Penn scholarships and merit aid
The short answer
Do not spend time looking for a merit scholarship here. Penn says its aid is based on financial need.
3 school sources to explore
Published rules, with the school sources close at hand. Confirm the details before you count on an award.
Explore the aid policy
Start with the financial aid office
This research does not list a merit award. Explore the recorded policies below and ask Penn's financial aid office about current options.
Free Merit Check
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The free Merit Check shows which Penn award your student's numbers reach, and the rules that could change it. About 30 seconds.
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“it told me what to ask and what the renewal GPA looked like, which I was not going to find on my own”Melissa
College Hall at the University of Pennsylvania
What makes Penn different
Penn does not offer merit scholarships of any kind — all financial aid is purely need-based. The Quaker Commitment (expanded 2025-2026) covers full tuition, fees, housing, and dining for families earning up to $75,000 and guarantees full tuition for families up to $200,000. Penn meets 100% of demonstrated need with all-grant aid (no loans since 2008).
Start with the aid policy
Find the right kind of aid.
This research does not list a merit award. Check the school's financial aid options and application requirements; an empty award list is not proof that no aid is available.
- Read the selection rules
Look for the school's stated criteria and whether an additional application is needed.
- Check the application dates
Confirm the current admission and scholarship deadlines directly with the school.
- 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.
A printable research summary, source links and room for your questions.
See what could change an award
What families often miss
Penn awards zero merit scholarships. The CDS confirms 0% of freshmen without financial need received institutional merit aid. This applies across all four undergraduate schools including Wharton. No Wharton merit scholarship exists.
Penn uses its own institutional methodology. The Quaker Commitment guarantees full tuition for families earning up to $200,000, and home equity is excluded. Both biological parents must provide information even if divorced or separated.
See costs and school data
Who this school may work for
Families who need to understand that Penn is a true zero-merit Ivy. Unlike some selective schools with a handful of named exceptions, Penn awards literally 0% non-need institutional merit aid per the CDS, across all four undergraduate schools (College, Engineering, Wharton, Nursing). If your household income is under $200,000, the Quaker Commitment guarantees at minimum full tuition coverage.
- Tuition & fees
- Housing & food
- Books
- Travel
- Personal
Private. Travel/health insurance added per circumstance, not in base budget. Components sum to official $99,082.
Cost and graduation facts
Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Penn, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.
| Family income | Average net price paid |
|---|---|
| $0–$30,000 | $0 — grants exceeded costs by $3,012 |
| $30,001–$48,000 | $316 |
| $48,001–$75,000 | $10,439 |
| $75,001–$110,000 | $25,476 |
| $110,001+ | $55,972 |
| All income levels (average) | $28,699 |
A net price shown as "$0 — grants exceeded costs" means average grant aid for students in that income bracket was greater than the full cost of attendance that year — a genuine reported outcome, not a data error.
Sticker price vs. what students actually pay
- Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
- $68,686
- Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
- $28,699
That works out to roughly a 68% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $89,028 (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
- 97%
- First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
- 99%
- Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
- $15,715 (~$167/mo on a 10-yr plan)
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
- $111,371
- Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
- 20%
- Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
- 9%
See other scholarships and cost examples
If your student brings another scholarship
Outside scholarships first reduce or eliminate the Summer Savings (Student Contribution) component of the aid package, then the Work-Study/Penn Job component. Only if outside funds exceed both does the remainder replace institutional need-based aid such as the Penn Grant or Institutional/Endowed Scholarship; outside scholarships never reduce the Parent Contribution.
Verified policy language (2026-07-02): Outside scholarship funds will first, if applicable, reduce or eliminate the "Summer Savings" component of your financial aid package. The "Summer Savings" component is typically reflected in your Student Contribution. If additional adjustments are necessary and applicable, the scholarship will then be used to reduce or eliminate your Work-Study/Penn Job component of your financial aid package. If the total amount of your outside scholarships exceeds the combined value of your Summer Savings expectation and Work-Study/Penn-Job allotment, or these components are not applicable to you, any remaining funds will replace an equivalent amount of university need-based funding such as the Penn Grant or Institutional/Endowed Scholarship aid. Please note that outside scholarships cannot be used to reduce your Parent Contribution.
More school data
From the Penn Common Data Set 2024-2025:
Penn merit aid FAQ
Does Penn offer merit scholarships?
No. Penn is a true zero-merit Ivy; the CDS confirms 0% of freshmen received non-need institutional merit aid. There are no academic, athletic, or talent-based merit scholarships across any of Penn's four undergraduate schools.
What is the Quaker Commitment?
The Quaker Commitment (expanded 2025-2026) guarantees: full coverage of tuition, fees, housing, and dining for families earning up to $75,000; full tuition for families earning up to $200,000. Penn meets 100% of demonstrated need with all-grant aid (no loans since 2008). 45.4% of undergraduates receive financial aid. Requires FAFSA and CSS Profile.
How does Penn handle outside scholarships?
Outside scholarships first reduce summer savings and work-study. Once self-help is exhausted, they reduce the Penn Grant dollar-for-dollar. Outside awards cannot reduce the parent contribution.
See sources and other schools
How Penn compares
- 145 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.
Penn 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.
Sources used on this page
Every claim is checked against Penn’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
- Policy pagePenn stacking policy
- Common Data SetPenn Common Data Set
- Cost of attendancePenn cost-of-attendance worksheet
Compare with similar schools
- Cedar Crest merit aid. Pennsylvania private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
- Chatham University merit aid. Pennsylvania private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
- Dickinson merit aid. Pennsylvania private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
- Drexel merit aid. Pennsylvania private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
Keep exploring Penn merit aid
- Penn scholarship stacking. Whether outside awards land as upside or quietly displace institutional aid.
- Does Penn displace outside scholarships?. The dollar math on a $5,000 outside award, plus peer schools that handle it differently.