Coe · Iowa
Every first-year applicant is auto-considered for a Trustee Scholarship up to $42,000/yr, but a full-tuition Williston Jones or Merit Recognition award worth $42,000+ REPLACES all other Coe-funded aid rather than stacking on it.
The trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook. Each is derived from Coe's own published policy, not generic advice.
Coe treats loans, work-study, and institutional grant under different rules. The same $5,000 outside award can land against any of them depending on category.
Any such award valued at $42,000+ makes you ineligible for all other Coe-funded aid and REPLACES institutional scholarships/grants you were already offered — so winning the big award does not add to your other Coe money.
The page states that to receive the FULL scholarship amount students are expected to live on campus; commuters are directed to contact Admission and (for the Iowa Kohawk award) are considered for the lower $1,000/yr figure.
The educational-costs handbook states that when a student is approved to move off-campus, institutional financial aid (merit and need-based) may be adjusted.
Coe publishes only a ceiling ('Up to $42,000') and tells students to apply to learn the exact amount — there is no stat grid.
High-achieving students who want a large automatic discount (Trustee up to $42K) and competitive applicants chasing a full-tuition Williston Jones or National Merit award — who should know the biggest award caps out other Coe aid.
Tuition / cost of attendance: Approximately $71,890 for 2026-2027. Source
Every tier below is sourced to the school’s own published financial aid pages. Renewal terms apply only if the student maintains the stated GPA.
All first-year applicants automatically considered; exact amount revealed on applying. To receive the FULL amount, students must live on campus.
Renewable; standard merit renewal. Full amount requires living on campus.
Stated ceiling is 'Up to $42,000 per year' — no published GPA/test grid; the per-student amount is holistic and disclosed in the admission/aid offer.
Competitive; requires a separate scholarship-day registration/application (links to apply.coe.edu). Williston Jones Leadership Scholarship is open to U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
Renewable for an additional three years at the tuition rate of the student's entering year, plus a yearly increase of $1,000. Full amount requires living on campus.
CRITICAL ANTI-STACK RULE: a Williston Jones scholarship valued at $42,000 or more makes the student ineligible for ANY other Coe-funded aid, and the award REPLACES any institutional scholarships/grants already awarded. Four named tracks: Distinguished Trustee, Leadership, Sustainability, Marshall Music.
Full tuition for National Merit Scholarship Program FINALISTS; National Merit SEMIFINALISTS are awarded $47,000.
Renewable for an additional three years at entering-year tuition rate plus a yearly $1,000 increase, provided the student maintains Satisfactory Academic Progress. Full amount requires living on campus.
ANTI-STACK RULE: a Merit Recognition Award valued at $42,000 or more makes the student ineligible for any other Coe-funded aid and replaces any institutional scholarships/grants. This award is automatic on confirmed National Merit standing (finalist/semifinalist), hence automaticOnStats true.
By audition/interview with art, music and theatre faculty; open to majors and non-majors. All-State musicians automatically receive $5,000 (Feb. 1 admission deadline). Music Department also awards scholarships up to full tuition.
VPA awards valued up to $4,000; All-State Music at $5,000/yr.
Qualified applicants from Iowa high schools, automatically considered. Commuter students considered for $1,000/yr.
$8,000 over four years.
Home-state award.
Eligible admitted students notified of criteria at time of admission.
Admitted students awarded a Trustee Scholarship are automatically considered for this additional award.
Renewable for three years after the student's first year at Coe College.
Out-of-state geographic-diversity award.
First-year students from Illinois admitted to Coe and eligible for the Illinois MAP Grant after filing the FAFSA. Matches the Illinois MAP Grant amount.
Designed to match the Illinois Monetary Award Program (MAP) Grant.
Coe awards generally stack (e.g., Trustee + National Kohawk + Impact + sibling/legacy), but there is a hard cliff at the top: any Williston Jones or Merit Recognition award valued at $42,000 or more makes the student ineligible for ALL other Coe-funded aid and replaces any institutional scholarships/grants already awarded. The full amount of Trustee and full-tuition awards also requires living on campus; approved off-campus moves can trigger an institutional-aid adjustment.
Full-tuition Williston Jones and Merit Recognition awards of $42,000+ replace, rather than add to, other Coe-funded aid. Living on campus is a condition of the full award amount. When a student is approved to move off-campus, institutional financial aid (merit and need-based) may be adjusted. The page does not specify whether private OUTSIDE scholarships reduce institutional aid (see outside-scholarship note in Section C).
Named awards that don’t always surface on the main financial aid page. Each one has its own eligibility rules.
Per year.
Coe states: 'To learn the exact amount that you may be eligible to receive, simply apply to Coe College.' All first-year applicants are automatically considered for the Trustee Scholarship.
All-State musicians automatically receive a $5,000 scholarship with a February 1 admission deadline.
No. A Merit Recognition Award (or Williston Jones award) valued at $42,000 or more makes you ineligible for any other Coe-funded aid and replaces any institutional scholarships/grants.
They renew for three additional years at the tuition rate of your entering year plus a yearly $1,000 increase; Merit Recognition Awards additionally require Satisfactory Academic Progress.
Coe is in the modest minority (32 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
Coe is one of them. The cohort minority (26 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.
Coe is one of them. NMF packages typically carry their own stacking and renewal carve-outs separate from the standard automatic merit ladder; confirm those before assuming the headline NMF value is final.
Every claim is checked against Coe’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
