These universities also provide financial aid packages to qualified applicants.
While most U.S. universities consider an applicant's financial capacity during the admission process, these nine institutions—Harvard, Yale, Princeton, MIT, Amherst, Dartmouth, Bowdoin, Brown, and Notre Dame—do not factor it in.
They are ranked among the top 20 national universities, which offer a wide range of undergraduate majors along with master's and doctoral programs, and are committed to groundbreaking research or top 20 Liberal Arts Colleges, which focus on undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in liberal arts fields, according to the 2025 U.S. News and World Report rankings.
Instead, these schools evaluate applicants solely on their qualifications and potential, without penalizing those with limited financial means.
International students at these institutions are eligible for financial aid packages ranging from approximately $21,800 to $84,400 annually.
At Yale, students from families earning less than $65,000 per year can receive up to $84,200 in aid. MIT offers over $76,800 in financial support, while Notre Dame provides an average of $79,900 for students whose families earn less than $40,000 annually.
U.S. universities typically have two admission periods: Early Decision (with deadlines around November 15) and Regular Admission (with deadlines in December or January). Required application materials generally include transcripts, recommendation letters, essays, and a record of academic and extracurricular achievements.
The U.S. remains the top destination for international students, hosting over one million students from more than 200 countries and territories during the last academic year.
Vietnam is the fifth-largest source of international students in the U.S., with 21,900 students enrolled in the 2022-2023 academic year, contributing approximately $816 million to the U.S. economy. Nearly half (47.6%) of these students are pursuing degrees in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics).
No. | University | Ranking (US News 2025) | Average Financial Aid (USD/year) | Tuition 2024 (USD/year) |
1 | Harvard University | 3 | 84,400 | 59,076 |
2 | Yale University | 5 | 28,700-84,200 | 64,700 |
3 | University of Notre Dame | 18 | 21,800-79,900 | 62,693 |
4 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) | 2 | 27,000 - 76,825 | 60,156 |
5 | Bowdoin College | 5 (Liberal Arts College) | 69,000 | 64,910 |
6 | Amherst College | 2 (Liberal Arts College) | 68,000 | 67,280 |
7 | Princeton University | 1 | 62,200 | 59,710 |
8 | Brown University | 13 | 49,830 | 68,230 |
9 | Dartmouth College | 15 | Not disclosed | 65,511 |