PLU Merit Aid

1. Missing the December 1 deadline for Presidential Scholarship consideration.+

   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. Expecting the $2,500 Housing Grant or $1,000 Visit Scholarship on top of a full-tuition award.+

   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. Treating 253 PLU Bound 'full tuition' as one big PLU scholarship stacked on other aid.+

   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. Losing 253 PLU Bound renewal by dropping College Bound eligibility or satisfactory academic progress.+

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

5. Submitting church scholarship funds late for the PLUMS match.+

   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. Moving off campus and expecting to keep the Housing Grant.+

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

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.

Tuition / cost of attendance: Approximately $74,566 for 2026-2027. Source

Every tier below is sourced to the school’s own published financial aid pages. Renewal terms apply only if the student maintains the stated GPA.

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. No policy about outside/private scholarship displacement was found on the pages opened.

Presidential Scholarships and Artistic Achievement Awards state they are 'in addition to any merit scholarships students receive.' The Housing Grant cannot go to students 'who have tuition fully covered through other scholarships (i.e. 253 PLU Bound, tuition exchange, etc.).' The Visit Scholarship 'cannot be combined with a full-tuition scholarship such as the Regents' Scholarship, tuition exchange/remission, or 253 PLU Bound Scholarship.' PLU encourages outside scholarships and links search engines, but no displacement rule for them is published on the pages opened.

Source

Named awards that don’t always surface on the main financial aid page. Each one has its own eligibility rules.

• 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.

• Seattle Pacific merit aid — Washington private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
• Seattle U merit aid — Washington private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
• Walla Walla merit aid — Washington private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
• Gonzaga merit aid — Washington private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.

• PLU scholarship stacking — Whether outside awards land as upside or quietly displace institutional aid.
• Does PLU displace outside scholarships? — The dollar math on a $5,000 outside award, plus peer schools that handle it differently.
• PLU four-year renewal rules — GPA floors, credit-hour pace, and the renewal cliffs that knock awards out by sophomore year.