College is more expensive than ever. That part is clear. But private college tuition is frustratingly opaque. The average sticker price at a four-year private college (before room, board and other college-going expenses are factored in) in the 2024-25 academic year was $43,350—a 3.9% increase over 2023-24 prices, according to the College Board.

Yet at nearly every private college in the United States, few, if any, students are paying that price. For a myriad of reasons—prestige, enrollment competition, and student body diversity, to name a few—almost all private colleges charge a hefty sticker price, and then effectively discount their tuition. At four-year private colleges in the 2024-25 academic year, the net price for tuition and fees—meaning the price students and families pay out-of-pocket after federal, state and institutional grants (but not loans) are factored into the cost—was $16,510—$26,840 less than what the schools are posting on their online tuition pages. Put another way, the average tuition discount is a stunning 62%.

There’s a larger number that’s also important: the total cost of attendance (COA), which includes not only tuition and fees, but also room and board, books, transportation and personal expenses. The average list COA was $62,990, while the average net COA was $36,150. That’s a $26,840, or 43% discount. But every student pays a different net price, and determining in advance what yours will be isn’t easy. While they’ve streamlined the tools, most colleges require prospective students to fill out a net price calculator to get a net price estimate, which requires those students to know at least a bit about their parents’ finances. Otherwise, federal websites list average net prices for each school, which is useful but only if a given student is sure they’re a financially and academically average student.

Despite the convoluted pricing, it’s worth investigating the price estimates of any private schools on your college shortlist. After scholarships, the net price at private schools can often match, or even beat, the price tag for public in-state tuition for many students—especially in middle class and even more affluent families.

As part of our annual Top Colleges ranking, Forbes identified 25 schools that offer stand-out scholarship packages to first-time, full-time undergraduates. To determine which schools are the most generous, we looked at the percentage of students who receive at least some grant aid. At every school below, at least 95% of students receive aid, and at 20 of the schools, all students receive some aid. We also looked at which schools offered financial aid packages that paid for a significant chunk of the total cost of attendance. At all 25 schools, scholarships make up at least half of the annual cost to attend, with some paying for as much as 80%. All data is from the 2023-24 academic year, the latest made available by the Department of Education. Read on for a closer look at the 25 private schools on the Forbes Top Colleges list with the most generous financial aid.

Washington & Jefferson College offers first-time, full-time undergraduates an average scholarship of $35,647, which covers more than 80% of the $44,295 annual cost of attendance. The liberal arts school enrolls only undergraduates and boasts a student-to-faculty ratio of 12:1. The college, which accepts about 80% of applicants, requires freshmen to complete a “first year seminar” during the fall semester which includes lectures, concerts, plays, and trips to museums or galleries based on a common theme. Fun fact: Washington & Jefferson’s 60-acre suburban campus in Washington, Pennsylvania was the set of Netflix’s 2021 academic dramedy The Chair.

At Berea College in Kentucky, no student pays tuition. The tiny liberal arts college instead requires students to participate in a work-study program that requires at least 10 hours of work per week for the college, and qualifying jobs range from busing tables at the college-owned Boone Tavern Hotel, to crafting, to janitorial work, building management and groundskeeping. Students receive an average........

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