Arkansas: aid after freshman year
Four-year colleges in Arkansas, ranked by the gap between the average freshman grant and the average grant in later years.
We have IPEDS 2022-23 grant data for 22 four-year colleges in Arkansas. At 9 of them, the average grant for continuing undergraduates was lower than the average freshman grant. The median gap was −$782 per recipient, compared with $1,064 nationally.
The largest gaps: University of Arkansas at Little Rock ($2,696), University of Arkansas Grantham ($2,019), John Brown University ($1,955). Median gap at public colleges: $62 (11 colleges); at private nonprofits: −$1,780 (11 colleges).
Explain the numbers
- Freshman grant: total grant aid to first-time, full-time freshmen divided by the number who got grants (2022-23).
- Later years: the same average for all other degree-seeking undergraduates who got grants, including transfers and part-time students.
- Drop: freshman average minus later-years average. Above zero means later-year recipients averaged less. In Arkansas, 9 of 22 colleges are above zero and 14 meet our traditional 4-year filter.
- Median: half of the colleges in Arkansas have a smaller drop than −$782, half larger.
- IPEDS data runs about two years behind; current-year prices come from state reports where available.
Averages across recipients, not a prediction for one student. Colleges with large part-time or online enrollment are marked; read the methodology.
| # | College | Drop |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Arkansas at Little Rock Little Rock · Public · large part-time/online share | $2,696 |
| 2 | University of Arkansas Grantham LIttle Rock · Public · large part-time/online share | $2,019 |
| 3 | John Brown University Siloam Springs · Private · large part-time/online share | $1,955 |
| 4 | Arkansas State University Jonesboro · Public · large part-time/online share | $1,379 |
| 5 | University of the Ozarks Clarksville · Private | $1,049 |
| 6 | Southern Arkansas University Main Campus Magnolia · Public | $1,042 |
| 7 | Harding University Searcy · Private | $757 |
| 8 | Arkansas Tech University Russellville · Public · large part-time/online share | $240 |
| 9 | University of Arkansas-Fort Smith Fort Smith · Public · large part-time/online share | $62 |
| 10 | University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Pine Bluff · Public | −$8 |
| 11 | Central Baptist College Conway · Private | −$712 |
| 12 | University of Arkansas Fayetteville · Public | −$852 |
| 13 | Crowley's Ridge College Paragould · Private · large part-time/online share | −$1,191 |
| 14 | Henderson State University Arkadelphia · Public | −$1,314 |
| 15 | University of Central Arkansas Conway · Public | −$1,398 |
| 16 | Philander Smith University Little Rock · Private | −$1,780 |
| 17 | University of Arkansas at Monticello Monticello · Public · large part-time/online share | −$2,317 |
| 18 | Williams Baptist University Walnut Ridge · Private | −$2,414 |
| 19 | Arkansas Baptist College Little Rock · Private | −$3,168 |
| 20 | Lyon College Batesville · Private | −$4,058 |
| 21 | Ouachita Baptist University Arkadelphia · Private | −$4,330 |
| 22 | Hendrix College Conway · Private | −$11,767 |
Source: IPEDS SFA 2022-23.
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