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The merit-aid verdict at LaGrange
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.
Common merit-aid mistakes at LaGrange
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.
The Presidential Learning Scholarship 'supersedes all other LaGrange College scholarships and aid' — it replaces, not augments, the merit tier and other aid.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Who this school is 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.
Tuition / cost of attendance: Approximately $49,994 for 2025-2026. Source
Federal cost and outcome data
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 income
Average 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%
Institutional merit aid tiers
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.
$15,000
Gateway Scholarship
ApplicationRenewable
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)
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
Entering, full-time, first-year day students only; must be admitted with no academic conditions and enroll
Renewal terms
Renewable with a 2.0 or better college GPA.
Notes
$60,000 over four years. The page describes 'typical' recipient profiles rather than guaranteed automatic cutoffs, so automaticOnStats is set false.
Must qualify for a Founders or Fellows Scholarship to be invited to compete
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
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
Renewal terms
Renewable with a 3.25 or better college GPA. Supersedes all other LaGrange College scholarships and aid.
Notes
Competition-based; supersedes (replaces, not stacks with) all other LaGrange aid.
Academic GPA equivalent to a 3.64 on a US 4.0 grading scale
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
International students; limited number awarded; two letters of recommendation from school officials and a Zoom interview with the Presidential Scholarship Committee
Renewal terms
Renewal terms not stated on the page.
Notes
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).
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)
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.
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.
Amount$500-$1,000EligibilityEnrolled or admitted students active in a United Methodist church with financial need and a 3.0+ GPA; separate application required.
Amount$4,000 (non-need-based tuition discount)EligibilityStudents whose parent is an active, ordained minister in the United Methodist Church; separate application required.
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.
How LaGrange compares across our verified dataset
147 of 750 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.
LaGrange is in a recognizable cluster (147 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
668 of 750 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
LaGrange is one of them. The cohort minority (82 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.
