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Carroll University · Wisconsin

Carroll University scholarships and merit aid

Carroll University (Waukesha, WI) awards every admitted freshman an automatic, GPA-only academic merit scholarship of $18,000-$26,000 per year on a published 5-tier grid, renewable for four years, with test scores used only if they help.

Verified Jun 20263 months ago

The short answer

Is Carroll University worth a closer look?

Carroll University awards automatic merit on admission. Carroll University does not publish a GPA or test chart, so you cannot self-calculate the dollars.

Merit tiers155 based on grades or scores
Research checkedJun 2026By our research team

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Published scholarships

These amounts and requirements come from the school’s own published pages. Open an award to see who qualifies and how to keep it.

$26,000 per year

Automatic Academic Merit Scholarship — Trustee

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
4.00-3.9 (test-optional grid)
ACT
Per the test-score grid, a 3.8+ GPA with ACT 36-28 also qualifies for Trustee; specific full test grid not captured verbatim
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Awarded automatically at admission. Test-optional: ACT/SAT used only if it helps the application and merit scholarship.

How to keep it

Unless otherwise noted, scholarships are renewable for four years as long as the student maintains full-time financial aid undergraduate status and maintains Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Standards.

Notes

Top tier of the automatic GPA grid. The published range for the automatic merit scholarships is $18,000-$26,000 per year.

Source

$24,000 per year

Automatic Academic Merit Scholarship — Voorhees

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
3.89-3.6 (test-optional grid)
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Awarded automatically at admission. Test-optional; ACT/SAT used only if it helps.

How to keep it

Renewable for four years as long as the student maintains full-time financial aid undergraduate status and maintains Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Standards.

Notes

Second tier of the automatic GPA grid.

Source

$22,000 per year

Automatic Academic Merit Scholarship — Charles Carroll

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
3.59-3.3 (test-optional grid)
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Awarded automatically at admission. Test-optional; ACT/SAT used only if it helps.

How to keep it

Renewable for four years as long as the student maintains full-time financial aid undergraduate status and maintains Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Standards.

Notes

Third tier of the automatic GPA grid.

Source

$20,000 per year

Automatic Academic Merit Scholarship — Presidential

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
3.299-2.8 (test-optional grid)
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Awarded automatically at admission. Test-optional; ACT/SAT used only if it helps.

How to keep it

Renewable for four years as long as the student maintains full-time financial aid undergraduate status and maintains Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Standards.

Notes

Fourth tier of the automatic GPA grid.

Source

$18,000 per year

Automatic Academic Merit Scholarship — Pioneer

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
2.799-2.5 (test-optional grid)
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Awarded automatically at admission. Test-optional; ACT/SAT used only if it helps.

How to keep it

Renewable for four years as long as the student maintains full-time financial aid undergraduate status and maintains Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Standards.

Notes

Entry tier of the automatic GPA grid; the floor of the $18,000-$26,000 published range.

Source

Full tuition each year for four yea…Full tuition each year for four years

MacAllister Full Tuition Scholarship

Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
Maintain a 3.0 GPA
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Competitive. High school senior accepted to Carroll as a full-time student for fall 2027. Application opens September 1, 2026; deadline Monday, December 14, 2026. Finalists attend a mandatory on-campus interview Saturday, February 13, 2027.

How to keep it

Provides the full-tuition benefit each year for four years; recipients must maintain a 3.0 GPA. Recipients are not eligible for additional Carroll scholarships or grants.

Notes

Three selected recipients receive full tuition for four years. Finalists who are not selected receive a $1,000 per year Scholar Award. Recipients are NOT eligible for additional Carroll scholarships or grants, so this replaces (does not stack on) the automatic merit grid.

Source

$10,000 total…$10,000 total; $2,500 renewable per year

Davies Otto Fellow Science Scholarship

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Competitive; science focus

How to keep it

$2,500 renewable per year, $10,000 total over four years.

Notes

Listed among Carroll's competitive/named scholarships.

Source

$5,000 total…$5,000 total; $1,250 renewable per year

William A. Ganfield Scholarship

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Competitive; named scholarship

How to keep it

$1,250 renewable per year, $5,000 total.

Notes

Listed among Carroll's competitive/named scholarships.

Source

$1,000-$3,000 per year

George and Gerald Bitters Scholarship

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Competitive; named scholarship

How to keep it

Per-year amount stated; renewal terms not specified on the page.

Notes

Listed among Carroll's competitive/named scholarships.

Source

$4,000 total…$4,000 total; $1,000 renewable per year

Theatre Scholarship (majors)

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Theatre majors (separate, smaller award for minors)

How to keep it

$1,000 renewable per year for majors, $4,000 total; minors receive $1,000 total / $250 renewable per year.

Notes

Talent-based theatre award; minors get $1,000 total ($250 per year).

Source

$1,750 three year total

Anne Hardy Art Scholarship

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Art focus; talent-based

How to keep it

Three-year total of $1,750.

Notes

Listed among Carroll's competitive/named scholarships.

Source

Minimum of $2,000 renewable per year

Jack and Corrine Reichert Scholarship

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Competitive; named scholarship

How to keep it

Minimum of $2,000 renewable per year.

Notes

Listed among Carroll's competitive/named scholarships.

Source

Up to $2,500

Esports Scholarship

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Esports team participation

How to keep it

Renewal terms not specified on the page.

Notes

Listed among Carroll's competitive/named scholarships.

Source

$500 per year renewable

Hilger Tradition Award

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Legacy/tradition award

How to keep it

$500 per year, renewable.

Notes

Listed among Carroll's additional named awards.

Source

$2,000 ($500 per year)

Visit Grant

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Earned by completing an official campus visit

How to keep it

$500 per year, $2,000 total.

Notes

Visit-based grant; total $2,000 paid as $500 per year.

Source

See what could change an award

Rules that could change the answer

These are the rules we would flag for your family. Each comes from Carroll University's published information.

  • Renewal ruleAutomatic Academic Merit Scholarship — Trustee: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

    Unless otherwise noted, scholarships are renewable for four years as long as the student maintains full-time financial aid undergraduate status and maintains Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Standards. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

What families often miss

  1. Carroll is test-optional for merit. The grid is GPA-only, and the page says scores are 'used only if it helps your application and merit scholarship.' A weak score cannot lower your award.

  2. MacAllister recipients 'are not eligible for additional Carroll scholarships or grants.' It replaces the merit grid rather than adding to it — and it goes to only three selected recipients after a December application and a February interview.

  3. Tuition is $41,200 and the comprehensive fee is $890, but room (e.g., a traditional double at $6,730) and a meal plan (e.g., Gold at $6,400) push the direct cost well past $55,000 before books and personal expenses.

  4. Carroll caps total aid at its cost of attendance and notes an outside award 'occasionally may have a direct effect on the type and amount of loan you will qualify for' — so it may displace loan eligibility rather than add cash.

  5. Automatic merit is set at admission from your GPA, and the headline MacAllister award has a hard December 14, 2026 application deadline plus a mandatory February 13, 2027 on-campus interview for finalists.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Wisconsin-area and Midwest students who want a predictable, automatic, GPA-based merit floor at a small private health-sciences-focused university — strong-GPA applicants get the most, and test scores can only help, never hurt.

Published yearly cost: Approximately $55,220 for 2026-2027. Source

Cost and graduation facts

Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Carroll University, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.

Average annual net price by family income at Carroll University, academic year 2021-22
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$15,718
$30,001–$48,000$16,875
$48,001–$75,000$14,134
$75,001–$110,000$15,730
$110,001+$14,891
All income levels (average)$15,193

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$38,890
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$15,193

That works out to roughly a 71% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $52,639 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
71%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
78%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$27,000 (~$286/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$58,009
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
24%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
57%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Carroll's FAQ states that an outside scholarship in most cases has no effect on a student's aid, but occasionally may change the type and amount of loan a student qualifies for, and that financial aid from all sources cannot exceed Carroll's established cost of attendance. This is loan-first behavior with a COA cap. Note: MacAllister recipients are explicitly NOT eligible for additional Carroll scholarships or grants, so the headline full-tuition award does not stack with the automatic merit grid.

Outside scholarships first reduce loan eligibility ('occasionally it may have a direct effect on the type and amount of loan you will qualify for') rather than institutional merit aid in most cases, subject to a cost-of-attendance cap ('Financial aid from all sources cannot exceed the cost of attendance established by Carroll'). The page does not state how multiple institutional awards combine, except that MacAllister replaces rather than stacks.

Source

Other Carroll University scholarships worth checking

These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.

AmountVarying renewable amountsEligibilityEngineering / Computer Science majors.

Departmental; amount varies. Competitive.

Source

AmountVarying renewable amountsEligibilityMusic students; audition/talent-based.

Amount varies by audition.

Source

Amount$1,000 one year scholarshipEligibilityNamed award; one-year, non-renewable.

One-time award.

Source

Amount$2,000 one year scholarshipEligibilityHigh school seniors who reside or attend high school in Waukesha County.

Corporate-funded, one-year award; separate program page exists.

Source

AmountVarying renewable amounts up to full tuitionEligibilitySelective; amount varies.

Can reach full tuition; competitive.

Source

Carroll University merit aid FAQ

  • Is the academic merit scholarship automatic?

    Yes. Carroll awards an automatic merit scholarship at admission based on your GPA, ranging from $18,000 to $26,000 per year across five tiers (Pioneer through Trustee). No separate scholarship application is required for the automatic grid.

  • Do I need test scores to qualify?

    No. The grid is GPA-only and Carroll is test-optional: 'If you send us your ACT or SAT score, we'll use it only if it helps your application and merit scholarship.' A submitted score can move you up but cannot move you down.

  • How do I keep my scholarship for four years?

    Unless otherwise noted, the scholarships are renewable for four years as long as you maintain full-time financial-aid undergraduate status and meet Carroll's Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) Standards. The page does not publish a specific renewal GPA for the automatic grid.

  • Will an outside scholarship reduce my Carroll aid?

    In most cases it has no effect, but occasionally it can change the type and amount of loan you qualify for, and total aid from all sources cannot exceed Carroll's cost of attendance. Carroll asks you to notify the Financial Aid Office if you receive one.

  • Can I get both the automatic merit scholarship and the MacAllister full-tuition award?

    No. MacAllister recipients are not eligible for additional Carroll scholarships or grants, so the full-tuition award replaces the automatic grid rather than stacking on it.

See sources and other schools

How Carroll University compares

  • 145 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.

    Carroll University is in a recognizable cluster (145 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

  • 665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

    Carroll University is one of them. The cohort minority (84 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.

Sources used on this page

Every claim is checked against Carroll University’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

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