West Virginia: aid after freshman year

Four-year colleges in West Virginia, ranked by the gap between the average freshman grant and the average grant in later years.

We have IPEDS 2022-23 grant data for 17 four-year colleges in West Virginia. At 9 of them, the average grant for continuing undergraduates was lower than the average freshman grant. The median gap was $171 per recipient, compared with $1,064 nationally.

The largest gaps: University of Charleston ($6,077), West Virginia Wesleyan College ($1,070), Marshall University ($1,025). Median gap at public colleges: −$24 (12 colleges); at private nonprofits: $695 (5 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 West Virginia, 9 of 17 colleges are above zero and 10 meet our traditional 4-year filter.
• Median: half of the colleges in West Virginia have a smaller drop than $171, 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.

Source: IPEDS SFA 2022-23.