Occidental College may be worth checking, but its awards do not follow a simple grades-and-scores chart. Start with the published scholarships below.
Published rules, with the school sources close at hand. Confirm the details before you count on an award.
The award collection
These amounts and requirements come from the school’s own published pages. Open an award to see who qualifies and how to keep it.
$20,000
Published amountNot 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 conditionsMaintain 2 GPA
$20,000
Published amountNot 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 conditionsMaintain 2 GPA
$50,000
Published amountNot 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 conditionsAmount not 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$10,000
Published amountNot 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$2,000
Published amountNot 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$30,000
Published amountNot 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 conditionsMaintain 2 GPA
Up to $40,000
Variable or qualified amountNot 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 conditionsMaintain 2 GPA
$25,000
Published amountNot 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 conditionsMaintain 2 GPA
Free Merit Check
The free Merit Check shows which Occidental College award your student's numbers reach, and the rules that could change it. About 30 seconds.
This page covers one school.
Ready in under 10 minutes. 30-day money-back guarantee.
“it told me what to ask and what the renewal GPA looked like, which I was not going to find on my own”Melissa
Oxy offers multiple merit tiers, from community-focused awards to top-tier presidential and trustee scholarships for high-achieving students.
Selection beyond grades and scores
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.
Look for the school's stated criteria and whether an additional application is needed.
Confirm the current admission and scholarship deadlines directly with the school.
Check renewal, credit requirements and how other aid affects the award.
The fine print / Three questions to carry forward
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.
A printable research summary, source links and room for your questions.
Straight from the aid office
Per the Office of Financial Aid, Occidental College, August 2026. How we verify
Can a student combine multiple merit scholarships at Oxy?
Merit scholarships are not stackable; a student receives only one merit scholarship, at the highest value they qualify for.
“The Merit Scholarships listed on our website, including the Occidental Commitment Scholarship and the Minimum GPA Scholarship, are not stackable.”
What factors determine which merit scholarship a student is awarded?
The Admission Team awards the highest-value merit scholarship a student is eligible for based on academic record and application materials, not financial need.
“The Admission Team will award a student with the Merit Scholarship of the highest value that they are eligible for based on the student's academic record and application material, not their demonstrated financial need”
What GPA does a student need to keep the merit scholarship for all four years?
Merit scholarships are guaranteed for 4 years (8 semesters) as long as the student maintains a 2.00 GPA.
“Merit Scholarships are guaranteed for the student's 4 years (8 semesters at Oxy) as long as they maintain a 2.00 GPA”
What happens if need-based eligibility is lower than the merit scholarship amount?
If need-based eligibility is less than the merit scholarship value, the student still gets the full merit scholarship but becomes ineligible for other need-based aid.
“If a student's need-based eligibility is less than the value of the Merit Scholarship they are awarded, the student will still receive the Merit Scholarship's full value, but will not be eligible for other need-based aid.”
Is there a way back if a student loses eligibility for aid one semester?
If a student loses eligibility for need-based or merit aid, they get one warning semester with aid to regain eligibility; if not regained by the end of that semester, they lose eligibility for aid in subsequent semesters.
“If a student loses eligibility, both for need-based aid and/or merit aid, they are given one warning semester (with aid) to regain their eligibility (i.e. take more classes, improve GPA). If they are unable to regain eligibility by the end of their warning semester, they will not be eligible for need-based aid and/or merit aid in subsequent semesters.”
Does winning a merit scholarship reduce the total financial aid package, and does it affect loans specifically?
Merit scholarships are considered when meeting demonstrated need and do not stack on top of the financial aid offer; the total aid offer amount stays the same as the demonstrated need, with the merit scholarship included in that total (example: $35,000 total need-based aid stays $35,000 total even with a $10k merit scholarship included).
“For example if a student is eligible for a total of $35,000 in need-based financial aid and they received a $10k Merit Scholarships, their total Financial Aid Offer would be $35,000 including a Merit Scholarship.”
Do the online cost estimators include merit scholarship amounts?
The Quick Cost Estimators do not include merit scholarships or tuition benefit eligibility, but this doesn't change the total aid value shown because merit scholarships don't stack.
“Please note that these estimates do not include merit scholarships or tuition benefit eligibility. However, this will not have an impact on the student's total aid value as produced by the estimators because merit scholarships do not stack.”
Strong applicants with compelling personal stories or exceptional academic records will find the most opportunity here. First-generation students and those with demonstrated community involvement are particularly encouraged to apply.
Published yearly cost: Approximately $95,365 for 2026-2027. Source
Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Occidental College, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.
| Family income | Average net price paid |
|---|---|
| $0–$30,000 | $20,705 |
| $30,001–$48,000 | $17,655 |
| $48,001–$75,000 | $21,468 |
| $75,001–$110,000 | $28,033 |
| $110,001+ | $54,959 |
| All income levels (average) | $38,263 |
That works out to roughly a 55% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $84,800 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).
Outside scholarships first reduce need-based loans, then the work award. Institutional grant funding is adjusted only if total grants and scholarships exceed total financial need; outside awards generally do not replace the calculated family contribution.
Outside scholarships first reduce need-based loans, then the work award. Institutional grant funding is adjusted only if total grants and scholarships exceed total financial need; outside awards generally do not replace the calculated family contribution.
These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.
Occidental College is in a recognizable cluster (145 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
Occidental College 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.
Occidental College is one of them. NMF packages typically carry their own stacking and renewal carve-outs separate from the standard automatic merit ladder; confirm those before assuming the headline NMF value is final.
Every claim is checked against Occidental College’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
