Saint Louis U Merit Aid

1. Reading the SLU scholarship table as per-year amounts when they're listed per semester.+

   The Vice Presidents' tier is 'Up to $19,500 per semester (up to 10 semesters)' — that's up to ~$39,000 per year, not $19,500 per year. Families who model SLU at the per-semester number understate their merit value by half.

2. Missing the December 1 priority deadline.+

   SLU's automatic merit tiers — and the competitive Presidential Scholarship — are tied to a December 1 priority deadline. Applications submitted later may still be reviewed but lose access to the top tiers or to the Presidential interview pool.

3. Assuming the Presidential Scholarship covers full cost of attendance.+

   The Presidential Scholarship covers full tuition only — not housing, food, or fees. On a 2025-26 published COA of $81,002 and tuition of $56,960, that leaves roughly $24,000 per year in non-tuition costs to fund through other means.

Strong students looking for a mid-sized Catholic research university where the headline merit dollars are automatic at admission, with a clear December 1 priority deadline to qualify for the highest tiers and a separate competitive route to a full-tuition award for 3.85+ GPA applicants.

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.

SLU requires students to report outside scholarships and notes that each award is governed by its own donor-specified limits (e.g., tuition-restricted vs cost-of-attendance restricted). The public site does not publish a single displacement formula — call the Office of Student Financial Services before assuming a large outside award will stack on top of the Vice Presidents' or Presidential tier.

SLU's outside scholarship guidance directs students to send scholarship checks to the Office of Student Financial Services along with their Banner ID, and notes that 'students have full use of those scholarship amounts, subject to the limitations set forth by each individual award (Example: tuition vs. the full cost of attendance).' That implies outside awards add value up to the relevant donor cap, but SLU does not publish a uniform institutional-aid displacement rule on the public scholarship page.

Source

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

• Are SLU's merit scholarships automatic?

  The four-tier ladder (Vice Presidents', University, Ignatian, Billiken) is automatic — SLU states, 'No separate application is required.' Awards are made 'based on your previous academic performance.' The Presidential and Martin Luther King Jr. scholarships require separate applications, essays, and interviews.

• How much is each SLU merit tier per year?

  SLU lists the amounts per semester. At the top end, that's up to $19,500 (Vice Presidents'), $17,500 (University), $16,500 (Ignatian), and $15,500 (Billiken). Doubled to a full academic year, those tiers run up to roughly $39,000, $35,000, $33,000, and $31,000 respectively. All renew for 10 semesters at a 2.0 GPA.

• What's the deadline?

  December 1 is the priority deadline for SLU's automatic merit tiers and for the competitive Presidential Scholarship. The Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship has a separate February 1 deadline. Apply before December 1 to be reviewed for the top tiers.

• How easy is it to keep SLU's merit money for four years?

  The four automatic tiers renew for 10 consecutive fall/spring semesters as long as the student maintains at least a 2.0 cumulative GPA. That's one of the lowest renewal floors at any generous-merit private — most peer Jesuit schools require 2.8 to 3.0.

• How does SLU treat outside scholarships?

  SLU requires students to report outside awards by sending checks to the Office of Student Financial Services with their Banner ID. The public site does not publish a uniform displacement rule — outside scholarships are governed by each award's own restrictions (tuition vs cost-of-attendance). Call the office before counting on a stack.

• William Jewell merit aid — Missouri private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
• Avila merit aid — Missouri private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
• Southeast Missouri State merit aid — Missouri public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
• Truman State merit aid — Missouri public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.

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