FourYearCost

Biggest aid drops by state

Which states' colleges show the largest gap between freshman grants and later-year grants? Median across each state's four-year colleges, IPEDS 2022-23.

Nationally, the median college's gap was $1,064 per recipient. States with only a few colleges can swing a lot, so check the college count.

#StateCollegesMedian dropLargest gap
1Rhode Island10$2,835Salve Regina University ($5,349)
2New Hampshire10$2,599Dartmouth College ($9,003)
3Illinois54$2,346Eureka College ($17,129)
4Maryland23$1,992Notre Dame of Maryland University ($14,961)
5Minnesota36$1,958St Catherine University ($12,777)
6Massachusetts64$1,945Bay Path University ($18,742)
7Michigan45$1,839Siena Heights University ($12,840)
8Iowa26$1,724Buena Vista University ($15,679)
9Texas97$1,668Concordia University Texas ($12,701)
10California99$1,661Fresno Pacific University ($11,322)
11New Jersey31$1,606Pillar College ($13,329)
12New York128$1,566Columbia University in the City of New York ($14,983)
13Kentucky27$1,534Brescia University ($7,175)
14Florida72$1,476Saint Leo University ($10,021)
15Louisiana22$1,402Grambling State University ($5,917)
16Vermont8$1,320Champlain College ($5,260)
17South Carolina35$1,320Limestone University ($5,170)
18Virginia42$1,312Virginia Union University ($8,255)
19Alaska3$1,241University of Alaska Fairbanks ($2,055)
20Connecticut23$1,183Albertus Magnus College ($7,556)
21Pennsylvania117$1,096Eastern University ($13,761)
22Tennessee35$1,059King University ($6,383)
23Nevada7$1,057Great Basin College ($2,440)
24North Carolina51$1,038Wake Forest University ($11,359)
25Hawaii7$1,022Brigham Young University-Hawaii ($3,648)
26Indiana45$928Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College ($8,092)
27Arizona12$904University of Arizona ($2,679)
28Wisconsin35$872Lakeland University ($8,000)
29Georgia53$821Brenau University ($12,607)
30Missouri43$790Washington University in St Louis ($10,460)
31Wyoming5$762Northwest College ($1,130)
32Maine16$734Colby College ($12,073)
33Mississippi15$731Tougaloo College ($2,313)
34Nebraska16$711College of Saint Mary ($4,536)
35Montana10$701University of Providence ($5,637)
36Ohio91$664Kettering College ($16,441)
37Kansas24$496Baker University ($13,985)
38Idaho9$337Northwest Nazarene University ($2,150)
39Alabama24$268Faulkner University ($5,904)
40West Virginia17$171University of Charleston ($6,077)
41Oregon21$166Willamette University ($5,109)
42Oklahoma25$129Oral Roberts University ($6,803)
43District of Columbia8−$36Gallaudet University ($17,735)
44Colorado26−$78Colorado Christian University ($12,687)
45Utah11−$125University of Utah ($2,431)
46Delaware5−$161Wilmington University ($1,211)
47North Dakota11−$362University of Mary ($1,416)
48Washington51−$493Pacific Lutheran University ($4,384)
49New Mexico10−$582Northern New Mexico College ($2,871)
50South Dakota11−$721Dakota Wesleyan University ($5,838)
51Arkansas22−$782University of Arkansas at Little Rock ($2,696)

Averages across recipients, not one student's path. Methodology.

Know before the award letter arrives

One short email when new cost data lands. Double opt-in, no spam.

Get the newsletter