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Purdue University · Indiana

Purdue scholarships and merit aid

Big Ten flagship with one of the cleanest holistic-review automatic merit ladders for engineering and STEM applicants — Trustees ($16K/yr OOS) and Presidential ($10K/yr OOS) are awarded automatically by Nov 1 EA, and the only stackable pair is Indy Scholars + Trustees/Presidential at the Indianapolis campus.

Verified May 20263 months ago· PT

The short answer

Is Purdue worth a closer look?

Purdue 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 optimizing for if your student is high-stat and aiming at Purdue Indianapolis, where Indy Scholars is the one award that stacks. A flat, non-negotiable ladder everywhere else.

Purdue's merit ladder is holistic, not stat-triggered, so there is no test-score cliff to chase: a strong application earns one tier, and Purdue will not match offers or hear appeals. For out-of-state students the step from Presidential ($10,000/yr) to Trustees ($16,000/yr) is +$6,000/yr. The biggest computable move is campus choice: at Purdue Indianapolis, Indy Scholars is the ONLY stackable award, so OOS Trustees jumps from $16,000 to $26,000/yr by adding the $10,000 Indy Scholars grant. Every other institutional award is non-combinable. On outside aid, Purdue applies a cost-of-attendance cap (~$45,000 OOS): if your package exceeds COA it is reduced self-help first (loans, work-study), then institutional grants, so the cap trims protection before it touches merit dollars. The firm gate on the automatic tiers (Trustees, Presidential, National Recognition) is the November 1 Early Action deadline.

Merit tiers8See who qualifies
First-year students with school awards24%First-year students, CDS 2025-2026
Research checkedMay 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.

$16,000/year…$16,000/year ($64,000 over four years)

Trustees Scholarship (out-of-state)

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Holistic review of admission application factors: high school curriculum/grades, leadership, service, evidence of commitment to academic program, and SAT/ACT score (if provided). Non-Indiana residents only. Domestic students only (US citizens, US nationals, permanent resident aliens, or aliens lawfully present and able to establish domicile). Complete admission application by November 1 Early Action deadline (firm).

How to keep it

Renewable for up to 4 years (8 semesters) with a minimum cumulative 3.00 Purdue GPA. GPA checked annually at the end of spring semester. Continuous full-time enrollment (12+ credit hours), excluding summer.

Notes

Top tier of Purdue's automatic merit ladder for non-residents. Notification is included with the admission decision. Awards are nonnegotiable; Purdue does not match offers from other institutions and does not consider appeals for merit aid. Approximately 15% of applicants receive a university-wide merit award each year.

Source

$10,000/year…$10,000/year ($40,000 over four years)

Trustees Scholarship (Indiana resident)

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Holistic review. Indiana residents only. Domestic students only. November 1 Early Action deadline (firm).

How to keep it

Renewable for up to 4 years (8 semesters) with a minimum cumulative 3.00 Purdue GPA, continuous full-time enrollment (12+ credits/semester).

Notes

Indiana resident equivalent of the OOS Trustees. Layered on top of Purdue's frozen-tuition base creates one of the lowest net-price outcomes at any flagship for high-stat in-state students.

Source

$10,000/year…$10,000/year ($40,000 over four years)

Presidential Scholarship (out-of-state)

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Holistic review. Non-Indiana residents only. Domestic students only. November 1 Early Action deadline (firm).

How to keep it

Renewable for up to 4 years (8 semesters) with a minimum cumulative 3.00 Purdue GPA, continuous full-time enrollment.

Notes

Tier below Trustees in the OOS automatic ladder. A student is considered for both; the holistic review places them into one tier. Notification is included with the admission decision.

Source

$4,000/year…$4,000/year ($16,000 over four years)

Presidential Scholarship (Indiana resident)

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Holistic review. Indiana residents only. November 1 Early Action deadline (firm).

How to keep it

Renewable for up to 4 years (8 semesters) with a minimum cumulative 3.00 Purdue GPA.

Notes

In-state equivalent of the OOS $10K/yr Presidential. The dollar gap reflects Purdue's lower in-state sticker price; net effect on tuition coverage is similar.

Source

Full tuition coverage…Full tuition coverage + guaranteed Lilly internship or co-op + coordinated interaction with Lilly company leaders

Lilly Scholars at Purdue

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Incoming freshmen. Pharmaceutical manufacturing focus. Separate consideration process; see Lilly Scholars at Purdue webpage for full details.

How to keep it

Renewable for up to 4 years (8 semesters) with a minimum cumulative 3.00 GPA, continuous full-time enrollment.

Notes

Pipeline scholarship co-funded by Eli Lilly + Purdue. Beyond the dollar value, the structural prize is the guaranteed Lilly internship/co-op, equivalent to a sophomore-year+ guaranteed STEM job pipeline at one of the largest US pharmaceutical companies.

Source

Minimum $10,000/year…Minimum $10,000/year (stackable with Trustees or Presidential)

Indy Scholars Program (Purdue Indianapolis)

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See who qualifies
Who qualifies

High-achieving student leaders enrolling at Purdue University in Indianapolis. International undergraduates are not eligible for financial aid including this scholarship.

How to keep it

Renewable for up to 4 years (8 semesters) with a minimum cumulative 3.00 GPA, continuous full-time enrollment (12+ credits/semester), excluding summer and winter sessions.

Notes

The ONLY stackable scholarship at Purdue: Indy Scholars + Trustees OR Presidential is permitted for students at the Indianapolis campus. For OOS applicants, that produces a stack of $26K/yr ($16K Trustees + $10K Indy Scholars) or $20K/yr ($10K Presidential + $10K Indy Scholars). For in-state students, $20K/yr or $14K/yr respectively.

Source

$1,000/year

National Recognition Programs Scholarship

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Domestic students with National Recognition Programs distinction (College Board's NRP includes National Hispanic Recognition Program, National Indigenous Recognition Program, National African American Recognition Program, National Rural and Small Town Recognition Program). November 1 Early Action deadline.

How to keep it

For Fall 2021 and later cohorts: continuous full-time enrollment (12+ credits/semester), excluding summer. Up to 4 years (8 semesters). Maintain good academic standing.

Notes

Symbolic award rather than a financial lever: $1K/yr is small compared to Trustees/Presidential, but it can layer on top of need-based aid. The recognition itself is meaningful for college-counseling purposes.

Source

Variable

National Merit Purdue Sponsored Scholarship

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See who qualifies
Who qualifies

National Merit Finalist status. List Purdue as #1 college choice with NMSC.

How to keep it

Effective 2018-19 academic year: continuous full-time enrollment (12+ credits/semester), pursue first undergraduate degree, up to 4 years (8 semesters), maintain good academic standing.

Notes

Purdue is one of the colleges that sponsors NMSC awards directly. NMF status alone doesn't trigger this; the student must list Purdue as first-choice with NMSC. Specific dollar amount varies by year and is not published as a fixed tier on the public scholarships page.

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 Purdue's published information.

  • cliffOne ACT point can move the award by +$6,000/yr ($16,000 − $10,000)

    Purdue publishes a tier ladder where crossing OOS · Presidential → Trustees tier changes the marginal value by +$6,000/yr ($16,000 − $10,000). The full step across the OOS automatic ladder; decided by holistic review, not a score cutoff.

  • renewalTrustees Scholarship (out-of-state): renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

    Renewable for up to 4 years (8 semesters) with a minimum cumulative 3.00 Purdue GPA. GPA checked annually at the end of spring semester. Continuous full-time enrollment (12+ credit hours), excluding summer. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

  • capHard $46,174 cost-of-attendance ceiling

    Institutional aid at Purdue cannot push the package past $46,174. Big outside wins can mathematically reduce institutional grant once the ceiling is reached.

Straight from the aid office

What Purdue's aid office told us in writing

Answers provided in writing by the Division of Financial Aid, Purdue University, August 11, 2026. Quotes are verbatim from the office's email reply.

Superscoring

Does Purdue superscore, and do scores affect scholarships?

Yes on both — Purdue superscores, and the SAT feeds the holistic review that decides scholarship eligibility. A retake that lifts a section score is worth sending.

“Purdue does superscore, and SAT score is factored into the holistic review conducted to determine scholarship eligibility.”
Automatic consideration

Is a separate application needed for university-wide scholarships?

No — the admission application is the scholarship review. University-wide eligibility is evaluated automatically from it.

“automatically evaluated for university-wide scholarship eligibility from his application; no additional application is necessary.”
Outside scholarships

What gets reduced when total aid passes the cost of attendance?

Self-help aid first — student loans and Federal Work-Study — in the usual case. Gift aid is not the first thing touched when an outside award creates an overage.

“If total aid goes above the cost of attendance, self-help aid is usually reduced first. This includes student loans and Federal Work Study.”

What families often miss

  1. Purdue's published policy is unambiguous: 'All university merit-based scholarships have a firm deadline of Nov. 1.' Applications submitted after November 1 are NOT considered for Trustees, Presidential, or other automatic merit awards. Admission may still happen, but merit consideration is gone for that cycle. There is no second chance and no appeals process for missed-deadline merit consideration.

  2. Purdue's published policy: 'Awards are based on credentials and information presented at the time of application for admission and are nonnegotiable. Purdue does not match offers from other institutions and does not consider appeals for merit aid.' Time spent appealing or asking for matches at Purdue is wasted. The negotiation channel that exists at many privates and some publics does not exist here.

  3. They cannot. Trustees and Presidential are mutually exclusive tiers within the same automatic-merit review. A student is placed into one tier based on holistic review. The ONE stackable combination at Purdue is Indy Scholars + Trustees OR Indy Scholars + Presidential at the Purdue Indianapolis campus only. Families budgeting against $26K/yr ($16K Trustees + $10K Presidential) at West Lafayette will overstate Purdue institutional aid by half.

  4. Purdue's published policy: 'Only domestic students are eligible for the scholarships described above. Domestic students include United States citizens, U.S. nationals, permanent resident aliens and aliens lawfully present in and able to establish domicile.' International students are explicitly excluded from Trustees, Presidential, National Recognition, and most other university-wide merit. This includes Indy Scholars and Lilly Scholars. International applicants should treat Purdue as a sticker-price decision unless they qualify for departmental or external awards.

  5. Purdue runs TWO different financial aid timelines. December 15 is the Purdue Departmental Scholarship Application deadline (in Scholarship Universe) AND the FAFSA deadline for departmental scholarships with a need component. April 15 is the priority FAFSA date for federal/state aid and university-wide need-based grants. A family that files FAFSA by April 15 (the more famous date) but misses December 15 forfeits the entire departmental need-based pool from the College of Education, Health and Human Sciences, Liberal Arts, and Polytechnic Institute.

  6. Per Purdue's published renewal policy: 'Participating in a Purdue-approved co-op or internship will not count against semester usage or credit hour requirements. Students in a co-op or internship will not receive the scholarship while away.' That means the merit award pauses during co-op/internship terms. The semester usage count is preserved (good), but families budgeting consistent year-round merit aid through co-op terms will overstate cash flow by the value of paused semesters.

See award cutoffs and special programs

What each profile actually lands

Every figure is a named Purdue tier at its own published dollar value. Awards are holistic, not stat-triggered, so profiles describe residency and campus, not a guaranteed score cutoff.

Student profileLikely outcome
Indiana resident · Presidential tierPresidential (IN) — $4,000/yrIn-state floor of the automatic ladder; layered on Purdue's frozen in-state tuition.
Indiana resident · Trustees tierTrustees (IN) — $10,000/yrTop in-state tier; per Purdue, among the lowest net-price outcomes at any flagship for high-stat in-state students.
Out-of-state · Presidential tierPresidential (OOS) — $10,000/yrOOS students are considered for both Presidential and Trustees; holistic review sets the tier.
Out-of-state · Trustees tierTrustees (OOS) — $16,000/yrTop OOS automatic tier ($64,000 over four years).
Out-of-state · Trustees + Indy Scholars (Indianapolis)Trustees + Indy Scholars — $26,000/yrThe ONLY stackable pair at Purdue; Indianapolis campus only ($16,000 + $10,000).

Where the dollars actually move

Each marginal value is a subtraction between two tiers that both appear above. No test-score cliffs are listed because every Purdue tier is holistic, not awarded automatically on stats.

ThresholdMarginal value
OOS · Presidential → Trustees tier+$6,000/yr ($16,000 − $10,000)The full step across the OOS automatic ladder; decided by holistic review, not a score cutoff.
IN · Presidential → Trustees tier+$6,000/yr ($10,000 − $4,000)Same dollar step in-state; the in-state tiers ride on Purdue's frozen in-state tuition.
OOS Trustees · West Lafayette → Indianapolis (add Indy Scholars)+$10,000/yr ($26,000 − $16,000)Tied for the largest computable step here: Indy Scholars is the only award that stacks, and only at Indianapolis.
IN Trustees · West Lafayette → Indianapolis (add Indy Scholars)+$10,000/yr ($20,000 − $10,000)The other +$10,000 stack, in-state ($10,000 Trustees + $10,000 Indy Scholars); same magnitude as the OOS stack.
See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Three profiles. First: out-of-state STEM/engineering applicants who hit the Nov 1 firm deadline; Trustees ($16K/yr) is the headline OOS automatic award and stacks with Indy Scholars only at the Indianapolis campus. Second: Indiana residents, where Trustees ($10K/yr in-state) on top of an already-low frozen-tuition COA produces one of the lowest net-price flagship outcomes in the country. Third: the Lilly Scholars target, which is pharma/manufacturing-leaning applicants chasing the full-tuition + guaranteed Lilly internship/co-op pipeline. Purdue is NOT for OOS families chasing high-dollar negotiation; awards are explicitly nonnegotiable and Purdue does not match competitor offers.

Cost of attendance$27,142–$46,174 for 2025-2026Each bar is the full published cost for that scenario, sized against the highest figure so totals compare at a glance.
Out-of-state, on-campus$46,174
In-state, on-campus$27,142
  • Tuition & fees
  • Housing & food
  • Books
  • Travel
  • Personal

Purdue West Lafayette standard undergraduate (non-differential). Tuition & fees derived from official 'Total Tuition, Housing & Misc Exp' (resident $27,142 / nonresident $46,174 annual) minus the explicitly published Housing/Food $13,720, Books $1,090, Transportation $190, Misc/loan-fees $2,150; residual resident tuition&fees = $9,992 (consistent with Purdue's sub-$10k resident-tuition freeze), nonresident = $29,024. Misc allowance and loan fees are published combined.

Purdue cost-of-attendance source

Cost and graduation facts

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

Average annual net price by family income at Purdue, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$5,098
$30,001–$48,000$6,241
$48,001–$75,000$9,438
$75,001–$110,000$18,177
$110,001+$22,742
All income levels (average)$14,600

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$9,992
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$28,794
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$14,600

That works out to roughly a 41% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $24,591 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

Purdue is a public school; Scorecard's net price figure covers in-state, Title-IV-aid-recipient payers only — there is no comparable federal figure for out-of-state students.

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
83%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
93%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$19,500 (~$207/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$72,424
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
13%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
25%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Purdue applies a federal cost-of-attendance cap. The total financial aid package may be reduced if it exceeds Purdue's COA. Indy Scholars + Trustees OR Presidential is the ONE explicit stackable pair (Indianapolis campus only). All other Purdue institutional merit awards are non-combinable. Outside scholarships count toward the COA cap. Awards are explicitly nonnegotiable.

Purdue's published rule on the admissions scholarships page: 'Awards are based on credentials and information presented at the time of application for admission and are nonnegotiable. Purdue does not match offers from other institutions and does not consider appeals for merit aid.' That removes the negotiation channel that exists at many privates. Stacking permission is similarly explicit and narrow: Indy Scholars at the Indianapolis campus 'can be combined with Purdue's Presidential or Trustees scholarships for students who maintain a 3.00 GPA.' Outside aid integration: total package may be adjusted if overall financial aid exceeds Purdue's cost of attendance, typically reducing self-help (loans, work-study) first, then institutional grants. Residency status changes adjust scholarship amounts at renewal: a student who moves Indiana → out-of-state during enrollment loses the IN-resident bands and is repackaged at OOS rates (and vice versa). Co-op or internship participation does not count against semester usage but the scholarship is paused during the work term.

Source

More school data

From the Purdue Common Data Set 2025-2026:

Merit penetrationHow likely is merit aid here?From Purdue’s Common Data Set: the share of first-year students who receive institutional merit and the average dollar amount when they do.
24%of admitsget merit
Average award$5,789Covers ~13% of $46,174 cost of attendance

At Purdue, roughly 1 in 4 first-year admits receive institutional merit aid. The average award is $5,789 — about 13% of total cost.

SAT mid-50%1220–147025th / 75th percentile
ACT mid-50%28–3425th / 75th percentile
Receive institutional merit24%First-year students
Average merit award$5,789Across recipients

Source: Common Data Set

Other Purdue scholarships worth checking

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

AmountVariable — combines with state aid + federal PellEligibilityIndiana residents enrolled in the Indiana 21st Century Scholars program (income-eligibility based, signed up by middle school). Active 21st Century Scholars who meet program requirements through high school.

State-pipeline scholarship that bridges 21st Century Scholars to a full Purdue cost-coverage outcome. Often unknown to families outside Indiana: the program enrollment must happen in middle school, so this is not a college-application-time decision. For qualifying Indiana families, this is the most powerful affordability lever Purdue offers.

Source

AmountVariableEligibilityPosse Foundation scholar selected through partnership with Purdue. Up to 4 years (8 semesters) of eligibility.

Renewal requirement is unique among Purdue merit: 2.75 GPA (not 3.0). Reflects the support model: Posse pairs scholars with cohort + mentor structure, and renewal is calibrated lower because the holistic support framework is the differentiator.

Source

AmountTuition fee remission (variable)EligibilityIndiana 4-H members in eligible majors with FAFSA filed by April 15, demonstrated financial need, 2.0+ GPA, full-time enrollment.

Niche but high-relevance for Indiana 4-H families. State-funded, separate from regular Purdue merit. Easily stacked with Trustees/Presidential because it's a fee remission rather than an institutional grant.

Source

AmountVariableEligibilityFall 2020 and later cohorts: continuous full-time enrollment (12+ credits/semester), 3.00 GPA renewal.

Leadership-based award separate from the Trustees/Presidential review. Often layered with departmental scholarships from College of Engineering or Daniels School of Business.

Source

Purdue merit aid FAQ

  • Can Purdue's Trustees and Presidential Scholarships be stacked?

    No. They are mutually exclusive tiers within the same automatic-merit review. A student is placed into Trustees OR Presidential based on holistic application review, not both. The only stackable scholarship at Purdue is Indy Scholars + Trustees OR Presidential, available only at the Purdue Indianapolis campus.

  • Does Purdue match merit aid offers from other schools?

    No. Purdue's policy is explicit: 'Purdue does not match offers from other institutions and does not consider appeals for merit aid.' Time spent appealing or providing competing offers will not move the merit award.

  • What's the deadline for Purdue automatic merit consideration?

    November 1 Early Action, described by Purdue as a firm deadline. All university-wide merit scholarships including Trustees, Presidential, Indy Scholars, and National Recognition Programs require a complete admission application by November 1. December 15 is a separate deadline for the Purdue Departmental Scholarship Application (in Scholarship Universe) for college-specific awards. April 15 is the priority FAFSA date for federal and university-wide need-based aid.

  • Are international students eligible for Purdue merit scholarships?

    No. Purdue's university-wide merit scholarships are restricted to domestic students: U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, permanent resident aliens, and aliens lawfully present and able to establish domicile. International undergraduates are explicitly excluded from Trustees, Presidential, National Recognition, Indy Scholars, and Lilly Scholars.

  • How does Purdue handle outside scholarships?

    The total financial aid package may be adjusted if overall aid exceeds Purdue's cost of attendance. Outside scholarships typically reduce self-help aid (loans, work-study) first; institutional grants may be reduced if total aid would otherwise exceed COA. Purdue does NOT have a published policy of grant-first or loan-first displacement at the institutional level beyond the federal COA cap.

  • What happens to my Purdue scholarship during a co-op or internship semester?

    The scholarship pauses during the co-op or internship term (the student does not receive the scholarship while away), but participation does not count against the 8-semester eligibility cap. When the student returns to on-campus full-time enrollment, the scholarship resumes for remaining eligible semesters. Study abroad is treated differently: scholarships can be used for study abroad provided the student is enrolled full-time AND billed through Purdue.

See sources and other schools

How Purdue compares

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

    Purdue 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.

    Purdue 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.

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

How Purdue compares

Families looking at Purdue typically also evaluate three Big Ten peers and one private benchmark:

  • Illinois's Stamps + Provost competitive merit. UIUC and Purdue are the two strongest engineering-flagship Big Ten options. Purdue's automatic Trustees ($16K/yr OOS) is the easier path; UIUC's competitive Stamps (full COA) is the higher ceiling for top applicants. For OOS engineering applicants who don't land Stamps, Purdue's Trustees is structurally cheaper.
  • Ohio State's National Buckeye + Maximus stack. OSU's only stackable pair (National Buckeye + Maximus/Provost/Trustees) tops out around $66K over four years for non-residents. Purdue's Trustees alone is up to $64K over four years for OOS, with no Maximus-style separate add-on. They're roughly equivalent in dollar value but Purdue's structure is simpler.
  • Indiana University Bloomington. IU is the in-state flagship sibling. Purdue is the engineering/STEM track; IU is the business/liberal arts track. Indiana residents often apply to both; Purdue's COA is materially lower because of the long-running tuition freeze.
  • Michigan's Go Blue Guarantee. U-M's headline aid is need-based for in-state residents under $125K. Purdue's headline is automatic merit at Nov 1 EA. For OOS applicants without need, Purdue pays more. For Michigan residents under the GBG threshold, U-M is structurally cheaper.
Want a side-by-side comparison? Build a personalized playbook and we’ll compare likely costs across Purdue and any peers you want to evaluate.

Keep exploring Purdue merit aid