A private research university where 11.5% of first-year students receive non-need institutional merit averaging $21,666, with the Founder's and Trustees' Scholarships covering full or half tuition, Dean's Scholarships at $15,000 to $25,000 per year, and a new Soaring Together full-tuition program for gender equity, all renewable with a 3.0 GPA.
Verified May 20261 month ago· PT
Merit tiers41 automatic on stats
Get merit aid12%First-year students, CDS 2025-2026
Last verifiedMay 2026Analyst PT
Quick verdict
Worth optimizing your whole application for if you're a top-of-pool admit, but the big money is holistic, not stat-triggered, and outside aid can hit a cost-of-attendance ceiling.
Lehigh's published merit is almost entirely holistic. Only the $2,000/yr National Merit award is automatic on stats (Finalists who name Lehigh first choice); everything larger is decided in the admission review with no published GPA or test cutoffs. The biggest computable dollar step is from a top Dean's Scholarship ($25,000/yr) to a full-tuition Founder's/Trustees' ($69,420/yr) — a +$44,420/yr swing — but you can't test-prep your way there, so treat strong overall admit positioning as the lever. Stacking is mixed: private outside scholarships are loan-first (protective — they cut loans and work-study before grants), but state grants displace the Lehigh Grant dollar-for-dollar, and once total aid exceeds the $89,820 cost of attendance, Lehigh cuts its own aid. Note: no Lehigh tier covers full cost of attendance. Want the competitive full-tuition Soaring Together award? Its separate creative application is due February 1.
Rules that bite at Lehigh
The trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook. Each is derived from Lehigh's own published policy, not generic advice.
cliffOne ACT point can move the award by +$9,710/yr ($34,710 - $25,000)
Lehigh publishes a tier ladder where crossing Top Dean's → half-tuition Founder's/Trustees' changes the marginal value by +$9,710/yr ($34,710 - $25,000). First step out of the Dean's band into the Founder's/Trustees' tier.
renewalFounder's and Trustees' Scholarships: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Renewable for up to 8 semesters (10 for five-year Arts/Engineering programs). Requires minimum 3.0 GPA and full-time enrollment. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.
displacementDifferent aid types are displaced differently
Lehigh 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.
Common merit-aid mistakes at Lehigh
The Asa Packer name appears on lehigh.edu only for a graduate MBA Social Entrepreneurship Award and the Asa Packer Society (a donor recognition program). It is not a named undergraduate merit scholarship. The actual undergraduate tiers are Founder's and Trustees' (full or half tuition) and Dean's ($15,000-$25,000).
Music and choral scholarships have a January 10 deadline, and theatre scholarships close February 10. These are available to students of any major and are stackable with academic merit awards. Many families focus only on the automatic merit consideration and miss thousands in arts funding their student could have earned.
A Pennsylvania State Grant directly reduces the Lehigh University Grant by the same amount. The student's net cost stays the same. Families should still apply (it does not hurt), but should not expect a state grant to lower their out-of-pocket bill at Lehigh.
What each named tier pays
Lehigh determines nearly all merit holistically during admission review with no published stat cutoffs, so these are tiers, not stat-keyed outcomes. Only National Merit is automatic on stats.
Student profile
Likely outcome
National Merit Finalist · names Lehigh first choice
National Merit — $1,000-$2,000/yr ($2,000 for Finalists per catalog)The only automatic-on-stats tier. Renewal not explicitly stated on the merit page.
Strong admit · holistic review
Dean's Scholarship — $15,000-$25,000/yrAcademic excellence plus demonstrated leadership; Fall 2024 entering class onward. Test-optional, no published cutoffs.
Top-of-pool admit · holistic review
Founder's/Trustees' — half tuition $34,710/yr or full tuition $69,420/yrRecipients described as the top tier of the applicant pool. Renews up to 8 semesters (10 for five-year Arts/Engineering) at a 3.0 GPA.
Any first-year applicant · separate creative application, Feb 1 deadline
Soaring Together — full tuition $69,420/yrCompetitive, ~8-10 awards per class. Open eligibility (no gender-identity restriction). Renewal conditions not published.
The dollar steps up Lehigh's ladder
Each step is the arithmetic delta between two named tiers. Because Lehigh's larger awards are holistic, these are jumps in award level, not stat thresholds you can target with test prep. Tuition figures are 2026-2027.
Threshold
Marginal value
Top Dean's → half-tuition Founder's/Trustees'
+$9,710/yr ($34,710 - $25,000)First step out of the Dean's band into the Founder's/Trustees' tier.
Half-tuition → full-tuition Founder's/Trustees'
+$34,710/yr ($69,420 - $34,710)Half tuition to full tuition within the top tier.
Top Dean's → full-tuition Founder's/Trustees'
+$44,420/yr ($69,420 - $25,000)Largest computable single jump in the published ladder, but holistic, not stat-triggered.
Who this school is for
Families targeting an engineering-strong research university in the Lehigh Valley where merit is awarded through holistic review with no published stat cutoffs. Lehigh is test-optional but rates test scores as Important in admissions. Students of any major can earn performing arts scholarships in music, choral, theatre, and marching band through separate applications with January and February deadlines, making them easy to miss and easy to stack.
Cost of attendance$88,600 for 2025-2026Each bar is the full published cost for that scenario, sized against the highest figure so totals compare at a glance.
On-campus$88,600
$68K
$18K
Tuition & fees
Housing & food
Books
Personal
Official Lehigh Act 69 (2024) cost-transparency table, 2025-26 column. Tuition $66,810 + Fees $1,110 + Housing & Meals $18,180 + Books $1,000 + Personal $1,500 = $88,600. (Lehigh's separately published 'typical' six-area billed figure of $86,100 reflects a specific room/meal-plan selection; the Act 69 per-component COA is used here.)
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.
Full tuition or half tuition per year
Founder's and Trustees' Scholarships
ApplicationRenewable
View requirements+
Eligibility
All applicants automatically considered during admission review, no separate application required. Recipients described as the top tier of the applicant pool. Test-optional; no published GPA/SAT/ACT cutoffs.
Renewal terms
Renewable for up to 8 semesters (10 for five-year Arts/Engineering programs). Requires minimum 3.0 GPA and full-time enrollment.
Notes
At 2026-2027 tuition of $69,420, full tuition covers $69,420/year and half tuition covers $34,710/year.
All applicants automatically considered during admission review, no separate application. Awarded for academic excellence and demonstrated leadership. Starting with Fall 2024 entering class. Test-optional.
Renewal terms
Renewable for up to 8 semesters (10 for five-year programs). Requires minimum 3.0 GPA and full-time enrollment.
Competitive. Requires a separate application with a creative submission (500-word essay, video under 5 minutes, slides, social media account, or other creative format) addressing gender equity. Deadline February 1. Approximately 8-10 awards per incoming class (~50 total scholars across all class years per live source). Eligibility is open: 'Any first-year applicant, beginning with applicants to the Class of 2030, are welcome to apply' (verbatim per Lehigh's Soaring Together page); no gender-identity restriction; the program celebrates 50 years of Lehigh women and coeducation but does not require female/non-binary identification to apply.
Automatic for National Merit Finalists who select Lehigh as first choice and are not receiving other National Merit aid. The catalog specifies $2,000 annually for finalists.
Renewal terms
Renewal details not explicitly stated on the merit page.
Outside scholarships first reduce loans and work-study. If total aid exceeds cost of attendance, Lehigh reduces institutional aid. State grants directly displace Lehigh grants dollar-for-dollar. Employer tuition benefits displace Lehigh grants once total gift-aid exceeds calculated need.
Lehigh's published policy states outside scholarships may require adjustment of loans and work-study if total need-based aid exceeds FAFSA-determined financial need (loan-first, which is favorable). However, if total aid from all sources exceeds the cost of attendance, Lehigh will reduce institutional aid. State grants are treated differently: a state grant directly reduces the Lehigh University Grant dollar-for-dollar. Employer tuition benefits trigger grant reduction once total gift-aid exceeds calculated financial need, which is more aggressive than the private-scholarship treatment. Students must report all outside aid to the financial aid office.
Merit penetrationHow likely is merit aid here?From Lehigh’s Common Data Set: the share of first-year students who receive institutional merit and the average dollar amount when they do.
12%of admitsget merit
Average award$21,666Covers ~24% of $88,600 cost of attendance
At Lehigh, roughly 1 in 8 first-year admits receive institutional merit aid. The average award is $21,666 — about 24% of total cost.
Named awards that don’t always surface on the main financial aid page. Each one has its own eligibility rules.
Amount$5,000 per yearEligibilityMust join University Choir plus one additional ensemble. Free vocal lessons provided. Open to students of any major. Separate music department application, deadline January 10.
Renewable for four years with 2.8 GPA. This is available to non-music majors, making it easy to overlook.
Amount$5,000 per yearEligibilityMust participate in two ensembles. Free lessons on primary instrument. Open to any major. Separate application, deadline January 10.
Renewable for four years with 2.8 GPA. Non-music majors who play an instrument often miss this.
Amount$3,000 per yearEligibilityExceptional talent in performance, design, technical, or playwriting. Active involvement in Department of Theatre required. Separate application, deadline February 10.
Amount$1,500 per year, increasing annually over four yearsEligibilityMust perform with the Marching 97 (Lehigh's marching band). Separate application, deadline January 10.
Renewable for four years with 2.8 GPA. Any major eligible.
Does Lehigh automatically consider all applicants for merit scholarships?
For the Founder's/Trustees' and Dean's Scholarships, yes. All applicants are automatically considered during admission review with no separate application needed. However, performing arts scholarships (music, choral, theatre, marching band) and the Soaring Together Scholarship require separate applications with deadlines in January and February.
What GPA does my student need to keep their Lehigh merit scholarship?
The Founder's/Trustees' and Dean's Scholarships require a minimum 3.0 GPA and full-time enrollment. Performing arts and marching scholarships require a 2.8 GPA minimum. The Phi Theta Kappa transfer scholarship also requires 2.8. All academic merit awards are renewable for up to 8 semesters (10 for five-year Arts/Engineering programs).
Is Lehigh test-optional, and do test scores affect merit scholarship consideration?
Lehigh is test-optional (SAT/ACT submission is recommended but not required). The CDS rates standardized test scores as Important, not Very Important, in admission decisions. The merit scholarship page does not list minimum test scores for any award tier. The enrolled class middle 50% is SAT 1380-1480 and ACT 31-34.
What is the realistic chance of getting merit aid at Lehigh?
Per the CDS (2025-2026), 177 out of 1,535 first-year students (11.5%) who had no financial need received institutional non-need-based merit scholarships, averaging $21,666. The Dean's Scholarship ranges from $15,000 to $25,000, while Founder's/Trustees' covers full or half tuition ($34,710 or $69,420 at 2026-2027 rates). Roughly 1 in 9 first-year students receives pure merit aid.
Can performing arts scholarships stack with academic merit at Lehigh?
The CDS confirms Lehigh awards non-need-based aid for academics, art, athletics, leadership, and music/drama as separate criteria. However, if total aid from all sources exceeds cost of attendance, Lehigh will reduce institutional aid. Contact Financial Aid to confirm stacking rules for your specific combination.
How Lehigh compares across our verified dataset
22 of 232 verified schools in our dataset use mixed displacement.
Lehigh is in the small minority (22 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
207 of 232 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Lehigh is one of them. The cohort minority (25 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.
63 of 232 verified schools publish a marginal-value cliff table we can quantify.
Lehigh is one of them. Most schools won't tell families what one ACT point is actually worth. At the schools that do, a strategic retake is sometimes mathematically more valuable than test-optional positioning.
Sources used on this page
Every claim is checked against Lehigh’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
