Buyers and Sellers List | Jeff Selingo

The search for the right fit in a college should result in one that measures up in three ways: academic, social, and financial. But too often, families have only a hazy idea of what their tuition bill might look like. So they don’t think about the price of college until it’s too late.

The NEW FALL 2025 Buyers and Sellers List provides essential data on more than 1000 colleges and universities, and a very rough sort of the chances for receiving merit aid.

Please look at the FAQs about the list (below) because in my experience they will answer the questions you’re likely to have.

Testimonials

Your list absolutely helped us create a list where she's received many acceptances already along with great merit!”

– David S.

It helped us avoid focusing only on the "name brand" schools. We chose schools from the full spectrum.

– Jon M.

The Buyers and Sellers List has become our go-to resource when working with our students to create a balanced list. As murky as financial aid planning and seeking merit awards may be, this tool gives students and families clarity to apply with confidence.

– A school counselor

The Buyers and Sellers List was the most clear-cut transparent sharing of relevant information that we found during our search. It definitely helped to frame our planning.

– Leea R.

The data provides a reality check that the brand-name colleges they all want to attend do not necessarily offer the best financial outcomes or ROI… Using the Buyers and Sellers List, the average debt at graduation, and 10-year average salary data, I can steer the conversation toward reality.

– An independent college counselor

FAQs

About the Buyers and Sellers List

It’s a concept I developed while researching and writing Who Gets In and Why.

The sellers are the “haves” of admissions. They are overwhelmed with applications, many from top students. They don’t need to buy students with tuition discounts to fill their classrooms. Most sellers offer financial assistance only to students who really need it or are truly exceptional.

The buyers are the “have-nots” in terms of admissions—although they might provide a superior undergraduate education. Rather than “select” a class, their admissions officers must work hard to recruit students and they must discount tuition through merit aid to fill classroom seats and beds in dorm rooms.

The list is not developed using a precise mathematical formula nor should you think of it as a binary system. Rather it’s best to consider this a rough sort of colleges when it comes to how they deploy financial aid, either as a discount (buyers) or for financial need (sellers). Use this list to educate yourself about all the factors. To build your own specific list, use the data published by colleges you’re interested in.
Too many of the students I followed for the book applied to great schools academically and they got in. But then they didn’t get financial aid because their family finances didn’t qualify them for need-based aid. By then it was too late to apply elsewhere. They had too many sellers on their list of schools and not enough buyers.
I looked at two numbers:
1. Percentage of applicants admitted
2. Percentage of cost that is rebated as merit scholarships to students without need
The lower the admit rate and the lower the percentage of cost provided as merit aid, the more likely the school is a seller. Sellers make up a fairly small number of four-year colleges and universities, less than 5 percent.

The vast majority of schools are buyers, meaning they admit a large percent of applicants, their yield rate is lower, and a higher percentage of the aid they offer is merit aid or non-need based aid.
Not at all. None of this buyer-seller division is a reflection of the actual educational quality of the school. You can get a great education as a buyer. Most schools are buyers. I went to one myself. Savvy students willing to look beyond the brand-name sellers can find great schools that are buyers.

Are there buyers and sellers among public colleges and universities, too?

Yes, but with lots of caveats. How public colleges and universities distribute financial aid differs greatly by state and for in-state and out-of-state students. Whether a public college is a buyer or seller sometimes differs depending on whether you’re an in-state or out-of-state student or other policies that are sometimes at odds with the selectivity of an institution. In some cases, an institution might look like a buyer on the admissions front (they are less selective) but a seller on the financial aid side (they are stingy). So that’s why we left the buyer/seller designation on the spreadsheet blank for public colleges, but provided you with much data to assist so you can ask the right questions of the financial aid office.
Here’s a rule of thumb: On average, sellers admit less than 20% of applicants, while colleges as a whole admit 70% or more. When sellers make an offer of admission, nearly 45% of students accept, compared to 25% for buyers (you can find that in the yield rate data). Finally, sellers give out less than 10% (and often less than 7%) of their aid without regard to financial need. Meanwhile, at buyers as much as 33% of the institution’s aid budget might be given out as merit-based discounts. But remember, there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to buyers and sellers

A data source you can use is the “common data set” each college is required to provide. It’s often deep within an institutional research page. Do internet searches on “[college name] common data set” for each school you’re interested in.
The list is compiled using data from the Common Data Set, Peterson's Data, and the U.S. Department of Education. The list is only as good as the data used to build it. Because not every institution publishes the Common Data Set, some institutions are missing from the list. Also, the IPEDS database doesn’t track net prices at public universities for out-of-state students. Furthermore, schools self-report the data, and they sometimes make errors.
If you have any questions about terms in the columns or why data is displayed the way it is, please consult the glossary of terms.

Glossary

These definitions are drawn from the U.S. Department of Education IPEDS Glossary and the College IQ glossary. (IPEDS stands for Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System.)

Schools give aid based on both need and non-need (i.e., merit aid). This number represents the percentage of the total need that is given without respect to need. Generally speaking, the higher the percentage, the more generous the school is with merit aid.
Also known as the Yield Rate, this is a measure of how popular a school is amongst those who apply. Generally speaking, schools with lower rates are more likely to offer merit aid to convince students to attend.
The overall acceptance rate of applicants in the most recent year for which we have data.
Total number of applications. Note: Starting in 2023-24, colleges can only count applications if they include enough information to make an admission decision.
Total dollar amount of endowed scholarships, annual gifts, and tuition-funded grants awarded by the college in the most recent year, based on student financial need.
Total dollar amount of endowed scholarships, annual gifts, and tuition-funded grants awarded by the college in the most recent year, not based on student financial need.
Net price is calculated by adding the advertised price for tuition, fees, books, supplies, and the average living costs at the school and subtracting the average grant and/or scholarship aid (e.g., Pell grants, school-based grants, merit scholarships). Net price is calculated as the average over all full-time, first-time students who receive federal financial aid and may not reflect a specific student's annual costs. For public schools, this is the average cost for in-state students. Negative values indicate that the average grant/scholarship aid exceeded the cost of attendance.
Based on adjusted gross income. Income is a crude measure that doesn't consider assets; families are encouraged to use the Net Price Calculator on a school's website to determine an estimated cost for their student to attend the school.
Percentage of students at the school who returned for a second year.
Percentage of students completing their program within the normal period of time.
Number of students completing their program within a time period equal to one and a half times (150%) the normal period of time.

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