Keith Bedford/Reuters
College is expensive , so it's important to pick a school that offers a good financial aid package.Student Loan Hero recently found the top US colleges that give the most financial aid.It found that US colleges offer an average of $20,494 in financial aid, but the colleges on this list of the top 25 offer at least twice that amount. College doesn't come cheap .
The average cost of tuition and room and board at a four-year public college is $20,770; at a four-year private institution, that number jumps to $26,950, according to the College Board's "Trends in College Pricing 2017" report .
That's why it's important to pick a college that offers a good financial aid package.
Student Loan Hero recently rounded up the top US colleges that give the most financial aid to students in need using data from Peterson's . It looked at 1,244 US colleges.
It found that an average of $20,494 is offered in financial aid to students, but the colleges we highlight below - the top 25 from Student Loan Hero's ranking - offer at least twice that. In most cases, the average financial aid package at each of these schools is just short of the total cost of tuition.
Wellesley College offers an average financial aid package of $47,527 - and that ranks lowest on this list, with the numbers only going up from there.
Below, see the top 25 colleges for financial aid.
25. Wellesley College
Average financial aid package: $47,527
Annual tuition and fees: $48,802
Students receiving need-based aid: 1,361
24. Trinity College
Average financial aid package: $47,679
Annual tuition and fees: $52,760
Students receiving need-based aid: 976
23. University of Notre Dame
Average financial aid package: $47,884
Annual tuition and fees: $49,685
Students receiving need-based aid: 3,997
22. Middlebury College
Average financial aid package: $48,000
Annual tuition and fees: $50,063
Students receiving need-based aid: 1,085
21. Pomona College
Average financial aid package: $48,034
Annual tuition and fees: $49,352
Students receiving need-based aid: 917
20. Smith College
Average financial aid package: $48,115
Annual tuition and fees: $50,044
Students receiving need-based aid: 1,459
19. Washington and Lee University
Average financial aid package: $48,392
Annual tuition and fees: $49,254
Students receiving need-based aid: 771
18. University of Southern California
Average financial aid package: $48,399
Annual tuition and fees: $52,992
Students receiving need-based aid: 6,128
17. Brown University
Average financial aid package: $48,420
Annual tuition and fees: $53,419
Students receiving need-based aid: 2,702
16. Georgetown University
Average financial aid package: $48,999
Annual tuition and fees: $50,547
Students receiving need-based aid: 2,400
15. Barnard College
Average financial aid package: $49,012
Annual tuition and fees: $50,394
Students receiving need-based aid: 998
14. Stanford University
Average financial aid package: $49,124
Annual tuition and fees: $47,940
Students receiving need-based aid: 3,255
13. Dartmouth College
Average financial aid package: $49,141
Annual tuition and fees: $51,438
Students receiving need-based aid: 2,097
12. Haverford College
Average financial aid package: $49,186
Annual tuition and fees: $51,024
Students receiving need-based aid: 629
11. Princeton University
Average financial aid package: $49,502
Annual tuition and fees: $45,320
Students receiving need-based aid: 3,126
10. Colgate University
Average financial aid package: $49,912
Annual tuition and fees: $51,955
Students receiving need-based aid: 1,047
9. University of Chicago
Average financial aid package: $49,967
Annual tuition and fees: $52,491
Students receiving need-based aid: 2,483
8. Duke University
Average financial aid package: $50,312
Annual tuition and fees: $51,265
Students receiving need-based aid: 2,651
7. Webb Institute
Average financial aid package: $50,710
Annual tuition and fees: $48,775
Students receiving need-based aid: 33
6. Vassar College
Average financial aid package: $50,820
Annual tuition and fees: $53,090
Students receiving need-based aid: 1,548
5. Harvard University
Average financial aid package: $51,308
Annual tuition and fees: $47,074
Students receiving need-based aid: 3,687
4. Amherst College
Average financial aid package: $51,775
Annual tuition and fees: $52,476
Students receiving need-based aid: 1,066
3. Williams College
Average financial aid package: $51,890
Annual tuition and fees: $51,790
Students receiving need-based aid: 1,014
2. Yale University
Average financial aid package: $52,894
Annual tuition and fees: $49,480
Students receiving need-based aid: 2,732
1. Columbia University
Average financial aid package: $55,521
Annual tuition and fees: $55,056
Students receiving need-based aid: 2,973
