Affordable Target Colleges
What is an Affordable Target College?
Simply put, an affordable, target college, is a college that you are likely to get accepted to that will also be affordable for you once you are accepted. We recommend that you apply to at least one, and between 1-4 of these affordable private colleges as part of a balanced college list!
Affordable
A private college that meets more than 90% of financial need will typically be affordable for most students, even those from low-income families.
The ideal is clearly for colleges to meet 100% of your financial need. That means that it will provide financial aid to match what your family cannot pay. However, there are very few colleges that meet 100% of financial need and they are mainly the most selective reach schools in the country. College that meet more than 90% of financial need are typically affordable.
"Target"
Target as in not reach. "Reach" colleges are the most selective colleges in the country with acceptance rates under 30%. "Target" colleges are still amazing schools, but their acceptance rates are a bit higher-- usually in the 40s-50s%, and you are confident that you will be admitted because you fall close to or above their average GPA and SAT/ACT scores.
Search for Affordable Target Colleges
There are approximately 1000, four-year, private colleges in the U.S., but few of them are generally affordable for lower income students. Use the map & spreadsheets below to search the 97 affordable, target colleges to include in your college list.
Search for Affordable Target College by Region
You can download & make a copy on your computer so that you can edit.
Use filters to search by selectivity, affordability, diversity, and major. The colleges are already divided by regions of the country.
Remember, these are the colleges that are typically affordable for lower-income students. Other private universities may be affordable through large merit scholarships, but competition for those few scholarships is often pretty fierce.
We never say don't apply. Apply to all of the private colleges that you are interested in, but also make sure that your college list includes at least 1-2 of these affordable, target colleges!
Search for Affordable Target College by Major
You can download & make a copy on your computer so that you can edit.
Use filters to search by selectivity, affordability, diversity, and major. The colleges are already divided by majors.