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Champlain College · Vermont

Champlain scholarships and merit aid

Champlain auto-awards holistic merit ($18,000-$34,000) and backs it with the Count-On-It guarantee — your scholarship never declines as long as you're full-time with a 2.0 GPA — and outside scholarships usually don't reduce your award either.

Verified Jul 20262 months ago

The short answer

Is Champlain worth a closer look?

Champlain may be worth checking, but its awards do not follow a simple grades-and-scores chart. Start with the published scholarships below.

Merit tiers5See who qualifies
Research checkedJul 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.

$18,000-$34,000 per year

First-Year Merit Scholarship

Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
Holistic — no published stat grid
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Automatically considered based on the admissions application; notable academic achievement and/or extracurricular accomplishments

How to keep it

Count-On-It guarantee: renewed annually for four years and never declines as long as the student is enrolled full-time and maintains a 2.0 GPA (prorated for less-than-full-time). First bachelor's degree only; not transferable to online programs.

Notes

$72,000-$136,000 over four years. No published GPA/test grid (holistic). Top tier ($34,000) is below the $49,500 tuition, so even the largest merit is effectively tuition-directed and does not cover the full bill.

Source

$10,000-$25,000 per year

Transfer Merit Scholarship

Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
Holistic — no published grid
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Automatic with admission for transfer students

How to keep it

Count-On-It guarantee applies (full-time + 2.0 GPA).

Notes

$40,000-$72,000 over a degree depending on time to complete.

Source

$10,000 per year…$10,000 per year ($40,000 over four years)

Leahy Center Scholar Program

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Degree in Cybersecurity, Digital Forensics, Computer Science & Innovation, or Data Analytics; academic achievement + demonstrated interest (clubs, certifications, summer programs); up to 20 students/year

How to keep it

Renewable four-year program; guaranteed employment in the Leahy Center once certain employment requirements are met.

Notes

Major-restricted merit award with an employment guarantee.

Source

$4,000 total…$4,000 total ($1,000 per year, applied toward tuition)

Champlain Visit Scholarship

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Make an official campus visit to Champlain College

How to keep it

$1,000 each year you're enrolled.

Notes

Automatically received after an official campus visit.

Source

$500 per year

FAFSA Scholarship

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Incoming students starting Fall 2026; file the FAFSA (no additional application)

How to keep it

Must file the FAFSA each year to continue receiving it.

Notes

New for Fall 2026.

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 Champlain's published information.

  • Renewal ruleFirst-Year Merit Scholarship: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

    Count-On-It guarantee: renewed annually for four years and never declines as long as the student is enrolled full-time and maintains a 2.0 GPA (prorated for less-than-full-time). First bachelor's degree only; not transferable to online programs. 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. Recipients of Champlain tuition benefits, Tuition Exchange scholarships, and Yellow Ribbon benefits are NOT eligible for the Count-On-It guarantee, and it does not apply to need-based federal/state grants or Champlain funds impacted by them (e.g., Vermont First Generation, New American, Single Parent, Imagine College, Pathways).

  2. The guarantee holds only while you are enrolled full-time and maintain a 2.0 GPA; Champlain funds are prorated for less-than-full-time enrollment.

  3. Even the largest first-year merit tier ($34,000) is below the $49,500 tuition for 2026-27, so it does not cover tuition in full, let alone the ~$20K of housing, food, and fees.

  4. In most cases an outside scholarship does NOT reduce your Champlain scholarship — but tuition benefits, tuition exchange, and military/veterans' benefits are exceptions that can affect your eligibility.

  5. Champlain funds apply only to your first bachelor's degree, are not transferable to online programs, and are not available for third-party study-abroad programs.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Students who want predictable aid — Champlain's Count-On-It guarantee locks your merit for four years at full-time + 2.0 GPA — plus cyber/forensics/CS/data students who can compete for the $10,000/yr Leahy Center Scholar award.

Published yearly cost: Approximately $73,363 for 2026-2027. Source

Cost and graduation facts

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

Average annual net price by family income at Champlain, academic year 2021-22
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$28,885
$30,001–$48,000$26,034
$48,001–$75,000$34,164
$75,001–$110,000$33,857
$110,001+$41,438
All income levels (average)$35,860

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$47,850
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$35,860

That works out to roughly a 45% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $65,009 (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
65%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
82%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$26,814 (~$284/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$58,386
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
26%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
61%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Outside scholarships do NOT reduce a Champlain scholarship in most cases. EXCEPTIONS: tuition benefits, tuition exchange, and military/veterans' benefits are not treated as outside scholarships and could impact eligibility for additional Champlain scholarships. The Count-On-It guarantee (merit never declines at full-time + 2.0 GPA) does not extend to recipients of Champlain tuition benefits, Tuition Exchange scholarships, or Yellow Ribbon benefits, nor to need-based federal/state grants and Champlain funds impacted by them.

Scholarships page (outside awards) plus Count-On-It terms & conditions. Champlain funds apply only to the first bachelor's degree and are not transferable to online programs or third-party study abroad.

Source

Other Champlain scholarships worth checking

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

AmountAmount not published (need-based)EligibilityStudents demonstrating community leadership; requires a supplemental nomination form

Only scholarship requiring a supplemental form; impacted by federal/state grants (outside Count-On-It guarantee)

Source

AmountUp to full cost of attendance (with EFC + federal/state aid)EligibilityFirst-generation Vermont HS seniors, full-time, Pell-eligible; must remain in campus housing for full award

Need-based; outside Count-On-It guarantee

Source

AmountCovers tuition less EFC and federal/state grantsEligibilityVermont refugee/asylum students; Pell-eligible

Need-based

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityPell-eligible Vermont residents who are single parents in the Champlain Single Parents Program

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityFull-time first-year School of Social Innovation students with significant community service

Selected by Admissions from application activities

Source

Champlain merit aid FAQ

  • Will my Champlain scholarship decrease over time?

    No — under the Count-On-It Financial Aid Guarantee, your merit scholarship never declines for four years as long as you remain enrolled full-time and maintain a 2.0 GPA (with carve-outs for tuition benefits, Tuition Exchange, Yellow Ribbon, and need-based federal/state-linked funds).

  • Do I need to apply separately for merit scholarships?

    No. You're automatically considered for most scholarships based on your admissions application; only the Pathways Scholarship requires a supplemental nomination form.

  • Will an outside scholarship reduce my Champlain award?

    In most cases, no. The exceptions are tuition benefits, tuition exchange, and military/veterans' benefits, which are not treated as outside scholarships and could affect your eligibility for additional Champlain scholarships.

See sources and other schools

How Champlain compares

  • 14 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use no-displacement displacement.

    Champlain is in the small minority (14 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.

    Champlain 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 Champlain’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

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