition and fees paid for removes a significant financial burden on your student, it doesnt eliminate all of their college expenses.If youd like to learn more, check out: Why a Full Ride Scholarship Requires Much More Than Free College TuitionHow to Get a Full Ride ScholarshipThe majority of full ride scholarships are institutional awards. Colleges with full ride scholarships usually focus on mer it when choosing students who will receive the money, using the funds to entice exceptional teens and young adults to choose their school over the competition.If your student is looking for full ride scholarships, they may need to look at schools that wouldnt typically be on their radar. Highly competitive colleges with strong name recognition (like Harvard and Yale) dont need to convince top performers to apply, so they usually wont offer full rides.There are plenty of colleges that do have full ride opportunities, but competition for the awards can be fierce. Your student has to stand out from the crowd to have a shot at landing a full ride scholarship.Since the awards are merit-based, your student may need to find a school:That has full ride scholarship optionsWhere your student performs well above the average enrolleeThe higher your student scores when compared to the average, the higher their chance of being selected. Along with good grades and test scores, having volunteer exp erience, extracurricular accomplishments, proven leadership capabilities, or similar credentials is often a necessity.Each opportunity is different, including their requirements, so your student needs to study what the colleges with full ride scholarships are looking for to determine where to apply.It is important to note there are full ride scholarships that arent institutional awards. However, they are even rarer than those offered by schools.Colleges with Full Ride ScholarshipsSince most full ride scholarships are institutional awards, your student does have to attend a school that has a suitable program to qualify.Here are some of the top performing colleges with full ride scholarships:Boston College Chestnut Hill, MassachusettsBoston University Boston, MassachusettsCalifornia Institute of Technology Pasadena, CaliforniaCollege of William and Mary Williamsburg, VirginiaDuke University Durham, North CarolinaEmory University Atlanta, GeorgiaGeorgia Institute of Technology A tlanta, GeorgiaTulane University New Orleans, LouisianaUniversity of California Los Angeles, CaliforniaUniversity of Chicago Chicago, IllinoisUniversity of Michigan Ann Arbor, MichiganUniversity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, North CarolinaUniversity of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IndianaUniversity of Rochester Rochester, New YorkUniversity of Southern California Los Angeles, CaliforniaUniversity of Virginia Charlottesville, VirginiaUniversity of Wisconsin Madison, WisconsinVanderbilt University Nashville, TennesseeWake Forest University Winston-Salem, North CarolinaWashington University in St. Louis St. Louis, MissouriOther schools offer full ride or full tuition scholarships too, so, your student doesnt have to stop at this list.If your student has their heart set on a college that isnt included, they should check the schools website to see what forms of financial aid are available. They can also look into alternative funding options that can help them graduat e debt-free.Non-Institutional Full Ride ScholarshipsSome full ride scholarships arent offered by an educational institution. Instead, other organizations provide the awards, giving students some flexibility regarding where they go to school if they are selected.If your student has their eyes set on a college that doesnt offer full ride scholarships, then these opportunities could make attending that school affordable.Here is a list of full ride scholarships for college that arent necessarily tied to a specific school:Army ROTC ScholarshipsChick Evans Caddie ScholarshipJack Kent Cooke Foundation College Scholarship ProgramNavy ROTC ScholarshipsSMART Scholarship ProgramUSDA 1890 National Scholars ProgramNow, the full ride scholarships listed above do have their own requirements. Some limit students to schools from a specific list, some only provide awards for certain majors, and a few require a military commitment. However, they are all worth exploring if your student is looking for f ull scholarships for college.Alternatives to Full Ride ScholarshipsIts important to note that full ride scholarships arent the only way to cover college expenses. Some colleges dont charge tuition for certain students, and it has nothing to do with scholarships. This article discusses these opportunities: Free College Tuition is Actually Possible at These SchoolsThere are also quite a few surprisingly affordable colleges, either because they keep costs low for everyone or because they offer robust financial aid packages to students. If you want to learn more, check out: The Most Affordable Colleges with the Best Financial AidYour student can always land several scholarship awards to cover the costs of college, effectively creating their own free ride. Just because the money doesnt come from a single award doesnt mean it doesnt accomplish the same goal. If your student finds scholarships that can apply to more than the necessary costs, like tuition and fees, graduating completely deb t-free is possible.If you want to learn how to find opportunities including and beyond free ride scholarships, join our free webinar! Youll learn more about the search process, applications, and more, increasing the odds your student can graduate debt-free. Head to http://thescholarshipsystem.com/freewebinar to see when the next training session is available.