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Clark scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$82,753per year · 2026-2027 · cost of attendance
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

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

Where does your student land?

Verified Jul 2026
3 school sources to explore

Published rules, with the school sources close at hand. Confirm the details before you count on an award.

The award collection

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.

Where does your student land?

  1. Clark Merit ScholarshipsUp to $20,000 per yearNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Clark Merit Scholarships

    Up to $20,000 per year

    Variable or qualified amountNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Clark Merit Scholarships

    Who qualifies

    Based entirely on academic background (academic performance and potential, accomplishments, talents, personal qualities). All applicants automatically considered; no separate application; decided without regard to financial need. No published GPA/test grid.

    How to keep it

    Renewable for up to four years as long as you maintain certain academic standards. All Clark merit + need-based aid is limited to eight semesters.

    Worth knowing

    Notified at the time of admission. May still be combined with need-based aid. Clark does not publish individual named-tier names/amounts on these pages — only the $20,000/yr ceiling.

  2. Presidential ScholarshipFull tuition, on-campus housing and meals (all four years)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Presidential Scholarship

    Full tuition, on-campus housing and meals (all four years)

    Published coverage or packageNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Presidential Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Approximately five exceptional students annually; top applicants by academic achievement and leadership potential. No separate application; finalists are selected and invited to interview.

    How to keep it

    Covers full tuition, housing, and meals for all four years of undergraduate study.

    Worth knowing

    Awarded regardless of a family's financial situation. Apply by the admissions deadline to be considered.

Free Merit Check

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Jonas Clark Hall at Clark University

Jonas Clark Hall at Clark University

What makes Clark different

Clark automatically considers every applicant for merit scholarships of up to $20,000/year (with a handful of full-tuition-plus-housing Presidential Scholarships) — but outside scholarships ultimately reduce your Clark grant dollar-for-dollar, and all Clark aid is capped at eight semesters.

Merit tiers2See who qualifies
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team

Selection beyond grades and scores

Start with the selection process.

These awards are not recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read each award's selection rules, application steps and dates. Meeting a minimum is not an award offer.

  1. Read the selection rules

    Look for the school's stated criteria and whether an additional application is needed.

  2. Check the application dates

    Confirm the current admission and scholarship deadlines directly with the school.

  3. Know what happens next year

    Check renewal, credit requirements and how other aid affects the award.

The fine print / Three questions to carry forward

Before you count on it.

Does it apply to us? Confirm the entering year, residency and every eligibility condition.

Can we keep it? Check renewal GPA, credits and how long the award lasts.

Can we combine it? Ask how outside scholarships and other school awards change the offer.

Take Clark's decision sheet

A printable research summary, source links and room for your questions.

See what could change an award

Straight from the aid office

What Clark's aid office says

Per the Admissions Office, Clark University, August 2026. How we verify

Separate scholarship application

Is there a separate scholarship application apart from the general admission application?

No separate scholarship application exists; applying to Clark automatically applies the student for merit based aid.

“Since we provide merit based aid here at Clark, we do not have a separate scholarship application for students. When you apply to Clark, you are also applying for merit based aid so there is no separate application.”
Departmental scholarships

Are departmental scholarships offered?

Because students apply to Clark as a school rather than to a specific major, the university does not offer departmental scholarships.

“Since you are applying to Clark as a school, and not to a specific major at the school we do not offer departmental scholarships to the university.”
Later test scores

If a higher test score comes in after applying, can it be considered?

A later test score can be submitted after application materials are turned in to be considered as part of the application.

“Following the submission of application materials, if you get another test score you can submit that to be considered as a part of the application.”

What families often miss

  1. For merit outside awards, after filling unmet need and reducing self-help (work-study then loans), any remainder reduces your Clark grant dollar-for-dollar. Non-merit outside awards (federal/state grants) reduce the Clark grant dollar-for-dollar immediately.

  2. Tuition subsidies based on a parent's employment reduce the Clark University Grant by $0.50 per dollar after the first $5,000.

  3. Students are limited to eight semesters of Clark-sponsored need-based aid and merit scholarships; from the ninth semester only federal loans may be available.

  4. Clark's award already assumes living expenses (on-campus room/board or off-campus rent/groceries); moving to an off-campus apartment does not change your aid.

  5. Standard Clark merit scholarships cap at $20,000/year — well below the 2026-27 cost of attendance of ~$82,753; only the ~5 Presidential Scholarships cover full tuition + housing + meals.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Strong applicants who want automatic, no-application merit money at a small MA research university; the very top applicants (≈5/year) compete for the full Presidential Scholarship.

Published yearly cost: Approximately $82,753 for 2026-2027. Source

Cost and graduation facts

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

Average annual net price by family income at Clark, academic year 2021-22
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$18,188
$30,001–$48,000$13,313
$48,001–$75,000$21,971
$75,001–$110,000$25,062
$110,001+$39,035
All income levels (average)$28,714

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$58,867
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$28,714

That works out to roughly a 58% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $68,432 (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
77%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
86%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$26,759 (~$284/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$62,381
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
27%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
60%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Clark's aid is based on the assumption you receive no non-Clark aid; if you do, Clark may revise its offer. For MERIT-based outside scholarships, outside funds first fill unmet need, then reduce self-help (work-study, then loans), and any remainder reduces the Clark grant DOLLAR-FOR-DOLLAR. NON-merit outside awards (federal/state grants) reduce the Clark grant dollar-for-dollar. Tuition subsidies based on a parent's employment reduce the Clark grant $0.50 per dollar after the first $5,000. All Clark merit + need-based aid is capped at eight semesters.

Merit outside awards: unmet need first, then self-help (work-study then loans), then Clark grant dollar-for-dollar. Non-merit outside (federal/state grants): Clark grant dollar-for-dollar immediately. Employer tuition subsidy: $0.50/dollar above $5,000.

Source

Other Clark scholarships worth checking

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

AmountClark matches your Segal award dollar for dollarEligibilityRecipients of the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award who are full-time undergraduate day degree students at Clark.

Renewal per Clark's scholarship guidelines and continued Segal eligibility.

Source

AmountAmount not published (assists with tuition expenses)EligibilityEligible students under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.

Partnership with the VA.

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityChildren of faculty/staff at Tuition Exchange member institutions.

Work with your parent's institution's TE liaison.

Source

Clark merit aid FAQ

  • Do I need a separate application for merit scholarships?

    No. All applicants are automatically considered for Clark's merit scholarships (and for the Presidential Scholarship); recipients are notified at the time of admission. Presidential finalists are invited to interview.

  • How much is the merit scholarship?

    Up to $20,000 per year, renewable for up to four years with satisfactory academics. The Presidential Scholarship (≈5 students/year) instead covers full tuition plus on-campus housing and meals.

  • Will an outside scholarship reduce my Clark aid?

    Possibly. Merit outside awards first fill unmet need, then reduce work-study/loans, then reduce your Clark grant dollar-for-dollar. Non-merit awards (federal/state grants) reduce the Clark grant dollar-for-dollar. Report all outside awards in writing.

  • What are the financial aid deadlines?

    FAFSA and Clark's aid application are due Nov. 15 for Early Action/Early Decision and Jan. 15 for Regular Decision (matching the admission deadlines); tax documentation by May 1 if you enroll.

See sources and other schools

How Clark compares

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

    Clark 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.

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

Compare with similar schools

  • Mount Holyoke merit aid. Massachusetts private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • Smith merit aid. Massachusetts private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • BU Wheelock merit aid. Massachusetts private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • WPI merit aid. Massachusetts private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.

Keep exploring Clark merit aid

The next chapter

Where does Clark fit in your plan?

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