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University of Notre Dame · Indiana

Notre Dame scholarships and merit aid

Notre Dame is a meets-100%-of-need, no-loan private — the financial story for the vast majority of admits is need-based aid, not merit. Only about 3-4% of admits receive merit scholarships, and the headline merit awards (Stamps Scholars and Hesburgh-Yusko Scholars) are competitive named programs rather than stat-driven ladders.

Verified Jul 20261 month ago· PT

The short answer

Is Notre Dame worth a closer look?

Notre Dame 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 chasing only if your student is a true top-of-pile, leadership-and-service standout. There is no stat-based merit ladder here, and because ND meets full need, outside scholarships can shrink your aid instead of growing it.

Notre Dame is overwhelmingly a need-based, no-loan school; merit is a thin, hand-picked lane with no automatic award on GPA or test score. Every named scholarship is selected holistically by Admissions, so you cannot test-prep your way into a tier. The two flagships differ in both size and structure: Hesburgh-Yusko is a flat $25,000/yr cash award ($100,000 over four years), while Stamps covers full tuition and fees plus books, personal, and transportation costs, plus a $12,000 enrichment fund. The data gives no standalone tuition figure; using ND's verified off-campus tuition-and-fees proxy of $67,607/yr, Stamps' tuition-and-fees coverage exceeds the Hesburgh-Yusko cash award by about $42,607/yr — an approximate gap, since one side is tuition coverage and the other a flat stipend. Selection runs in parallel: REA semifinalists hear in early December, RD in early March. On stacking, ND's policy is grant-first: because it meets 100% of demonstrated need, outside scholarships generally reduce ND grant aid, and total aid cannot exceed cost of attendance. Report every external award.

Merit tiers3See who qualifies
First-year students with school awards2%First-year students, CDS 2025-2026 (school-estimated)
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 tuition and fees…Full tuition and fees + estimated cost of books, personal expenses, and transportation for up to four years (five years for Architecture or approved dual-degree) + $12,000 enrichment fund

Stamps Scholars Program

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Who qualifies

All applicants, both Restrictive Early Action (REA) and Regular Decision (RD), are considered. No additional application required initially. Selection is made by the Office of Admissions from among the highest-achieving applicants who demonstrate academic merit, leadership potential, and exceptional character. REA semifinalists are notified in early December; RD semifinalists in early March, with required next steps from there.

How to keep it

Renewable for up to eight semesters of full-time enrollment (ten semesters for Architecture or five-year engineering programs). Standard ND merit renewal terms apply.

Notes

The most generous merit award at Notre Dame. Cohort is small, typically a handful per year. Part of the broader Stamps Scholars national network of 1,800+ current and graduate scholars across partner universities.

Source

$25,000/year for four years…$25,000/year for four years ($100,000 total) + fully funded summer enrichment experiences, seminars, service-learning projects, career advising, and alumni mentoring

Hesburgh-Yusko Scholars Program

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Who qualifies

Selected on academic excellence, leadership potential, character, and commitment to service. The program emphasizes the Catholic social mission and Father Hesburgh's tradition of social-justice advocacy. Selection process is separate from the Stamps process and runs in parallel.

How to keep it

Renewable for four years of full-time undergraduate study; renewal terms align with the broader Hesburgh-Yusko program participation requirements.

Notes

Funded by the $35M Yusko gift. Beyond the cash award, the program is a full leadership-development cohort with summer enrichment (e.g. Outward Bound), service-learning, career advising, and alumni mentoring; the cohort experience is often more cited by alumni than the dollar value.

Source

Varies — partial- to full-tuition a…Varies — partial- to full-tuition awards for a small number of admits each year

Notre Dame University Merit Scholarships (other named awards)

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Who qualifies

Every application for admission is considered for merit scholarships at Notre Dame. No separate application unless the applicant is selected as a merit semi-finalist. Selection is based on accomplishment, leadership, commitment to service, and intellectual promise; financial need is not a factor.

How to keep it

Renewable for up to eight semesters (10 for Architecture and approved five-year engineering programs); recipients pursuing a second major or degree beyond those windows are not eligible for further University scholarship consideration.

Notes

About 3-4% of admitted students receive merit aid in total (across Stamps, Hesburgh-Yusko, and other University merit awards combined). The vast majority of ND financial aid is need-based.

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 Notre Dame's published information.

  • cliffOne ACT point can move the award by about +$42,607/yr (Stamps tuition/fees, using ND's verified off-campus tuition proxy of $33,803.50/sem = $67,607/yr, minus the $25,000/yr Hesburgh-Yusko award)

    Notre Dame publishes a tier ladder where crossing Hesburgh-Yusko cash award → Stamps tuition-and-fees coverage changes the marginal value by about +$42,607/yr (Stamps tuition/fees, using ND's verified off-campus tuition proxy of $33,803.50/sem = $67,607/yr, minus the $25,000/yr Hesburgh-Yusko award). Approximate, not a clean per-year delta. The data gives no standalone tuition figure; the $67,607/yr off-campus full-time charge is the closest verified tuition-and-fees proxy (the $86,045 resident basic fee bundles room and meals and is NOT a tuition number). Hesburgh-Yusko is a flat stipend, not tuition coverage, so this compares two structurally different awards. Neither is automatic on stats — this is a difference in award value, not a threshold a student can cross.

  • renewalStamps Scholars Program: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

    Renewable for up to eight semesters of full-time enrollment (ten semesters for Architecture or five-year engineering programs). Standard ND merit renewal terms apply. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

  • capHard $89,243 cost-of-attendance ceiling

    Institutional aid at Notre Dame cannot push the package past $89,243. Big outside wins can mathematically reduce institutional grant once the ceiling is reached.

What families often miss

  1. ND meets 100% of demonstrated need with no-loan offers and publishes income-banded Pathways: ≤ $60K AGI = full COA covered; ≤ $150K = at least full tuition; ≤ $200K = at least half tuition. The median need-based scholarship for incoming first-years is $64,200. For most middle-income families, ND's net cost is materially lower than the $86K headline.

  2. Only about 3-4% of admitted students receive merit aid: the Stamps and Hesburgh-Yusko programs combined plus a small pool of other University merit. If your financial plan depends on merit aid, ND is a poor target relative to schools with broader named-merit catalogs (Vanderbilt, Duke, USC, BC). ND's pricing strategy is need-based-first by design.

  3. The CSS Profile is required for need-based University scholarship consideration at ND, not just the FAFSA. ND's CSS code is 1841. Without the CSS Profile, you forfeit consideration for institutional grant aid and the Pathways commitment. This is the single most-skipped step that costs families real money.

  4. Because ND already meets 100% of demonstrated need, external scholarships typically reduce ND grant aid rather than reduce the family's out-of-pocket cost. There are limited exceptions (e.g. unrestricted enrichment awards or scholarships with specific use designations). Always report outside awards immediately so ND can re-package, but don't assume they will improve your net cost.

  5. ND uses Restrictive Early Action (REA), not Early Decision. REA prohibits applying Early Decision elsewhere but does not commit you to attend if admitted. Applicants can compare aid offers from multiple meets-need privates without being locked in. Confusing REA for ED is a common mistake that leads families to forfeit financial leverage.

See award cutoffs and special programs

What the named merit tiers actually pay

Notre Dame publishes no automatic, stat-triggered merit. Every award below is holistic and competitive; profiles describe the type of applicant Admissions selects, not a guaranteed outcome at any GPA or score.

Student profileLikely outcome
Competitively selected applicant (holistic)Hesburgh-Yusko Scholars — $25,000/yr ($100,000 over four years)A flat cash award, not tied to tuition. Comes with a full leadership-development cohort: funded summer enrichment, service-learning, career advising, alumni mentoring. Selected separately from Stamps.
Highest-achieving admit (leadership + character)Stamps Scholars — full tuition and fees + estimated books, personal, and transportation costs + $12,000 enrichment fundThe most generous merit award at ND; cohort is a handful per year. Covers full tuition and fees plus those line items as defined in the award; the data does not state it covers room and board, so it is not described here as a full cost-of-attendance ride. No separate application required initially.

The dollar gaps you can actually compute

There are no test-score or GPA cliffs at Notre Dame, because no tier is automatic on stats. The only computable comparison runs between the two named flagship awards — and even that is approximate, because one is tuition coverage and the other a flat cash award.

ThresholdMarginal value
Hesburgh-Yusko cash award → Stamps tuition-and-fees coverageabout +$42,607/yr (Stamps tuition/fees, using ND's verified off-campus tuition proxy of $33,803.50/sem = $67,607/yr, minus the $25,000/yr Hesburgh-Yusko award)Approximate, not a clean per-year delta. The data gives no standalone tuition figure; the $67,607/yr off-campus full-time charge is the closest verified tuition-and-fees proxy (the $86,045 resident basic fee bundles room and meals and is NOT a tuition number). Hesburgh-Yusko is a flat stipend, not tuition coverage, so this compares two structurally different awards. Neither is automatic on stats — this is a difference in award value, not a threshold a student can cross.
Stamps enrichment add-on+$12,000 enrichment fund on top of Stamps' tuition-and-fees coverageThis enrichment component sits outside the standard need package and is one of the few award dollars not displaced by the grant-first stacking rule.
See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Two distinct audiences. The first, and far larger, is middle- and lower-income families: Notre Dame meets 100% of demonstrated need with no-loan offers, and the Pathways model covers full tuition for families under $150K AGI and the full cost of attendance for families under $60K AGI. The financial story for most ND admits is the need-based offer, not merit. Second: a tiny cohort of exceptionally accomplished applicants who can credibly compete for the Stamps or Hesburgh-Yusko named merit programs. The 3-4% of admits who receive merit aid are typically also strong leadership-and-service applicants, not just high-stat ones.

Cost of attendance$89,243 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$89,243
  • Tuition & fees
  • Housing & food
  • Books
  • Travel
  • Personal

Input total $86,045 was the basic fee (tuition+room+board) only; official full COA with indirect costs is $89,243. Used official figures.

Notre Dame cost-of-attendance source

Cost and graduation facts

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

Average annual net price by family income at Notre Dame, academic year 2021-22
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$7,244
$30,001–$48,000$7,254
$48,001–$75,000$11,432
$75,001–$110,000$18,670
$110,001+$45,321
All income levels (average)$26,780

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$65,025
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$26,780

That works out to roughly a 68% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $83,271 (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
95%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
99%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$19,000 (~$201/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$99,980
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
16%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
21%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Outside scholarships reduce work-study first, then University Scholarship, with the total package held at Notre Dame's full-need commitment; nothing is displaced beyond what keeps total aid at that cap.

Verified policy language (2026-07-02): Since Notre Dame meets your full demonstrated financial need, any external funds not listed in the initial Financial Aid Offer may require adjustments to your financial aid package. ... Do outside/private scholarships affect my financial aid? Outside aid is considered a resource and will reduce the amount of need-based financial aid you are offered. Work is reduced first, followed by University Scholarship, state, and Federal Grants.

Source

More school data

From the Notre Dame Common Data Set 2025-2026 (school-estimated figures):

Merit penetrationHow likely is merit aid here?From Notre Dame’s Common Data Set: the share of first-year students who receive institutional merit and the average dollar amount when they do.
2%of admitsget merit
Average award$16,616Covers ~19% of $89,243 cost of attendance

At Notre Dame, roughly 1 in 50 first-year admits receive institutional merit aid. The average award is $16,616 — about 19% of total cost.

As filed in Notre Dame's CDS Section H2A: of 2,118 first-time, full-time degree-seeking freshmen, 43 had no financial need and received institutional merit (non-need) scholarship or grant aid, averaging $16,616. Across all full-time degree-seeking undergraduates: 354 of 8,922, averaging $16,569. Athletic awards are excluded per the CDS definition.

The 2025-2026 column is marked "estimated" in the school's own CDS filing — school-projected figures, not final audited counts.

Receive institutional merit2%First-year students, CDS 2025-2026 (school-estimated)
Average merit award$16,616Across recipients, CDS 2025-2026 (school-estimated)

Source: Common Data Set 2025-2026 (verified 2026-07-23)

Other Notre Dame scholarships worth checking

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

AmountFull cost of attendance covered for families with AGI ≤ $60K; at least full tuition for ≤ $150K AGI; at least half tuition for ≤ $200K AGIEligibilityNeed-based, FAFSA + CSS Profile required. ND federal school code 001840; CSS Profile code 1841. Available to U.S. and international students.

This is the most under-cited part of ND's affordability story. Families assume Notre Dame is unaffordable, but the Pathways bands cover most of the income distribution. Median need-based scholarship awarded to incoming first-year students is $64,200.

Source

AmountVaries; awarded based on demonstrated financial need from the student's home geographic areaEligibilityApproximately 150 Notre Dame clubs offer scholarships from their respective geographic areas. All applicants for financial aid are considered. Some clubs may require an interview or essay.

Layered on top of the standard ND need-based offer. Acts as another mechanism for the school to meet the 100%-of-need commitment without changing the institutional aid line.

Source

AmountVaries by state programEligibilityIndiana residents (Frank O'Bannon Grant, 21st Century Scholars) and Vermont residents (Vermont Student Assistance Corporation) may be eligible for home-state aid usable at ND. Application is through the state agency.

ND meets 100% of need, so state scholarships typically reduce ND grant aid rather than add to the package, unless the state award has a separate use designation that doesn't overlap with ND aid.

Source

Notre Dame merit aid FAQ

  • How likely is merit aid at Notre Dame?

    About 3-4% of admitted students receive merit aid, combining the Stamps Scholars Program (~handful per year, full COA + $12K enrichment), the Hesburgh-Yusko Scholars Program ($25K/yr × 4), and a small pool of other University merit. The vast majority of ND financial aid (about $64,200 median for incoming first-years) is need-based.

  • What are the income thresholds for full need-based aid at Notre Dame?

    Per Notre Dame's Pathways model, families with adjusted gross income up to $60,000 typically have full cost of attendance (tuition, fees, housing, food) covered. Families up to $150,000 typically have at least full tuition covered. Families up to $200,000 typically have at least half tuition covered. Specific awards depend on full FAFSA + CSS Profile assessment of need.

  • Will an outside scholarship help me at Notre Dame?

    Usually not in the way you'd hope. Because ND already meets 100% of demonstrated need, outside scholarships generally reduce ND grant aid rather than your bottom-line family contribution. Always report outside awards as soon as you're notified so ND can re-package, but plan financially as if outside scholarships will be absorbed into the existing ND offer.

  • Do I need the CSS Profile for Notre Dame?

    Yes. The CSS Profile is required for need-based University scholarship consideration; the FAFSA alone is not sufficient. ND's CSS code is 1841 and federal school code is 001840. Both must be on file by the deadlines on the Office of Financial Aid website to receive an institutional aid offer with admission.

  • Can I stack Stamps or Hesburgh-Yusko with need-based aid?

    Partially. Per federal regulations and ND policy, students who receive both a merit scholarship and a need-based scholarship from the University are subject to a reduction or elimination of the need-based portion. The merit award (Stamps full COA, Hesburgh-Yusko $25K/yr) typically replaces or absorbs the institutional need-based component up to the cost of attendance. The enrichment component (e.g. Stamps $12K fund) is a separate program benefit that does not affect the aid calculation.

See sources and other schools

How Notre Dame compares

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

    Notre Dame 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.

    Notre Dame 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.

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

How Notre Dame compares

Families looking at Notre Dame typically also evaluate these peers:

  • Boston College Presidential and Liberal Arts merit. Boston College is the natural Catholic peer. BC awards more named merit than Notre Dame at the top: Presidential Scholars get full tuition + leadership funding through a separate competitive process. ND offers a smaller merit pool (Stamps full COA, Hesburgh-Yusko $100K over four years) but a more generous need-based ceiling. For middle-income families, ND's no-loan model often beats BC's package.
  • Northwestern's need-based commitment. Northwestern, like ND, leads with need rather than merit and meets 100% of demonstrated need. NU does not offer institutional merit awards at all, so for high-stat-but-no-merit applicants, ND's small Stamps and Hesburgh-Yusko pool is one differentiator. Net cost for need-eligible families is similar at both schools.
  • Vanderbilt's Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholarship. Vanderbilt is the high-stat-meets-merit private alternative. The Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholarship is full-tuition + summer stipend, available to roughly 3-4% of admits and selected by separate application, comparable in scale to ND's Stamps. Vanderbilt also meets 100% of need with no loans. For applicants whose merit case is stronger than their need case, Vanderbilt's named merit pool is materially larger than ND's.
  • Michigan's need-aware in-state commitment. For Indiana residents specifically, ND offers no in-state advantage, but Michigan's Go Blue Guarantee for Michigan residents under $125K is the closest public-flagship parallel to ND's no-loan need model. Out-of-state at either school is meets-need but no merit ladder. ND has higher prestige; Michigan has a lower sticker for in-state residents.
Want a side-by-side comparison? Build a personalized playbook and we’ll compare likely costs across Notre Dame and any peers you want to evaluate.

Keep exploring Notre Dame merit aid