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SCAD scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$68,691per year · 2026-2027 · cost of attendance
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

SCAD may be worth checking, but its awards do not follow a simple grades-and-scores chart. Start with the published scholarships below.

Where does your student land?

Verified Jun 2026
2 school sources to explore

Published rules, with the school sources close at hand. Confirm the details before you count on an award.

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. Scad Academic ScholarshipsAmount not publishedNot automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Scad Academic 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.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

  2. Scad Achievement ScholarshipsAmount not publishedNot automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Scad Achievement 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.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

  3. Scad ChallengeAmount not publishedNot automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Scad Challenge

    Amount not published

    Published award termsNot 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.

  4. HopeAmount not publishedNot automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Hope

    Amount not published

    Published award termsNot 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.

  5. Zell MillerAmount not publishedNot automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Zell Miller

    Amount not published

    Published award termsNot 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.

  6. Transfer ScholarsAmount not publishedNot automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Transfer Scholars

    Amount not published

    Published award termsNot 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.

  7. Distinguished ScholarsAmount not publishedNot automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Distinguished Scholars

    Amount not published

    Published award termsNot 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.

Free Merit Check

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Checking merit aid at SCAD

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What makes SCAD different

SCAD rewards talented artists and designers with merit aid that recognizes creative achievement.

Merit tiers7See who qualifies
Research checkedJun 2026By our research team

Selection beyond grades and scores

Start with the selection process.

These awards are not recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read each award's selection rules, application steps and dates. Meeting a minimum is not an award offer.

  1. Read the selection rules

    Look for the school's stated criteria and whether an additional application is needed.

  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 SCAD's decision sheet

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

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

If you're a dedicated art or design student with a strong portfolio, SCAD's scholarship programs are worth exploring for their recognition of creative talent.

Published yearly cost: Approximately $68,691 for 2026-2027. Source

Cost and graduation facts

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

Average annual net price by family income at SCAD, academic year 2021-22
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$44,858
$30,001–$48,000$45,198
$48,001–$75,000$48,668
$75,001–$110,000$51,558
$110,001+$52,147
All income levels (average)$49,430

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$41,630
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$49,430

That works out to roughly a 22% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $63,627 (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
86%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$25,148 (~$267/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$45,954
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
20%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
39%
See other scholarships and cost examples

Other SCAD scholarships worth checking

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

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityThe SCAD Honors Scholarship requires outstanding academic and/or artistic achievement, a 3.5 or higher cumulative GPA on a 4.0 scale, or an outstanding portfolio, audition, or writing submission, with above-average grades and test scores and specified GRE scores.

Source

See sources and other schools

Sources used on this page

Every claim is checked against SCAD’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

The next chapter

Where does SCAD fit in your plan?

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