Conn College scholarships and merit aid
The short answer
We did not find a simple published award list to show for Conn College. Read our full reasoning before spending more time here.
1 school source to explore
Published rules, with the school sources close at hand. Confirm the details before you count on an award.
Explore the aid policy
Start with the financial aid office
This research does not list a merit award. Explore the recorded policies below and ask Conn College's financial aid office about current options.
Free Merit Check
Check the rules that could cut this.
The free Merit Check shows which Conn College award your student's numbers reach, and the rules that could change it. About 30 seconds.
This page covers one school.
Your playbook does this for every school on your list, sorted by what you’d pay.
Ready in under 10 minutes. 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Secure payment through Stripe
“it told me what to ask and what the renewal GPA looked like, which I was not going to find on my own”Melissa
Harkness Chapel at Connecticut College
What makes Conn College different
Need-based liberal-arts college in New London where institutional aid is structured around the $89,660 comprehensive fee — the school publishes no merit ladder and states that eligibility for most financial aid is need-based.
Start with the aid policy
Find the right kind of aid.
This research does not list a merit award. Check the school's financial aid options and application requirements; an empty award list is not proof that no aid is available.
- Read the selection rules
Look for the school's stated criteria and whether an additional application is needed.
- Check the application dates
Confirm the current admission and scholarship deadlines directly with the school.
- 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.
A printable research summary, source links and room for your questions.
See what could change an award
Straight from the aid office
What Conn College's aid office says
Per the Financial Aid Services, Connecticut College, August 2026. How we verify
- Merit scholarships vs. need-based grants
Do merit scholarships stack with need-based grants at Connecticut College?
Because financial aid packages meet 100% of demonstrated need, the college does not stack merit scholarships and need-based grants; both would only be included if a student qualifies for both.
“Because Connecticut College financial aid packages reflect 100% of demonstrated need (based on a review of your financial aid application and supporting documentation), we do not stack merit scholarships and need-based grants. The financial aid would include both only if you qualify for both.”
- Definition of demonstrated need
How does the college calculate demonstrated need?
Demonstrated need is determined by subtracting the calculated family contribution (including additional reported resources) from the total Cost of Attendance (including billable and non-billable items).
“*Demonstrated Need *is determined by subtracting the calculated family contribution (including any additional reported resources; i.e. employer tuition benefits, other family contributions, etc.) from the total Cost of Attendance (including billable* and non-billable items*).”
- Financial aid package formula
How is the financial aid package calculated once merit and federal aid are factored in?
The financial aid package equals demonstrated need minus merit scholarship minus federal financial aid eligibility, with any remainder covered by need-based grant funding.
“*Financial Aid Package* is determined by this formula: Demonstrated Need *minus* merit scholarship assignment* minus *federal financial aid eligibility per your FAFSA** *equals* need-based grant funding (*if there is any remaining eligibility*).”
- What happens if merit exceeds need
What if my merit scholarship is larger than my demonstrated need?
If the merit scholarship exceeds need-based eligibility, the student still receives the full merit scholarship awarded.
“If your merit scholarship exceeds your need-based eligibility, you would still receive the full merit scholarship awarded to you.”
- Who awards merit scholarships
Which office decides the merit scholarship amount?
The Admissions office determines which merit scholarship a student is awarded.
“The Admissions office determines which merit scholarship you would be awarded.”
- Net Price Calculator and merit scholarships
Does the Net Price Calculator show merit scholarship amounts separately?
The NPC does not include the merit scholarship separately; the total grant funding shown includes both merit and need-based grant, if any, as one combined amount.
“Please note that the NPC does not include the merit scholarship. Therefore, the total grant funding indicated on the NPC would include merit and need-based grant (if any). Again, merit and need-based grants would not be separate amounts awarded to you.”
What families often miss
The published Eligibility Requirements page states: 'Eligibility for most financial aid at Connecticut College is based on need.' Conn does not publish a merit ladder, and strong students without calculated need typically pay close to the $89,660 comprehensive fee.
Conn College uses the CSS Profile alongside the FAFSA, which counts home equity, business assets, and non-custodial parent income in ways federal methodology doesn't. Middle-income families often calculate lower 'need' under institutional methodology than they'd expect from the FAFSA alone.
Conn College's comprehensive fee bundles tuition, fees, housing, food, some special programs, and study-away costs into one number. Apples-to-apples comparisons require pulling the equivalent bundled costs from peer schools (Bates, Wesleyan, Trinity) — not just tuition + room.
See costs and school data
Who this school may work for
Families with demonstrated need under the institutional methodology who can leverage Conn College's commitment to meet up to 100% of need. Strong students without calculated need will not find merit-shaped discounts here.
- Tuition & fees
- Books
- Personal
- Travel
Comprehensive fee ($89,660) bundles tuition, fees, housing and food; only books, miscellaneous (personal), and transportation are itemized separately. Health insurance required but not itemized.
Cost and graduation facts
Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Conn College, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.
| Family income | Average net price paid |
|---|---|
| $0–$30,000 | $13,341 |
| $30,001–$48,000 | $16,892 |
| $48,001–$75,000 | $28,961 |
| $75,001–$110,000 | $29,797 |
| $110,001+ | $47,031 |
| All income levels (average) | $36,175 |
Sticker price vs. what students actually pay
- Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
- $67,242
- Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
- $36,175
That works out to roughly a 57% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $84,623 (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
- 82%
- First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
- 90%
- Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
- $23,500 (~$249/mo on a 10-yr plan)
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
- $75,001
- Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
- 14%
- Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
- 34%
See other scholarships and cost examples
More school data
From the Conn College Common Data Set 2024-2025:
At Conn College, roughly 1 in 2 first-year admits receive institutional merit aid. The average award is $28,097 — about 31% of total cost.
As filed in Conn College's CDS Section H2A: of 451 first-time, full-time degree-seeking freshmen, 206 had no financial need and received institutional merit (non-need) scholarship or grant aid, averaging $28,097. Across all full-time degree-seeking undergraduates: 911 of 1,935, averaging $28,349. Athletic awards are excluded per the CDS definition.
Conn College merit aid FAQ
Does Connecticut College offer merit scholarships?
Conn College states that 'eligibility for most financial aid at Connecticut College is based on need' and does not publish a named merit-tier ladder. The school is structurally a need-based aid institution, not a stat-driven merit school.
How much does Connecticut College cost?
The 2025-26 comprehensive fee is $89,660 — which covers tuition, fees, housing, food, some special programs, and study away. Adding books ($1,000), miscellaneous ($600), and transportation ($400) brings the total budget to roughly $91,660 per year.
Does Conn College meet 100% of demonstrated need?
Per the College's published commitment, Conn is 'committed to meeting up to 100% of a student's need based financial aid eligibility.' Demonstrated need is calculated using the CSS Profile and FAFSA — both required.
What is the Conn College 'comprehensive fee'?
A single bundled price covering tuition and fees, housing, food, special programs, some course-related travel, and study away. The bundling makes side-by-side cost comparisons with schools that quote tuition separately from room and board easy to misread.
How does Connecticut College handle outside scholarships?
The public financial aid pages do not document a specific outside-scholarship displacement policy. Families with material outside awards should request a written package preview from Financial Aid Services (finaid@conncoll.edu) before depositing.
See sources and other schools
Sources used on this page
Every claim is checked against Conn College’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
- Cost of attendanceConn College cost-of-attendance worksheet
Compare with similar schools
- UHart merit aid. Connecticut private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
- Mitchell merit aid. Connecticut private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
- Quinnipiac merit aid. Connecticut private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
- Sacred Heart University merit aid. Connecticut private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.