Shepherd University · West Virginia

Shepherd University Merit Aid

Verified Jul 202625 days ago· HX-AUTO

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Last verifiedJul 2026Analyst HX-AUTO

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Checking merit aid at Shepherd University

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The merit-aid verdict at Shepherd University

Strong tradition of recognizing driven students with diverse backgrounds and leadership potential.

Who this school is for

Students who demonstrate initiative, community involvement, and leadership qualities will find Shepherd University's merit awards well-aligned with their achievements. The university values well-rounded individuals committed to making an impact.

Tuition / cost of attendance: Approximately $9,044 for 2026-2027. Source

Federal cost and outcome data

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

Average annual net price by family income at Shepherd University, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family income	Average net price paid
$0–$30,000	$7,906
$30,001–$48,000	$7,753
$48,001–$75,000	$10,107
$75,001–$110,000	$14,000
$110,001+	$15,866
All income levels (average)	$11,363

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23: $9,056
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23: $19,082
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22: $11,363

That works out to roughly a 42% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $19,601 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

Shepherd University 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: 51%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort: 71%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers: $21,600 (~$229/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21): $49,358
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22: 40%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22: 49%

How to read these numbers

Net price reflects only first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students who received federal Title IV financial aid — not Shepherd University's full student body.
Published tuition is the catalog sticker price for all students, not a Title IV-only figure.
Graduation rate reflects the entire first-time, full-time, degree-seeking cohort — not only students who received Title IV aid.
Retention rate reflects all first-time, full-time, bachelor's-seeking students — not only Title IV aid recipients.
Median debt reflects only completers who took out federal student loans — not Shepherd University's full graduating class, and not limited to first-time, full-time students.
Median earnings reflect Title IV aid recipients who entered college and were working (not enrolled) roughly a decade later — not necessarily the graduating cohort, and not a recent graduate's paycheck.
Pell grant and federal loan participation covers first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students only.
Net price blends need-based aid and merit aid together — it is not a merit-specific estimate. It shows what similar-income families actually paid on average after every kind of aid, not what a strong-stats student could win in merit dollars alone. Treat it as cost context, not a merit forecast — a MeritPlaybook models merit aid specifically for your student’s own stats, which this net-price figure cannot do.

None of this is current-year data — the U.S. Department of Education reports it on a delay, and different figures below come from different reporting years. Net price is an academic year 2021-22 figure. Published tuition reflects the 2022-23 academic year. Graduation rate reflects the Fall 2016 entering, full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking cohort; completion measured within 150% of normal time (~6 years for a bachelor's degree). IPEDS Graduation Rates component (C150_4). Retention reflects the Fall 2021 full-time, first-time, bachelor's-seeking cohort retained into the following fall. IPEDS Fall Enrollment component (RET_FT4). Median debt reflects the NSLDS FY2020 and FY2021 pooled completer cohorts (GRAD_DEBT_MDN, GRAD_DEBT_MDN10YR_SUPP). Median earnings reflect the Treasury-matched cohort entering college in AY2009-10 or AY2010-11, earnings measured 10 years later in calendar years 2020 and 2021, inflation-adjusted to 2022 dollars (MD_EARN_WNE_P10).

Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard.

Lesser-known scholarships at Shepherd University

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

Stanley Manne Scholarship In Leadership

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityThe Stanley Manne Scholarship in Leadership supports high-achieving Honors students who demonstrate exceptional leadership potential and a commitment to community impact.

Source

William Randolph Hearst Foundation Scholarship

AmountUp to $1,500EligibilityThe William Randolph Hearst Scholarship is available to minority and female Honors students, has minimum selection criteria of a 3.5 high school GPA and an SAT score of 1200 and/or 27 on the ACT, and provides up to $1,500 per academic year.

Source

Mark And Barbara Stern Scholarship

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityThe Mark and Barbara Stern Scholarship is a non-renewable scholarship awarded to an incoming Honors Program student.

Source

Dr David Dunlop Scholarship

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityThe Dr. David Dunlop Scholarship is a non-renewable general academic scholarship for students enrolled in the Honors Program.

Source

Alumni Scholarship

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityThe Alumni Scholarship has minimum selection criteria of a 3.5 high school GPA and an SAT score of 1270 and/or 28 on the ACT; it is renewable each year with at least 12 undergraduate credit hours per semester and a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5, and award amounts vary.

Source

Rubye Clyde Mccormick Scholarship

Amount$5,000EligibilityThe Rubye Clyde McCormick Scholarship supports outstanding West Virginia students with solid academic credentials, is renewable each year with at least 15 undergraduate credit hours per semester and a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.5, and is valued at $5,000 per year.

Source

Sources used on this page

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

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