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PLU scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$74,566per year · 2026-2027 · cost of attendance
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

PLU awards automatic merit on admission. PLU does not publish a GPA or test chart, so you cannot self-calculate the dollars.

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.

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Checking merit aid at PLU

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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. PLU Academic Scholarships$8,000-$32,000AutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    PLU Academic Scholarships

    $8,000-$32,000

    Published rangeAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    Awarded on the basis of academic merit, primarily high school GPA (no published GPA grid)
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for PLU Academic Scholarships

    Who qualifies

    All first-year applicants are considered; no application beyond the admission application

    How to keep it

    Renewable for an additional three years of undergraduate study; renewal conditions not stated on the page.

    Worth knowing

    No published GPA/amount grid — students are notified of their scholarship range upon admission. Do not invent a grid.

  2. Presidential ScholarshipsAmount not publishedNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Presidential Scholarships

    Amount not published

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

    GPA
    3.8 cumulative (weighted)
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Presidential Scholarships

    Who qualifies

    Demonstrated significant leadership and service (Common App activities section or supplement); apply for admission by the December 1 Early Action II deadline

    How to keep it

    Renewal terms not stated on the page.

    Worth knowing

    Amount is 'Variable.' Explicitly stacks: 'These awards will be in addition to any merit scholarships students receive.' Selected students notified by early February.

  3. 253 PLU Bound ScholarshipFull tuitionNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    253 PLU Bound Scholarship

    Full tuition

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

    GPA
    3.0 or higher weighted cumulative GPA
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for 253 PLU Bound Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Must be Washington College Bound Scholarship eligible and attend a Washington state high school; FAFSA (or WASFA for undocumented WA residents) required

    How to keep it

    Renewable for up to an additional three years as long as the student remains College Bound eligible and maintains satisfactory academic progress.

    Worth knowing

    Guaranteed if eligibility requirements are met; unlimited number. Full tuition comes 'from a combination of PLU, federal, state, and College Bound scholarship and grant' — not a single stacked PLU award. Recipients cannot also receive the PLU Housing Grant or Visit Scholarship.

  4. Artistic Achievement Awards$1,000-$7,500Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Artistic Achievement Awards

    $1,000-$7,500

    Published rangeNot 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 Artistic Achievement Awards

    Who qualifies

    Exceptional ability in art & design, dance, media, music, or theatre (acting & technical); applications/auditions due February 12, 2026; may apply in multiple fields

    How to keep it

    Renewable for up to an additional three years of undergraduate study.

    Worth knowing

    Explicitly stacks: 'These awards will be in addition to any merit scholarships students receive.'

  5. Housing Grant$2,500Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Housing Grant

    $2,500

    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
    Open award details for Housing Grant

    Who qualifies

    Any incoming first-year student for the 2026-2027 academic year who lives on campus; automatic for students indicating on-campus living

    How to keep it

    Renewable for every year while living on campus (up to an additional three years).

    Worth knowing

    Applied toward tuition costs. NOT available to students whose tuition is fully covered through other scholarships (253 PLU Bound, tuition exchange, etc.). Unlimited number.

Lights up against PLU's published cutoffs. Not an award offer; confirm with the financial aid office. Award terms and residency rules change; some awards differ for in-state and out-of-state students. Always confirm at the school’s source page.

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What makes PLU different

PLU pairs automatic-consideration Academic Scholarships ($8,000-$32,000) with stackable add-ons (Presidential, Artistic, $2,500 Housing Grant, $1,000 Visit Scholarship), a guaranteed full-tuition 253 PLU Bound program for College Bound-eligible Washington students, and a fixed-tuition guarantee.

Merit tiers51 based on grades or scores
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team

More than one award path

Separate the two paths.

Some awards use published academic thresholds. Others have different selection criteria. A score chart does not describe every award at this school.

  1. Match the published criteria

    Use all requirements together, including residency and the entering class.

  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 PLU's decision sheet

A printable research summary, source links and room for your questions.

See what could change an award

What families often miss

  1. Presidential Scholarships require applying for admission 'by the December 1 Early Action II deadline' — applying later forfeits PLU's top stackable leadership award even with a 3.8+ GPA.

  2. The page states students with tuition fully covered (253 PLU Bound, tuition exchange, etc.) 'cannot receive the PLU Housing Grant,' and the Visit Scholarship 'cannot be combined with a full-tuition scholarship such as the Regents' Scholarship, tuition exchange/remission, or 253 PLU Bound Scholarship.'

  3. The award is 'full tuition, from a combination of PLU, federal, state, and College Bound scholarship and grant' — state and federal grants are folded in, not added on, and the FAFSA/WASFA is required to unlock it. It also covers tuition only, not the ~$20,000 of housing, food, and fees in the $74,566 COA.

  4. Renewal requires the student 'remains College Bound eligible and maintains satisfactory academic progress while at PLU.'

  5. PLUMS is first-come, first-served; the application is due August 15, 2025 and 'only funds received by October 1, 2025, will be matched.'

  6. The grant is 'renewable for every year while living on campus' — it ends when the student moves off campus.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Strong students who want layered, stackable awards on top of base merit — and especially Washington College Bound-eligible students with a 3.0+, for whom full tuition is guaranteed via 253 PLU Bound.

Published yearly cost: Approximately $74,566 for 2026-2027. Source

Cost and graduation facts

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

Average annual net price by family income at PLU, academic year 2021-22
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$13,609
$30,001–$48,000$12,948
$48,001–$75,000$15,756
$75,001–$110,000$22,535
$110,001+$26,915
All income levels (average)$19,589

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$52,254
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$19,589

That works out to roughly a 69% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $62,459 (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
69%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
82%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$22,578 (~$239/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$66,990
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
40%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
44%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Outside scholarships reduce loans and/or work-study first; institutional grants are only reduced if required to prevent an over-award.

Verified policy language (2026-07-02): PLU may be required by federal regulations to adjust your need-based aid package when outside resources are received. If an adjustment is necessary, work-study and loans will be adjusted first. Grants and scholarships will be adjusted only if required by federal or state regulations and as a last resort. Separately, the school's own award-stacking rules: PLU's add-on awards explicitly stack on top of base merit (Presidential and Artistic awards are 'in addition to any merit scholarships'), but full-tuition recipients are excluded from the Housing Grant and Visit Scholarship. (per https://www.plu.edu/admission-first-year/financial-aid/scholarships/)

Source

Other PLU scholarships worth checking

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

Amount$1,000 per yearEligibilityStudents who attend an official Admission-sponsored on-campus visit between May 1-April 31 of their senior year; awarded automatically

Cannot be combined with a full-tuition scholarship (Regents', tuition exchange/remission, 253 PLU Bound).

Source

Amount$500 per yearEligibilityStudents confirmed in any ELCA congregation; a church official must submit the online Confirmation Scholarship Form

Source

AmountUp to $1,000 per year (dollar-for-dollar match)EligibilityStudents receiving scholarships of $100+ from any church congregation; application by the student and awarding church due August 15, 2025; only funds received by October 1, 2025 are matched

First-come, first-served.

Source

Amount$1,000-$1,500 per yearEligibilityStudents of any ethnic background demonstrating interest and leadership in promoting racial and ethnic diversity and social justice; application due March 15, 2026

Renewable for up to an additional three years; awarded by PLU's Center for Diversity, Justice, and Sustainability.

Source

Amount$1,000 per yearEligibilityDependents of PLU alumni (including step-parents)

Source

AmountUp to full tuition plus room and board, book allowance, and living stipendEligibilityContact the Army ROTC Career Counselor (rotc@plu.edu) for application steps

Source

AmountFull tuitionEligibilityQualified veterans or their dependents

Contact PLU's Veterans Benefits Coordinator.

Source

PLU merit aid FAQ

  • Do I need a separate application for PLU's Academic Scholarships?

    No — 'Students must complete the PLU application for admission. No other application is required.' All first-year applicants are automatically considered for $8,000-$32,000 per year.

  • What are the key scholarship deadlines?

    Presidential Scholarship: apply for admission by December 1 (Early Action II); selected students notified by early February. Artistic Achievement Awards: applications due February 12, 2026. Rieke Leadership Award: March 15, 2026. PLUMS church match: application by August 15, 2025, funds received by October 1, 2025.

  • Will my tuition go up each year?

    PLU advertises a fixed tuition guarantee — for the incoming class, 'the cost of tuition is locked in from the first day of class until graduation day.' The 2026-27 cost page shows cohort-based tuition ($54,080 for 2026-27 starts vs. lower frozen rates for earlier cohorts).

  • What does PLU cost in 2026-27?

    The published 2026-27 cost of attendance for on/off-campus students totals $74,566, including tuition $54,080, housing & food $14,670, fees, books, personal, and transportation.

  • Does PLU reduce my aid if I win outside scholarships?

    The pages opened do not publish an outside-scholarship displacement policy — PLU actively encourages outside scholarship applications. Ask the Financial Aid Office how outside awards interact with PLU aid before counting on full stacking.

See sources and other schools

How PLU compares

  • 145 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.

    PLU 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.

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

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

Compare with similar schools

Keep exploring PLU merit aid

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