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Mount Holyoke scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$93,046per year · 2026-27 · On-campus
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

Mount Holyoke 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
3 school sources to explore

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

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. Mount Holyoke 21st Century ScholarsAmount not publicly publishedNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Mount Holyoke 21st Century Scholars

    Amount not publicly published

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

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Mount Holyoke 21st Century Scholars

    Who qualifies

    Approximately 25 awards per year. Eligibility: 'outstanding record of scholarship, cocurricular achievement and considerable leadership potential.' Competitive selection through admission review.

    How to keep it

    Renewal terms not publicly disclosed.

    Worth knowing

    Mount Holyoke's flagship competitive merit award by volume. Dollar amount not disclosed on the public page.

  2. Mount Holyoke Chin ScholarsFull tuitionNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Mount Holyoke Chin Scholars

    Full tuition

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

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Mount Holyoke Chin Scholars

    Who qualifies

    Two awards per year. Eligibility: 'academic excellence with an impressive record of community service and engagement.'

    How to keep it

    Renewal terms not publicly disclosed.

    Worth knowing

    One of the largest individual merit awards at Mount Holyoke. Two recipients per year, full tuition covered.

  3. Posse ScholarshipFull tuition (tuition-free)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Posse Scholarship

    Full tuition (tuition-free)

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

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Posse Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Approximately 10 Mount Holyoke students per Posse cohort. Eligibility: 'exceptional leadership potential' from 10 designated cities. Requires Posse Foundation nomination.

    How to keep it

    Four-year award per Posse Foundation terms.

    Worth knowing

    Standard Posse partnership terms; nomination must originate with the Posse Foundation, not Mount Holyoke directly.

  4. Leadership AwardAmount not publicly publishedNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Leadership Award

    Amount not publicly published

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

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Leadership Award

    Who qualifies

    U.S. citizen first-year students with 'academic accomplishments paired with demonstrated records of leadership engagement.'

    How to keep it

    Renewal terms not publicly disclosed.

  5. Global Perspectives AwardAmount not publicly publishedNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Global Perspectives Award

    Amount not publicly published

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

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Global Perspectives Award

    Who qualifies

    International first-year students with 'academic excellence, personal qualities and cultural perspectives.'

    How to keep it

    Renewal terms not publicly disclosed.

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The fine print

Renewal ruleMount Holyoke 21st Century Scholars: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

Renewal terms not publicly disclosed. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

What makes Mount Holyoke different

Historic women's LAC in western Massachusetts with named non-need-based scholarships (21st Century Scholars, Chin, Posse) layered on top of need-based aid plus 'The Mount Holyoke Commitment' — families earning up to $150,000 pay no tuition.

Merit tiers5See 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 Mount Holyoke'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 Mount Holyoke's aid office says

Per the Student Financial Services, Mount Holyoke College, August 2026. How we verify

Outside scholarships affecting aid

If the student receives outside scholarships, will they reduce his institutional aid?

Depending on the total amount of outside scholarships received in a year, they may reduce institutional financial aid, though a specific threshold cannot be given until a family's expected contribution and aid offer are determined.

“Depending on the total amount of outside scholarships received for a given year, they may reduce institution financial aid. We are not able to give you a threshold at this time because we must first determine a family's expected contribution and put together a financial aid offer, if applicable.”
Threshold for outside scholarship reduction

Is there a known dollar threshold before outside scholarships reduce aid?

The office cannot provide a threshold at this time because they must first determine the family's expected contribution and put together a financial aid offer.

“We are not able to give you a threshold at this time because we must first determine a family's expected contribution and put together a financial aid offer, if applicable.”
When aid details can be reviewed with family

When would the family be able to discuss financial aid details with their counselor?

If the student is admitted and receives a financial aid offer, his assigned counselor Christina will meet with the family to review the information.

“is admitted to MHC and receives a financial aid offer, Christina will then be able to meet with your family and review this information with you.”
Merit scholarship application process

Is the merit scholarship application separate from the admission application?

Merit scholarships do not require a separate application; every applicant is automatically considered for merit aid when their academic application is reviewed.

“At Mount Holyoke, merit scholarships are not a separate application and we consider every applicant for merit aid at the time that we review their academic application.”
Need-based aid application requirements

What do we need to submit for need-based aid, and when is it due?

Need-based aid requires both the FAFSA and CSS Profile, due at the same time as the academic application.

“For need based aid, applicants are required to fill out both the FAFSA and CSS profile, and these financial aid applications are due at the same time as your academic application”
Merit aid and test scores

Would a higher SAT score help the student get reconsidered for merit aid, and are there score cutoffs?

Merit awards depend on the applicant pool each year with no hard cutoffs for specific scores, and as a test-optional school they do not award fixed amounts based on test scores like some other schools do.

“merit awards are dependent on the applicant pool every year, and we do not have hard cut offs for specific scores. As you may already know, some schools will often award a fixed amount of money based on testing scores and as a test-optional institution, we do not operate this way.”
Departmental money for undeclared students

Can a scholarship combine with departmental money, such as for engineering?

Since all students enter undeclared, there is no departmental money in financial aid packages; only merit scholarships (if applicable) and need-based aid combine to form the package.

“Since every student enters undeclared, there is no departmental money offered in our packages, however merit scholarships, if applicable, and need based aid combine together to make our financial aid packages.”

What families often miss

  1. Mount Holyoke awards only TWO Chin Scholarships per year. The base rate is roughly 0.3% of admits. Strong applicants should treat the 21st Century Scholars (~25 awards) as the realistic competitive target.

  2. The $150,000 income tuition-free guarantee is need-based, calculated from FAFSA and CSS Profile inputs. It's not awarded for academic profile and doesn't apply to families above the income threshold regardless of credentials.

  3. The Posse Scholarship is one of the most generous awards at Mount Holyoke (full tuition for ~10 students per cohort), but nomination originates with the Posse Foundation, not the College. Eligible students in Posse cities (Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, etc.) who don't get nominated by Posse cannot apply directly.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Women applicants drawn to a historic LAC who either qualify for the $150K income tuition-free guarantee or can compete for the named non-need-based scholarships (21st Century Scholars, Chin, Posse, Leadership, Global Perspectives).

Cost of attendance$93,046 for 2026-27Each bar is the full published cost for that scenario, sized against the highest figure so totals compare at a glance.
On-campus$93,046
  • Tuition & fees
  • Housing & food

Input total equals Mount Holyoke's billed charges (tuition, activity fee, housing, food). Non-billed books/travel/personal are listed separately and excluded from this billed total. Health insurance waivable for US students. Tuition & fees combines tuition $71,178 + activity fee $272.

Mount Holyoke cost-of-attendance source

Cost and graduation facts

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

Average annual net price by family income at Mount Holyoke, academic year 2021-22
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$10,882
$30,001–$48,000$9,526
$48,001–$75,000$17,394
$75,001–$110,000$24,247
$110,001+$38,561
All income levels (average)$26,441

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$67,018
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$26,441

That works out to roughly a 69% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $84,926 (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
84%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
89%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$22,902 (~$243/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$58,418
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
19%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
38%
See other scholarships and cost examples

Other Mount Holyoke scholarships worth checking

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

AmountFull tuition for families earning up to $150,000EligibilityDomestic families with annual income up to $150,000. Need-based, not merit-based.

Not a merit scholarship. Included because Mount Holyoke promotes it prominently and families often conflate it with merit aid; it's a sticker-relief program targeting middle-income families.

Source

Mount Holyoke merit aid FAQ

  • Does Mount Holyoke offer merit scholarships?

    Yes. Mount Holyoke publishes a set of non-need-based scholarships: 21st Century Scholars (~25/year), Chin Scholars (2/year, full tuition), Posse (~10/cohort, full tuition), Leadership Award (US citizens), and Global Perspectives Award (international first-year students).

  • What is The Mount Holyoke Commitment?

    A need-based tuition-free guarantee for domestic families earning up to $150,000 per year. It's not a merit award — it's calculated from financial aid documents. Strong students whose families exceed the threshold should focus on the named merit awards instead.

  • How much does Mount Holyoke cost?

    $93,046 for 2026-27: tuition $71,178 + housing $10,836 + food $10,760 + activity fee $272. Books, travel, personal expenses, and health insurance add another $2,000-$3,500.

  • How competitive is Mount Holyoke's Chin Scholarship?

    Extremely. Only 2 awards per year. Recipients have 'academic excellence with an impressive record of community service and engagement.' Even strong applicants should treat Chin as a lottery-tier ambition, not a planning anchor.

  • Can I apply for a Mount Holyoke merit scholarship directly?

    Most named awards (21st Century Scholars, Chin, Leadership, Global Perspectives) are awarded through the regular admission review with no separate application. The Posse Scholarship requires Posse Foundation nomination — Mount Holyoke does not select Posse recipients directly.

See sources and other schools

How Mount Holyoke compares

  • 665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

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

Compare with similar schools

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  • Berklee merit aid. Massachusetts private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • BU merit aid. Massachusetts private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.

Keep exploring Mount Holyoke merit aid

The next chapter

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