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Denison University · Ohio

Denison scholarships and merit aid

A highly selective Ohio liberal-arts college that pairs unusually generous merit awards (from $5,000 per year up to full tuition, all guaranteed for four years) with a need-based pledge to meet 100% of demonstrated need.

Verified Jul 20262 months ago

The short answer

Is Denison worth a closer look?

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

Merit tiers2See who qualifies
First-year students with school awards35%First-year students, CDS 2025-2026 (school-estimated)
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team
Chapel Walk at Denison University

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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.

$5,000 to full tuition per year

Denison Merit Scholarships (general academic merit)

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Awarded automatically on the strength of the admission application; students are considered upon submitting a complete application. No separate scholarship application. Amounts are determined holistically, not on a published stat grid.

How to keep it

All Denison merit scholarships are given for four years (eight semesters). Each award carries a GPA requirement and the student must meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) to retain it each year.

Source

$25,000 per year…$25,000 per year ($100,000 over four years)

Ohio Scholarship

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See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Any new first-time student with a permanent Ohio address or graduating from an Ohio public or private high school. No separate application or essay; submit the admission application by December 1.

How to keep it

Awarded for all four years. Stacks with need-based aid; Denison still meets 100% of demonstrated financial need beyond the award.

Source

See what could change an award

Straight from the aid office

What Denison's aid office says

Per the Office of Admission, Denison University, August 2026. How we verify

Holistic review

Is GPA the deciding factor for scholarships?

No — Denison reviews holistically for both admission and scholarships. GPA counts, but nothing about the award is computed from it alone.

“Denison practices holistic review for both admission and scholarships, meaning that GPA is a factor but not the sole factor for determining scholarship eligibility.”
Superscoring, fully test-optional

Are submitted test scores superscored, and are they required?

Superscored if submitted, and entirely optional. Denison is fully test-optional, so the decision to include scores rests with the applicant — and a submitted score is read at its best combination.

“We do use superscores for test consideration. As a note, Denison is entirely test optional”
No stacking

Can a merit award stack with departmental or honors scholarships?

No — the office was flat about it: scholarships do not stack at Denison. One institutional award is the operating assumption.

“Scholarships do not stack at Denison.”
Outside scholarships

Does an outside scholarship reduce loans or the award?

The office said it believes loans are reduced first with the earned scholarship left intact — note the hedge in the quote. This came from Admissions rather than the aid office, so confirm it with Financial Aid before turning down outside money on the strength of it.

“I believe that outside scholarship would be reduced from loan offerings first, and any scholarship earned would stay the same.”
Renewal GPA

What GPA maintains the scholarship?

A 2.0, unless a specific donor agreement sets a different bar. That is among the lower renewal thresholds published anywhere — but individual named awards can differ, so the award letter governs.

“Scholarships are awarded and maintained with a 2.0 GPA unless otherwise stipulated in the donor agreement.”
Falling short

Is a scholarship lost permanently if the GPA slips?

The office said it believes future eligibility after a shortfall is decided case by case — again hedged, and again worth confirming with Financial Aid if it ever matters. No automatic-forfeit rule was stated.

“I believe that if a student falls short it would be on a case by case basis regarding future eligibility.”

What families often miss

  1. You do not. Denison says students are automatically considered for merit scholarships upon submitting a complete admission application. There is no separate merit competition or essay for the general merit awards or the Ohio Scholarship.

  2. The Ohio Scholarship is $25,000 per year, but Denison also commits to meeting 100% of demonstrated financial need. For a family with need, the Ohio Scholarship is a floor that need-based grant aid is layered on top of, not the total package.

  3. Denison requires outside awards to be reported and says an adjustment 'may or may not' be necessary, and total aid cannot exceed the cost of attendance. If your Denison award is already close to full tuition, an outside scholarship may displace institutional aid rather than add to it. Confirm with the aid office first.

See award cutoffs and special programs

The Ohio Scholarship — $100,000 over four years, automatic for Ohio students

Denison's Ohio Scholarship is a $25,000-per-year award ($100,000 total over four years) for any new student whose permanent address is in Ohio or who graduates from an Ohio public or private high school. It is fully automatic: there is no separate application, no supplemental essay, and no application fee — a student simply has to submit a complete admission application by the December 1 deadline. On top of the $25,000, Denison commits to meeting 100% of demonstrated financial need for admitted students, so the Ohio Scholarship functions as a floor rather than a cap. Against 2026-27 tuition of $74,000, the $25,000 covers roughly a third of tuition before any additional need-based grant aid is layered on. Note this is a merit-recognition award tied to residency and academic qualification, not a need-based grant — out-of-state students are not eligible, but they remain eligible for Denison's broader merit ladder, which also runs up to full tuition.

Source

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Strong students drawn to a residential liberal-arts experience who want merit aid that is awarded automatically at admission with no separate competition, and Ohio families who can stack the automatic $25,000-per-year Ohio Scholarship on top of need-based aid.

Cost of attendance$96,900 for 2026-2027Each bar is the full published cost for that scenario, sized against the highest figure so totals compare at a glance.
On-campus$96,900
  • Tuition & fees
  • Housing & food
  • Books, transport & personal

Denison publishes only tuition and a combined housing+food figure plus a single $4,500 allowance for personal expenses and books; itemized as a remainder bucket.

Denison cost-of-attendance source

Cost and graduation facts

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

Average annual net price by family income at Denison, academic year 2021-22
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$16,656
$30,001–$48,000$13,086
$48,001–$75,000$17,827
$75,001–$110,000$20,839
$110,001+$48,472
All income levels (average)$40,007

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$67,000
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$40,007

That works out to roughly a 51% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $81,900 (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
79%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
89%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$26,000 (~$276/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$67,753
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
13%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
59%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Outside scholarships reduce loans and/or work-study first; institutional grants are only reduced if required to prevent an over-award.

Verified policy language (2026-07-02): How do outside scholarships impact my need-based aid award from Denison? Congratulations on your outside scholarship! All outside scholarships or other resources must be reported to the Office of Financial Aid via the Outside Scholarship Reporting form. If your financial need has been met, your work study or Federal Direct Loan may be adjusted first. Depending on the composition of your financial aid package and the amount of your outside award, it may be necessary to reduce Denison aid, per federal regulations.

Source

More school data

From the Denison Common Data Set 2025-2026 (school-estimated figures):

Merit penetrationHow likely is merit aid here?From Denison’s Common Data Set: the share of first-year students who receive institutional merit and the average dollar amount when they do.
35%of admitsget merit
Average award$21,023Covers ~22% of $96,900 cost of attendance

At Denison, roughly 1 in 3 first-year admits receive institutional merit aid. The average award is $21,023 — about 22% of total cost.

As filed in Denison's CDS Section H2A: of 623 first-time, full-time degree-seeking freshmen, 219 had no financial need and received institutional merit (non-need) scholarship or grant aid, averaging $21,023. Across all full-time degree-seeking undergraduates: 841 of 2,325, averaging $19,896. Athletic awards are excluded per the CDS definition.

The 2025-2026 column is marked "estimated" in the school's own CDS filing — school-projected figures, not final audited counts.

Receive institutional merit35%First-year students, Common Data Set 2025-2026 (school-estimated)
Average merit award$21,023Across recipients, Common Data Set 2025-2026 (school-estimated)

Source: Common Data Set 2025-2026 (verified 2026-07-23)

Other Denison scholarships worth checking

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

AmountVaries (part of the $5,000-to-full-tuition merit range)EligibilityBased on superior academic achievement in Ohio and exceptional promise in the STEM fields.

Source

AmountVaries (part of the $5,000-to-full-tuition merit range)EligibilityBased on superior academic achievement in central Ohio and exceptional promise in the STEM fields.

Source

AmountEliminates the student-loan expectation in the financial aid packageEligibilityBased on superior academic achievement and financial need; awarded to eliminate the student-loan expectation in selected students' financial aid packages.

Source

AmountVaries (part of the merit range)EligibilityBased on superior academic achievement and demonstrated talent in visual art, performing art, or creative writing.

Source

Denison merit aid FAQ

  • How big are Denison's merit scholarships?

    Denison says its merit scholarships 'can range from $5,000 to full tuition and do not require repayment,' and all of them are given for four years (eight semesters). The specific amount is set holistically from your admission application — Denison does not publish a stat-banded grid.

  • Do I have to apply separately for merit aid at Denison?

    No. Denison considers you automatically for merit scholarships when you submit a complete application for admission. There is no separate scholarship application for the general merit awards or for the Ohio Scholarship.

  • What is the Ohio Scholarship and who qualifies?

    It is a $25,000-per-year award ($100,000 over four years) for any new student with a permanent Ohio address or who graduates from an Ohio public or private high school. There is no separate application or essay — you just submit your admission application by December 1. It stacks with need-based aid.

  • Will an outside scholarship reduce my Denison aid?

    It might. Denison requires outside scholarships to be reported and says 'an adjustment to your financial aid may or may not be necessary,' with total aid capped at the cost of attendance. There is no published formula for which aid is reduced first, so ask the financial aid office before banking on stacking.

  • What does Denison cost?

    For 2026-27 Denison lists tuition at $74,000 and a total cost of attendance of $96,900, which includes $18,400 for housing and food and a $4,500 allowance for personal expenses and books.

See sources and other schools

How Denison compares

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

    Denison 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.

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

Compare with similar schools

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