They both sound pretty good, right? Oftentimes students use full-ride and full-tuition interchangeably. Thus, their definitions have gotten a little muddled over the years. Let’s start with the more commonly known of the two: the full-ride scholarship.
Full-Ride
A full-ride scholarship is an award that covers the entire cost of college. That includes tuition, room and board, textbooks, school materials, and sometimes even living costs and study abroad fees. The details can change from scholarship to scholarship, but in essence, the full-ride covers more than just tuition.
A full-ride scholarship can be awarded by the federal government, the colleges themselves, or by a private source (though those are rare). These are highly sought-after, highly competitive awards that are only given out to an incredibly small fraction of students—around 0.1%, in fact.
Full-Tuition
The difference is in the name: tuition. These scholarships cover the tuition of the college, not necessarily other fees like travel expenses, room and board, various student fees, or other costs. It varies scholarship to scholarship, of course. Some might cover other costs besides tuition, but that is the main focus.
However, since full-tuition is sometimes used interchangeably with full-ride, you may find a full-tuition scholarship covering things like tuition, room and board, textbooks, laptops, travel expenses, and more.
Like full-rides, the government, colleges, or private sources (again, rare) award full-tuition scholarships.
In Common
Both full-rides and full-tuition scholarships are extraordinarily hard to come by. Since they are largely merit-based, students often have high GPAs, class ranks, test scores, or have incredible athletic abilities or leadership qualities that make them highly coveted by schools.
That being said, go ahead and apply—but don’t stake your entire college financial plan on it! If you receive that full-ride / full-tuition, that’s awesome! If not, you should have a backup plan in place.
Financial Plan
Luckily, financial aid is abundant, even if full-rides aren’t. The federal government is the largest source of financial aid, so complete the FAFSA and find opportunities from them. Completing the FAFSA will also benefit you when searching for aid from the colleges themselves. Many colleges require the FAFSA form to dole out award money. Even private scholarships often ask for the student to file the form.
EVERYONE should really file the FAFSA—even if you think you’re ineligible or you don’t think you’ll get anything, file the FAFSA anyway. It may surprise you.
In addition to that, scholarships are another great way of reducing the cost of college. While not every scholarship is going to award tuition-level money, smaller amounts stack up quickly and can be a huge relief on the financial strain. You can read up on our multitude of scholarship posts!
One last tip: When comparing college costs, don’t just look at the sticker price—the published price of attending a college—but rather the net price—the actual cost of attending, once financial aid is taken into consideration. The difference can be astounding, and you might discover that college is much more affordable than you previously thought.
With College Raptor’s free match tool, you can enter your financial information just once and discover your net price estimate for nearly every school in the country!
So while full-rides and full-tuition scholarships might be enticing, don’t stake all of your plans on earning one. Read up on other financial aid opportunities, and make more informed decisions!
| Lender | Rates (APR) | Eligibility | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
6.97%-15.03%* Variable
5.99%-14.00%* Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT CITIZENS |
 |
6.37% - 16.70% Variable
4.50% - 15.49% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT SALLIE MAE |
 |
4.98% - 16.70% Variable
4.07% - 15.66% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT CREDIBLE |
 |
6.07% - 11.31% Variable
4.39% - 10.39% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT LENDKEY |
 |
6.22% - 16.08% Variable
4.09% - 15.66% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT ASCENT |
 |
6.54% - 11.08% Variable
3.95% - 8.01% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT ISL |
 |
5.62% - 18.26% Variable
4.11% - 15.90% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT EARNEST |
 |
4.98% - 12.79% Variable
8.42% - 13.01% Fixed
|
Undergraduate and Graduate
|
VISIT ELFI |
