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North Carolina State University · North Carolina

NC State scholarships and merit aid

Public flagship where merit aid is heavily concentrated in three high-ceiling competitive programs — Park Scholarships (full COA × 4 years for ~40 winners), Goodnight Scholars ($24,000/year for NC residents in STEM with AGI ≤ $120K), and the Caldwell Fellows leadership development tier — with thinner automatic merit beneath. NC State explicitly does NOT auto-fund National Merit Finalists.

Verified Jul 20261 month ago· PT

The short answer

Is NC State worth a closer look?

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

See our full reasoning

Worth a serious application push if your student is an NC STEM resident or a top-character leader — but there is no automatic stat-based money, so a strong test score alone buys nothing here.

NC State's entire merit slate is competitive, not formulaic: every award listed is application- and selection-based, with zero triggered by GPA or test score alone. The biggest computable dollar move is the Park Scholarships — full cost of attendance for four years (tuition, fees, housing, food, books, personal expenses), open to residents and nonresidents, with a hard Nov. 1 deadline separate from the NC State application. The second anchor is the Goodnight Scholars Program at $24,000/year for four years ($96,000 total) for NC residents in STEM with household AGI of $120,000 or less, due mid-January. The planning trap is structural, not tiered: NC State explicitly does not fund National Merit Finalists, and total aid is capped at cost of attendance, so once you hit that cap large outside scholarships displace other resources rather than stacking. Build the application calendar around Nov. 1 (Park) first.

Merit tiers9See who qualifies
First-year students with school awards5%First-year students, CDS 2023-2024
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team

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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.

Full cost of attendance for 4 years…Full cost of attendance for 4 years (tuition, fees, housing, food, books, personal expenses) + educational trips, retreats, seminars + enrichment grants for study abroad/research/service/conferences + individualized faculty mentoring

Park Scholarships

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Who qualifies

Apply for fall, first-year admission to NC State (transfer students NOT eligible). Submit Park Scholarships application by Nov. 1 (separate from NC State's general application). Two recommendations, two essays, advanced coursework information, NC State short-answer essays, ACT/SAT scores. Selection includes Semifinal Interviews and on-campus Final Selection Activities. Need-based travel stipends available for finalists.

How to keep it

Renewable for 4 years subject to academic performance and program participation

Notes

NC State's flagship merit award. Selection criteria: scholarship, leadership, service, and character. Approximately 40 awarded annually. One of the most prestigious and comprehensive undergraduate merit programs in the United States. Available to both NC residents and nonresidents.

Source

$24,000/year for 4 years…$24,000/year for 4 years (8 semesters; $96,000 total)

Goodnight Scholars Program (NC Residents)

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Who qualifies

North Carolina resident graduating from a North Carolina high school (regardless of immigration or visa status). Adjusted Gross Income ≤ $120,000. Intended major in STEM or STEM education. Mid-December invitation issued to ~1,600 prospective NC State applicants; ~180 finalists invited to Finalist Interview Day in late February; recipients selected in early March; April 15 acceptance deadline. Application due mid-January.

How to keep it

Renewable for up to 4 years for first-year recipients; 2 years for transfer recipients. Maintain academic standing.

Notes

One of the most generous AGI-gated STEM scholarships in the country. Funded by NC State alumni Jim Goodnight ('65) and Ann Goodnight ('68). Companion Goodnight Transfer Scholars Program offers similar structure for community-college transfers.

Source

Three years of stipend split 70-30…Three years of stipend split 70-30 between tuition and experiential learning funds; specific dollar figure varies year to year

Caldwell Fellows

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Who qualifies

First-year NC State students only (not eligible from high school directly; selection happens after first semester at NC State). Application portfolio includes essays, short video, recommendation letters, first-semester NC State transcript with minimum 3.25 GPA. Standardized test scores and high school transcripts are NOT reviewed. Application opens January each year. ~30 Fellows selected per class.

How to keep it

Renewable for 3 years contingent on maintaining program ideals and cumulative GPA ≥ 3.25

Notes

The only university-wide merit scholarship at NC State funded by alumni and supporters. Focus on Robert Greenleaf-style Servant Leadership development. Caldwell Fellows participate in community service-learning, wilderness adventure, international engagement, and capstone training at the Center for Creative Leadership. ~30 Fellows per class.

Source

$24,000/year for 2 years

Goodnight Transfer Scholars Program

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Who qualifies

North Carolina resident transferring from a community college. Same AGI ≤ $120,000 and STEM/STEM-education major requirements as the Goodnight first-year program.

How to keep it

Renewable for 2 years for transfer recipients

Notes

Established 2017 (the first-year program was established 2008). Pairs with the Goodnight Scholars first-year cohort in program activities.

Source

Stipend…Stipend + program participation; specific scholarship amount per cycle

Shelton Leadership Scholars Program

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Who qualifies

Application required. Highly competitive leadership-focused program. Available to both NC residents and nonresidents.

How to keep it

Renewable subject to program standards

Notes

Program emphasizes values-based leadership development. Specific dollar amounts and stat thresholds are not published as a static table; refer to current Shelton website each cycle.

Source

Scholarship…Scholarship + leadership programming; specific amount published per cycle

Chancellor's Leadership Development Program

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Who qualifies

Apply via PackASSIST. Leadership-focused program for incoming first-year students.

How to keep it

Renewable subject to program participation and academic standing

Notes

Complements the Caldwell Fellows tier. Application typically aligns with the PackASSIST scholarship cycle (Feb. 15 maximum-consideration date).

Source

Renewable scholarship…Renewable scholarship; specific amount varies

Centennial Scholarship

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Apply via the standard NC State scholarship application process. Available to incoming first-year students.

How to keep it

Renewable subject to program standards

Notes

Listed as a distinctive undergraduate scholarship program for incoming freshmen on NC State's scholarship hub.

Source

Discipline-specific scholarship for…Discipline-specific scholarship for paper science majors

Paper Science Super Scholars

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Who qualifies

Major-specific (Paper Science). Funded in part by the Pulp & Paper Foundation. Apply for Early Action admission.

How to keep it

Renewable subject to program participation

Source

Variable…Variable; awards depend on individual scholarship fund and student profile. Catch-all for ~hundreds of donor-funded awards.

PackASSIST General Scholarships

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Who qualifies

Submit PackASSIST General Application by Feb. 15 for maximum consideration. Last accepted submission Aug. 1. Most awards consider Pell-eligibility, financial need, and academic merit. FAFSA helpful for need-based components.

How to keep it

Renewable based on individual fund agreement

Notes

PackASSIST is NC State's central scholarship application platform. Awards typically released by April 1 with continuing offers after that date as students decline. NC State does NOT automatically fund National Merit Finalists; NMF status alone does not trigger institutional money.

Source

See what could change an award

Rules that could change the answer

These are the rules we would flag for your family. Each comes from NC State's published information.

  • cliffOne ACT point can move the award by +$48,000 ($96,000 over 4 yr − $48,000 over 2 yr at $24,000/yr)

    NC State publishes a tier ladder where crossing Goodnight: first-year selection vs. transfer selection changes the marginal value by +$48,000 ($96,000 over 4 yr − $48,000 over 2 yr at $24,000/yr). Same $24,000/yr rate; the gap is funded duration. Entering as a first-year rather than transferring doubles the funded years.

  • capHard $53,004 cost-of-attendance ceiling

    Institutional aid at NC State cannot push the package past $53,004. Big outside wins can mathematically reduce institutional grant once the ceiling is reached.

What families often miss

  1. NC State explicitly does NOT automatically fund National Merit Finalists. This is unusual among public flagships: Alabama, Mizzou, USC (Provost), and Iowa State all have automatic NMF packages. NMFs targeting NC State should plan to compete for Park or Goodnight on the same terms as any other applicant; the NMF designation alone does not unlock institutional aid.

  2. The Park Scholarships application is SEPARATE from the NC State undergraduate admissions application and is due Nov. 1. Students who wait for their NC State admit letter before starting the Park application miss the cycle entirely. Plan for both applications to be in flight by Oct. 1.

  3. The Goodnight Scholars Program has a hard major restriction: STEM or STEM-education only. Students with intended majors in business, humanities, design, or other non-STEM fields are not eligible regardless of stats. NC State allows changes of major after enrollment, but Goodnight eligibility is established at admission based on the declared intended major.

  4. Goodnight is AGI-gated at $120,000; families above that threshold are not eligible regardless of academic credentials. The application includes a household income self-report section. High-stat NC residents from upper-income families should focus on Park (no income gate) rather than Goodnight.

  5. Per NC State's published guidance: 'Applications received by February 15th will receive maximum consideration.' The last accepted submission is Aug. 1, but scholarship selections are made considerably sooner. Most awards generated by April 1. Late filers can technically be considered, but the realistic universe of available scholarships shrinks rapidly after Feb. 15.

See award cutoffs and special programs

What NC State's named awards actually pay

Every tier below is competitive and application-based — none are triggered by stats. Rows are ordered by the dollar value that can be confirmed from the published award.

Student profileLikely outcome
NC resident · STEM major · household AGI ≤ $120,000Goodnight Scholars — $24,000/yr for 4 yr ($96,000 total)AGI-gated and major-gated; application due mid-January, not automatic on stats.
NC community-college transfer · STEM · AGI ≤ $120,000Goodnight Transfer Scholars — $24,000/yr for 2 yrSame gates as the first-year program but funded for 2 years, not 4.
Resident or nonresident · top scholarship/leadership/service/characterPark Scholarships — full 4-year cost of attendanceTrue full ride (covers COA, not just tuition); ~40 awarded annually; hard Nov. 1 deadline.

The dollar swings worth planning around

NC State publishes no stat-threshold ladder, so these are selection-based and structural swings between named awards rather than test-score cliffs.

ThresholdMarginal value
Goodnight: first-year selection vs. transfer selection+$48,000 ($96,000 over 4 yr − $48,000 over 2 yr at $24,000/yr)Same $24,000/yr rate; the gap is funded duration. Entering as a first-year rather than transferring doubles the funded years.
NC STEM resident: Park selection vs. Goodnight selection+$3,481/yr (Park covers the $27,481 resident COA vs. Goodnight's flat $24,000/yr)For an NC resident, Park's full-COA award ($27,481, the verified resident on-campus COA) edges out Goodnight's flat $24,000/yr by about $3,481/yr. Both require separate competitive applications, so this is a portfolio decision, not a single threshold.
Nonresident: Park selection vs. Goodnight (not eligible)+$53,004/yr vs. $0 (Park covers the $53,004 out-of-state COA; Goodnight is NC-residents-only)Goodnight is closed to nonresidents, so for an out-of-state student Park's full-COA award ($53,004, the verified OOS on-campus COA) is the only large computable institutional award among these named tiers.
National Merit Finalist status alone$0 institutional dollarsNC State explicitly does not automatically fund NMFs — unusual among public flagships. NMF must still win a named competitive award to get money.
See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Top 1-2% NC residents in STEM majors with family AGI under $120,000: the Goodnight Scholars Program ($24,000/year × 4 = $96,000) is one of the most generous AGI-gated state merit packages in the country, with ~80 first-year invitations and ~180 finalist interviewees. National-tier applicants (any state, any major) targeting the Park Scholarships full-COA × 4 years for ~40 winners; Park requires Early Action admission and Nov. 1 application deadline. Mid-stat NC State applicants without Park/Goodnight should plan for thin automatic merit; NC State does not publish a stat-driven freshman ladder, and unlike Alabama or Mizzou, does NOT automatically fund National Merit Finalists. PackASSIST general application by Feb. 15 is the catch-all.

Cost of attendance$27,481–$53,004 for 2025-2026Each bar is the full published cost for that scenario, sized against the highest figure so totals compare at a glance.
Out-of-state, on-campus$53,004
In-state, on-campus$27,481
  • Tuition & fees
  • Housing & food
  • Books
  • Travel
  • Personal
  • Loan fees

Out-of-state on-campus cost of attendance for 2025-2026 ($33,993 tuition + $8,335 housing + $6,406 food + $624 books + $1,602 personal + $2,000 transportation + $44 loan fees = $53,004). NC residents on-campus total is $27,481 ($9,028 tuition + same auxiliary structure + $1,442 transportation). 2026-2027 OOS estimate is $54,779; NC residents $28,490. College of Engineering students pay an additional Program Enhancement Fee.

NC State cost-of-attendance source

Cost and graduation facts

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

Average annual net price by family income at NC State, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$6,382
$30,001–$48,000$8,758
$48,001–$75,000$13,334
$75,001–$110,000$20,087
$110,001+$24,652
All income levels (average)$17,303

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$8,799
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$32,847
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$17,303

That works out to roughly a 35% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $26,425 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

NC State is a public school; Scorecard's net price figure covers in-state, Title-IV-aid-recipient payers only — there is no comparable federal figure for out-of-state students.

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
85%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
94%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$20,121 (~$213/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$68,758
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
19%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
39%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

NC State applies the Estimated Cost of Attendance cap to total financial aid resources. Outside scholarships must be reported promptly to the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid; if total aid exceeds COA, need-based grants are typically reduced before merit. National Merit Finalists do NOT receive automatic NC State institutional funding; this is unusual among public flagships and a key planning constraint.

Per NC State's published rules: (1) 'Total financial aid resources cannot exceed the Estimated Cost of Attendance', meaning total aid (institutional + state + federal + private) is capped at COA. (2) 'Students should promptly report external scholarship funding to the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid' to ensure aid offer and bill alignment. (3) 'We do not automatically offer funding to National Merit finalists', an explicit statement that NMF status alone does not trigger institutional money at NC State, unlike Alabama, Mizzou, or USC. (4) For Park, Goodnight, and Caldwell Fellows, total aid combinations with outside scholarships are reviewed individually by the program offices. (5) FAFSA is required by March 1 each year for renewable need-based components. (6) Renewal of distinctive program scholarships (Park, Goodnight, Caldwell Fellows, Chancellor's Leadership) requires maintenance of program standards in addition to academic standing.

Source

More school data

From the NC State Common Data Set 2023-2024:

Merit penetrationHow likely is merit aid here?From NC State’s Common Data Set: the share of first-year students who receive institutional merit and the average dollar amount when they do.
5%of admitsget merit
Average award$5,908Covers ~11% of $53,004 cost of attendance

At NC State, roughly 1 in 20 first-year admits receive institutional merit aid. The average award is $5,908 — about 11% of total cost.

As filed in NC State's CDS Section H2A: of 5,636 first-time, full-time degree-seeking freshmen, 272 had no financial need and received institutional merit (non-need) scholarship or grant aid, averaging $5,908. Across all full-time degree-seeking undergraduates: 1,804 of 24,727, averaging $5,697. Athletic awards are excluded per the CDS definition.

Receive institutional merit5%First-year students, CDS 2023-2024
Average merit award$5,908Across recipients, CDS 2023-2024

Source: Common Data Set 2023-2024 (verified 2026-07-23)

Other NC State scholarships worth checking

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

AmountVariable; need-basedEligibilityNC resident with demonstrated need per FAFSA. Renewal: cumulative 2.0 GPA and 24 credit hours per year.

State-funded need-based aid distinct from any institutional merit. Stackable with NC State recruiting awards within the COA cap.

Source

AmountVariable; restricted to paper science / forestry trackEligibilityPaper Science major. Foundation-funded; selection process tied to the College of Natural Resources.

Source

AmountVariable per recipientEligibilityDonor-funded merit award; apply via PackASSIST.

Source

NC State merit aid FAQ

  • Does NC State have a published stat-band automatic merit table for incoming freshmen?

    No. NC State's merit aid is heavily concentrated in three competitive programs (Park, Goodnight, Caldwell Fellows) plus PackASSIST-funded variable awards. There is no Mizzou-style 'X ACT/Y GPA = $Z scholarship' published table. Students with strong stats but no Park/Goodnight win should plan for thin automatic institutional merit and budget toward in-state COA (NC residents) or full OOS sticker.

  • How much can a Park Scholar expect over four years?

    Park Scholarships cover full cost of attendance for four years (tuition, fees, housing, food, books, personal). For 2025-2026, that is approximately $27,481/year for NC residents and $53,004/year for OOS residents. Plus enrichment grants (study abroad, research, service, conferences). Park is structurally a four-year package worth $110,000+ for NC residents and $210,000+ for OOS recipients before enrichment-grant value.

  • What's the difference between Caldwell Fellows and other NC State merit awards?

    Caldwell Fellows is selected AFTER the first semester at NC State, not at admission; it's a sophomore-year award. Application opens in January each year, requires 3.25 GPA, and reviewers do not look at high school transcripts or test scores. The award is structurally a 3-year stipend split 70-30 between tuition and experiential learning, plus an intensive Servant Leadership development program. Approximately 30 Fellows selected annually.

  • Can I use FAFSA for merit-only scholarships at NC State?

    FAFSA is not required for merit-only scholarships, but it is required for need-based scholarships and for renewable awards that have a financial need component. Per NC State's guidance: 'You can still be considered for merit scholarships [without FAFSA]. The absence of a FAFSA only means you cannot be considered for scholarships that have a financial need requirement.' For Goodnight specifically, household income must be self-reported in the application; FAFSA is the cleanest documentation.

  • Can I stack outside scholarships with Park or Goodnight?

    All outside scholarships must be reported to the Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid. For Park (full COA), additional outside aid risks pushing total above COA, in which case the excess is netted against the Park enrichment-grant component or against need-based portions; the core Park award is generally protected as long as total aid stays within COA. Goodnight is similar: outside aid is layered against the COA cap, with need-based components reduced first if there's overlap.

  • What's the renewal GPA for NC State scholarships?

    Most NC State scholarships require maintenance of full-time enrollment + Satisfactory Academic Progress + cumulative GPA at the level set by the individual fund agreement. Caldwell Fellows requires 3.25 cumulative GPA. Park has its own program standards. Need-based renewable awards require FAFSA each year before March 1. Specific minimum GPAs vary by fund.

See sources and other schools

How NC State compares

  • 241 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use cost-of-attendance cap displacement.

    NC State is in a recognizable cluster (241 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

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

    NC State 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.

  • 63 of 749 verified schools publish a marginal-value cliff table we can quantify.

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

How NC State compares

Families looking at NC State typically also evaluate UNC and three engineering peers:

  • UNC Carolina Covenant and Morehead-Cain. UNC and NC State together cover the Triangle's two flagship programs. UNC's Morehead-Cain (full COA + summer enrichment) is the closest analog to NC State's Park; both target ~50 winners. UNC's Carolina Covenant is need-based and AGI-gated similar to Goodnight, but with no STEM major restriction. For NC residents under the Goodnight AGI threshold, both programs are worth modeling; UNC's overall need-based fund is deeper.
  • Georgia Tech Stamps President's Scholars. Georgia Tech is the southeast's other engineering-heavy public flagship. GT's Stamps ($30K+/year + COA cap) is comparable to Park; GT's general OOS aid is thinner than NC State's. For OOS engineering applicants, both schools' high-ceiling competitive programs are the meaningful path; NC State has no Goodnight equivalent for OOS.
  • Clemson National Scholars and Lyceum. Clemson's National Scholars (~30 winners, full COA) is structurally similar to Park. Both are competitive full-COA awards. Clemson does not publish a stat-driven OOS automatic ladder either, so the modeling problem is similar; the Park/National Scholars finalist round is the realistic high-ceiling target.
  • Virginia Tech Pamplin and Blackwood. Virginia Tech is the closest direct ACC engineering rival. Tech's automatic merit is thin like NC State's, but its honors college and named scholarship programs (Pamplin, Blackwood) operate similarly to Caldwell Fellows. For VA-resident applicants, the in-state COA gap matters; for OOS, both schools demand a competitive-tier win to be financially viable.
  • UVA Jefferson Scholars. Jefferson Scholars at UVA is full-COA + summer enrichment, same tier as Park. ~36 winners/year. UVA's other merit aid is thin; the comparison is essentially Park vs. Jefferson Scholars for the same applicant pool.
Want a side-by-side comparison? Build a personalized playbook and we’ll compare likely costs across NC State and any peers you want to evaluate.

Keep exploring NC State merit aid