Overall Rating Gold
Overall Score 69.17
Liaison Susan Kidd
Submission Date May 21, 2021

STARS v2.2

Agnes Scott College
PA-8: Affordability and Access

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 3.13 / 4.00 Susan Kidd
Executive Director
Center for Sustainability
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Percentage of need met, on average, for students who were awarded any need-based aid :
84.90

Percentage of students graduating without student loan debt:
35.90

Percentage of entering students that are low-income:
41.70

Graduation/success rate for low-income students:
73.10

A brief description of notable policies or programs to make the institution accessible and affordable to low-income students:

Agnes Scott College employs a number of policies and programs to minimize the cost of attendance. Agnes Scott’s financial aid packaging policy allows a student’s total cost for tuition and fees to be discounted. The current discount rate for tuition and fees is around 66%. The college allocates more funds, in addition to federal awards for work study positions, for work study programs to allow four times as many students to participate in the work study program. Work study offers students the opportunity to earn wages for college costs.

In the financial aid packaging process students from low-income backgrounds may also be eligible for Agnes Scott College Grants, which are need-based aid based on the demonstrated need of the student and available institutional funds. Need is calculated from the results of the student’s FAFSA and the cost of attendance. Students must apply each year for need-based aid and demonstrate need annually. The amount of an award may vary each year based on changes in FAFSA results, cost of attendance, and institutional policy. The Agnes Scott Office of Financial Aid also promotes federal programs for low-income students as part of their financial aid package. Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants, and Stafford student loans are available for students who qualify for need-based aid.


A brief description of notable policies or programs to support non-traditional students:

Agnes Scott College is consistently recognized as a top institution for social mobility and providing a pathway through college and beyond for underserved students. Notably:
- One-third of undergraduate students are first generation college students.
- 71% of first-generation college students at Agnes Scott earn a bachelor’s degree in six years, compared to only 44% nationally who earn any degree after six years.
- 99% of full-time, first-time undergraduates are awarded any financial aid assistance in the form of scholarships and financial aid.
- The average retention rate for non-first generation students is 84%, while the average retention rate for first-generation students is slightly higher at 88% which speaks to the College’s variety of resource and support services.
- Agnes Scott has been a test optional college for more than ten years which has always been linked to the College’s commitment to accessibility.

In addition, Agnes Scott is extremely proud of its commitment to accepting and support transfer and undocumented/DACA students. Agnes Scott offers strong merit-based scholarships and financial aid to transfer students which is not always the case at US colleges and universities. Additionally, we accept a good amount of course credit for transfer students as long as students attended a regionally-accredited college or university. For DACA and undocumented students, the College is a proud partner of the Golden Door Scholars program which enables around four students each year to attend Agnes Scott with their tuition, room, board, and health insurance fully funded.
https://www.goldendoorscholars.org/partner-schools


Estimated percentage of students that participate in or directly benefit from the institution’s policies and programs to support low-income and non-traditional students:
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Website URL where information about the institution’s accessibility and affordability initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Data was compiled from Agnes Scott's 2019-2020 Common Data Set.


Data was compiled from Agnes Scott's 2019-2020 Common Data Set.

The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.