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LaGrange scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$49,994per year · 2025-2026 · cost of attendance
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

LaGrange 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
4 school sources to explore

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

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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. Gateway Scholarship$15,000Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Gateway Scholarship

    $15,000

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

    GPA
    Cumulative high school GPA of 2.5–2.9 (typical recipient profile)
    SAT
    1000 or higher EBRW+Math (typical)
    ACT
    19 or higher (typical)
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Gateway Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Entering, full-time, first-year day students only; must be admitted with no academic conditions and enroll

    How to keep it

    Renewable with a 2.0 or better college GPA.

    Worth knowing

    $60,000 over four years. The page describes 'typical' recipient profiles rather than guaranteed automatic cutoffs, so automaticOnStats is set false.

  2. Hilltop Scholarship$16,000Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Hilltop Scholarship

    $16,000

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

    GPA
    Cumulative high school GPA of 3.2 or higher (typical)
    SAT
    1070 or higher EBRW+Math (typical)
    ACT
    21 or higher (typical)
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Hilltop Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Entering, full-time, first-year day students only

    How to keep it

    Renewable with 2.0 or better college GPA.

    Worth knowing

    $64,000 over four years.

  3. Tower Scholarship$17,000Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Tower Scholarship

    $17,000

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

    GPA
    Recalculated high school GPA of 3.25–3.49 (typical; LaGrange recalculates GPA from college-prep subjects, grades 9-12)
    SAT
    1140 or higher EBRW+Math (typical)
    ACT
    23 or higher (typical)
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Tower Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Entering, full-time, first-year day students only

    How to keep it

    Renewable with 2.5 or better college GPA.

    Worth knowing

    $68,000 over four years.

  4. Founders Scholarship$18,500Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Founders Scholarship

    $18,500

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

    GPA
    Recalculated high school GPA of 3.5–3.74 (typical)
    SAT
    1180 or higher EBRW+Math (typical)
    ACT
    24 or higher (typical)
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Founders Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Entering, full-time, first-year day students only; qualifying for Founders or Fellows is a prerequisite to a Presidential Scholarship invitation

    How to keep it

    Renewable with 2.5 or better college GPA.

    Worth knowing

    $74,000 over four years.

  5. Fellows Scholarship$20,000Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Fellows Scholarship

    $20,000

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

    GPA
    Recalculated high school GPA of 3.75–4.0 (typical)
    SAT
    1300 or higher EBRW+Math (typical)
    ACT
    27 or higher (typical)
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Fellows Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Entering, full-time, first-year day students only

    How to keep it

    Renewable with a 2.5 or better college GPA.

    Worth knowing

    $80,000 over four years; top non-competitive tier.

  6. The Presidential Learning ScholarshipFull tuitionNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    The Presidential Learning Scholarship

    Full tuition

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

    GPA
    Must qualify for a Founders or Fellows Scholarship to be invited to compete
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for The Presidential Learning Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Two awarded annually; judges select recipients; apply for admission no later than January 1 of senior year and be admitted by January 15; strong college-prep curriculum and exceptional leadership/service record

    How to keep it

    Renewable with a 3.25 or better college GPA. Supersedes all other LaGrange College scholarships and aid.

    Worth knowing

    Competition-based; supersedes (replaces, not stacks with) all other LaGrange aid.

  7. International Presidential ScholarshipFull tuition, room and boardNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    International Presidential Scholarship

    Full tuition, room and board

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

    GPA
    Academic GPA equivalent to a 3.64 on a US 4.0 grading scale
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for International Presidential Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    International students; limited number awarded; two letters of recommendation from school officials and a Zoom interview with the Presidential Scholarship Committee

    How to keep it

    Renewal terms not stated on the page.

    Worth knowing

    Page cites 'a 2024-25 annual value of $47,626 USD' — value figure is stale relative to the 2026-27 target year. Companion international tiers: Global Scholars (half tuition + room, 3.44-3.63 GPA, 15 awarded) and LaGrange Scholars (half tuition + half room, 3.0-3.43 GPA, 15 awarded).

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  • “it told me what to ask and what the renewal GPA looked like, which I was not going to find on my own”Melissa

What makes LaGrange different

DRAFT: LaGrange publishes five named merit tiers ($15,000-$20,000/year) with explicit GPA+test profiles and per-tier renewal GPAs — but scholarships cannot be combined or stacked, and only the two-per-year full-tuition Presidential Learning Scholarships supersede everything else.

Merit tiers7See 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 LaGrange'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 LaGrange's aid office says

Per the Financial Aid Office, LaGrange College, August 2026. How we verify

Who determines Academic Scholarships

Which office decides Academic Scholarship awards like Gateway or Fellows?

The Office of Admissions determines Academic Scholarships, so the family should contact them directly.

“You may want to speak to someone in the Office of Admissions since they determine Academic Scholarships.”
SAT/ACT use in scholarships

Are SAT or ACT scores used to determine Academic Scholarships?

It is the sender's understanding that Admissions does not use SAT or ACT scores to determine scholarships.

“It's my understanding that they don't use SAT or ACT scores to determine scholarships.”
Departmental scholarship amounts

Why aren't dollar amounts listed for departmental scholarships?

Departmental scholarships have no fixed dollar amounts because they are funded by outside donors and the amounts can change each year.

“There are no dollar amounts tied to departmental scholarships because those amounts are subject to change annually as they are funds which are provided by outside donors.”

What families often miss

  1. The page states flatly: 'Scholarships cannot be combined or stacked,' and warns that academic-scholarship recipients 'may not always qualify for departmental funds as well.' Plan on holding ONE LaGrange scholarship.

  2. The Presidential Learning Scholarship 'supersedes all other LaGrange College scholarships and aid' — it replaces, not augments, the merit tier and other aid.

  3. High school seniors must apply for admission no later than January 1 of senior year (and be admitted by January 15) to be invited to compete; only students qualifying for Founders or Fellows are invited, and only two Presidential Learning awards (full tuition) are made each year.

  4. For the upper tiers LaGrange recalculates GPA 'based on college prep subjects earned in grades 9 through 12' — electives and weighting are excluded, which can drop students below the 3.5/3.7/3.9 profile lines.

  5. Gateway and Hilltop renew at a 2.0 college GPA, but Tower, Founders, and Fellows require 2.5, and the Presidential scholarships require 3.25 — the bigger the award, the higher the cliff.

  6. Each tier describes what recipients 'typically' have — the page does not promise the award automatically at those stats, and students admitted with academic conditions are excluded entirely.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

DRAFT: Students with solid GPA/test profiles seeking a predictable named-tier award ($15K-$20K), and top applicants who apply by January 1 to compete for one of two full-tuition Presidential Learning Scholarships.

Published yearly cost: Approximately $49,994 for 2025-2026. Source

Cost and graduation facts

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

Average annual net price by family income at LaGrange, academic year 2021-22
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$20,764
$30,001–$48,000$19,322
$48,001–$75,000$18,718
$75,001–$110,000$18,707
$110,001+$24,549
All income levels (average)$20,875

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$35,400
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$20,875

That works out to roughly a 58% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $49,681 (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
47%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
67%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$25,730 (~$273/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$51,745
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
51%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
75%
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): Awards from outside sources: When determining eligibility for need-based financial aid programs, private scholarships and grants must be considered. If the student expects to receive scholarship assistance from a source other than LaGrange College, it must be reported to the Financial Aid Office. Adjustments to the student's financial aid award may be necessary according to their financial need and program guidelines. Typically, need-based loan assistance is reduced first, if necessary. Separately, the school's own award-stacking rules: LaGrange scholarships cannot be combined or stacked. The Presidential scholarships supersede all other LaGrange College scholarships and aid, and academic-scholarship recipients 'may not always qualify' for departmental funds on top. (per https://www.lagrange.edu/ADMISSIONS/cost-and-aid/scholarships.html)

Source

Other LaGrange scholarships worth checking

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

AmountAmounts vary based upon fundingEligibilityStudents intending to major in specific areas; applications via the Office of Admissions.

Students who receive an academic scholarship may not always qualify for departmental funds as well.

Source

Amount$2,000-$4,000 (matching)EligibilityUnited Methodist member-students whose church raises $1,000; LaGrange's Triple Your Dollars participation may add $1,000 (total $3,000); Quadruple Your Dollars conferences may add another $1,000 (total $4,000).

Funded by the United Methodist Higher Education Foundation.

Source

Amount$2,000-$3,000 (matching)EligibilityUnited Methodist youth planning to enroll at a UMC-related college; sponsoring church contributes $1,000 and the college matches.

Source

Amount$500-$1,000EligibilityEnrolled or admitted students active in a United Methodist church with financial need and a 3.0+ GPA; separate application required.

Has both a need and a GPA gate.

Source

Amount$4,000 (non-need-based tuition discount)EligibilityStudents whose parent is an active, ordained minister in the United Methodist Church; separate application required.

Source

AmountAmount not published (determined at audition)EligibilityAudition-based for music and musical theatre students.

Departmental scholarship pages exist for music and musical theatre.

Source

LaGrange merit aid FAQ

  • What is the scholarship deadline?

    Merit tiers have no published deadline (awarded with admission to entering day students). For Presidential Scholarship consideration, students must apply for admission no later than January 1 of their senior year and be admitted by January 15.

  • How much are the merit scholarships?

    Five tiers for entering first-year day students: Gateway $15,000/yr (typically 1000 SAT/19 ACT, 2.5–2.9 GPA); Hilltop $16,000 (1070/21, 3.2+); Tower $17,000 (1140/23, 3.25–3.49 recalculated); Founders $18,500 (1180/24, 3.5–3.74); Fellows $20,000 (1300/27, 3.75–4.0). Scholarships cannot be combined or stacked.

  • What GPA do I need to keep my scholarship?

    Gateway and Hilltop renew with a 2.0+ college GPA; Tower, Founders, and Fellows with 2.5+; the Presidential Learning Scholarship with 3.25+.

  • Is there a full-ride scholarship?

    Not for domestic students. The top domestic award is the Presidential Learning Scholarship — full tuition only (housing and food are not covered) — with two awarded annually by judges to top applicants who qualified for Founders or Fellows and applied by January 1; it supersedes all other LaGrange aid. A full tuition, room and board award exists only for international students (the International Presidential Scholarship).

  • What does LaGrange cost?

    The published 2025-26 on-campus direct cost is $49,994/year (tuition $35,320, room & board $13,496, comprehensive fee $960, athletic fee $218), plus about $4,300 in estimated books, personal, and transportation. 2026-27 costs are set in the spring and were not yet published.

See sources and other schools

How LaGrange compares

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

    LaGrange 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.

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

Compare with similar schools

Keep exploring LaGrange merit aid

The next chapter

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