Public vs private: who drops aid more?
Medians across 1,732 four-year colleges, IPEDS 2022-23.
| Public | Private nonprofit | |
|---|---|---|
| Colleges | 750 | 982 |
| Median freshman grant | $8,688 | $24,784 |
| Median later-years grant | $8,154 | $22,534 |
| Median drop | $622 | $1,832 |
| Median drop as % of freshman grant | 6.8% | 7.7% |
| Colleges with a drop above zero | 502 (67%) | 755 (77%) |
| Median drop, traditional 4-year only | $367 (383) | $1,768 (773) |
Largest drops: public
| # | College | Drop |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prairie View A & M University Prairie View · Public | $6,880 |
| 2 | Coppin State University Baltimore · Public | $6,395 |
| 3 | Grambling State University Grambling · Public | $5,917 |
| 4 | University of Maryland Eastern Shore Princess Anne · Public | $5,575 |
| 5 | Western Illinois University Macomb · Public | $5,380 |
| 6 | Tennessee State University Nashville · Public | $4,929 |
| 7 | Massachusetts Maritime Academy Buzzards Bay · Public | $4,364 |
| 8 | University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville · Public | $3,756 |
| 9 | University of California-Berkeley Berkeley · Public | $3,609 |
| 10 | University of North Texas Denton · Public | $3,557 |
Largest drops: private nonprofit
| # | College | Drop |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Gallaudet University Washington · Private | $17,735 |
| 2 | Eureka College Eureka · Private | $17,129 |
| 3 | Northeastern University Boston · Private | $15,148 |
| 4 | Columbia University in the City of New York New York · Private | $14,983 |
| 5 | Notre Dame of Maryland University Baltimore · Private | $14,961 |
| 6 | Pillar College Newark · Private | $13,329 |
| 7 | University of Chicago Chicago · Private | $12,850 |
| 8 | Concordia University Texas Austin · Private | $12,701 |
| 9 | Colby College Waterville · Private | $12,073 |
| 10 | University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia · Private | $11,665 |
Top-10 lists use traditional 4-year colleges. Private colleges give larger grants overall, so dollar gaps run larger; compare the % row too. Not advice on which college to choose. Methodology.
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