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Spelman scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$61,683per year · 2026-2027 · cost of attendance
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

Spelman 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 Jul 2026
3 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. Academic ScholarshipHalf tuition (4 years)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Academic Scholarship

    Half tuition (4 years)

    Published coverage or packageNot 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.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Academic Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Competitive; awarded from the admission application based on academic profile

    How to keep it

    Covers one-half of tuition for the next four academic years, beginning the first semester. Specific renewal GPA not stated on this page.

    Worth knowing

    Covers half of tuition only — not fees, housing, or food.

  2. Dean's ScholarshipFull tuition (4 years)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Dean's Scholarship

    Full tuition (4 years)

    Published coverage or packageNot 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.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Dean's Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Recognizes commitment to service to humanity while maintaining academic distinction

    How to keep it

    Covers tuition for the next four academic years. Specific renewal GPA not stated.

    Worth knowing

    Full tuition only (not a full ride).

  3. Dewitt Dean's ScholarshipFull tuition (4 years)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Dewitt Dean's Scholarship

    Full tuition (4 years)

    Published coverage or packageNot 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.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Dewitt Dean's Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Competitive; from admission application

    How to keep it

    Covers full tuition only for four years.

    Worth knowing

    Full tuition only.

  4. Presidential ScholarshipFull tuition, fees, and room & board equivalent (4 years)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Presidential Scholarship

    Full tuition, fees, and room & board equivalent (4 years)

    Published coverage or packageNot 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.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Presidential Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Awarded to five scholars who embody a commitment to excellence and maintain academic distinction

    How to keep it

    Four academic years. Specific renewal GPA not stated.

    Worth knowing

    Capacity-limited to FIVE scholars. Effectively a full ride (covers room & board equivalent on or off campus).

  5. Dovey Johnson Roundtree, Class of 38, Presidential ScholarshipFull tuition, fees, and room & board equivalent (4 years)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Dovey Johnson Roundtree, Class of 38, Presidential Scholarship

    Full tuition, fees, and room & board equivalent (4 years)

    Published coverage or packageNot 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.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Dovey Johnson Roundtree, Class of 38, Presidential Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Awarded to twenty scholars who exhibit intellectual bravery and embody Spelman's creed to change the world

    How to keep it

    Four academic years.

    Worth knowing

    Capacity-limited to TWENTY scholars; full-cost award.

  6. Jonathan Smith ScholarshipFull tuition, fees, and room & board equivalent (4 years)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Jonathan Smith Scholarship

    Full tuition, fees, and room & board equivalent (4 years)

    Published coverage or packageNot 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.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Jonathan Smith Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    For students throughout the state of Georgia (Georgia residency gate)

    How to keep it

    Four academic years.

    Worth knowing

    Georgia-resident gated, full-cost award.

  7. Robert D. Flanigan ScholarshipFull tuition, fees, and room & board equivalent (4 years)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Robert D. Flanigan Scholarship

    Full tuition, fees, and room & board equivalent (4 years)

    Published coverage or packageNot 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.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Robert D. Flanigan Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    For students who will graduate from the Atlanta Public School system

    How to keep it

    Four academic years.

    Worth knowing

    Atlanta Public Schools graduate gate; full-cost award. Distinct from the (need-based) Flanigan Scholarship.

  8. Morgan Stanley ScholarshipFull tuition, fees, and room & board equivalent (4 years)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Morgan Stanley Scholarship

    Full tuition, fees, and room & board equivalent (4 years)

    Published coverage or packageNot 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.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Morgan Stanley Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Competitive; from admission application

    How to keep it

    Four academic years; includes a multi-year mentorship and professional development program.

    Worth knowing

    Full-cost award plus mentorship.

  9. Baldwin Richardson Foods Company ScholarshipFull tuition, fees, and room & board equivalent (4 years)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Baldwin Richardson Foods Company Scholarship

    Full tuition, fees, and room & board equivalent (4 years)

    Published coverage or packageNot 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.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Baldwin Richardson Foods Company Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    For students interested in Business and Entrepreneurship

    How to keep it

    Four academic years.

    Worth knowing

    Major-interest gated (Business/Entrepreneurship); full-cost award.

  10. Gordon Zeto ScholarshipFull tuition, fees, health insurance, and room & board equivalent (4 years)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Gordon Zeto Scholarship

    Full tuition, fees, health insurance, and room & board equivalent (4 years)

    Published coverage or packageNot 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.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Gordon Zeto Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    For international students who embody the Spelman mission

    How to keep it

    Four academic years (August to May).

    Worth knowing

    International-student gated; broadest coverage (also includes student health insurance).

  11. Joan B. Johnson Scholarship$25,000 (toward direct costs, 4 years)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Joan B. Johnson Scholarship

    $25,000 (toward direct costs, 4 years)

    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.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Joan B. Johnson Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Academic distinction and interest in the STEM discipline

    How to keep it

    $25,000 toward direct costs each year for the next four academic years.

    Worth knowing

    STEM-interest gated; fixed $25,000 (not full cost).

  12. Karsh KIPP Scholarship$20,000 (toward cost of attendance, 4 years)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Karsh KIPP Scholarship

    $20,000 (toward cost of attendance, 4 years)

    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.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Karsh KIPP Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Must have attended and graduated from a KIPP High School

    How to keep it

    $20,000 toward the cost of attendance for the next four years.

    Worth knowing

    KIPP-graduate gated; fixed $20,000.

  13. Student of Distinction Scholarship (SOD)Up to $10,000 (toward direct costs, 4 years)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Student of Distinction Scholarship (SOD)

    Up to $10,000 (toward direct costs, 4 years)

    Variable or qualified amountNot 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.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Student of Distinction Scholarship (SOD)

    Who qualifies

    Intellectual curiosity, community service, leadership, and academic excellence

    How to keep it

    Up to $10,000 toward direct costs for the next four academic years.

    Worth knowing

    Fixed up to $10,000.

  14. Flanigan ScholarshipAmount not publishedNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Flanigan Scholarship

    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.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Flanigan Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Georgia residents, preference to graduates of Atlanta Public Schools; awarded based on financial need

    How to keep it

    Four-year scholarship; number of awards varies per year.

    Worth knowing

    Need-based and Georgia-resident gated; dollar amount not stated. Distinct from the (full-cost) Robert D. Flanigan Scholarship.

  15. Bonner ScholarshipAmount not publishedNot automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Bonner Scholarship

    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.

    Open award details for Bonner Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Need-based; academic achievement and good citizenship/community service. Separate application required; must apply Early Action or Early Decision (Civic Scholar Program)

    Worth knowing

    Administered outside the Office of Admissions; requires a separate application and EA/ED. Dollar amount not published.

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What makes Spelman different

Spelman (HBCU, women's) awards a limited number of competitive named merit scholarships automatically from the admission application — ranging from half tuition to full cost — many of them gated by Georgia/Atlanta residency, KIPP background, STEM interest, or capacity caps. (DRAFT)

Merit tiers15See who qualifies
First-year students with school awards3%First-year students, CDS 2024-2025
Research checkedJul 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 Spelman's decision sheet

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

See what could change an award

What families often miss

  1. The Bonner, UPS, and Ralph Lauren scholarships require a SEPARATE application AND you must apply Early Action or Early Decision to be considered — apply Regular Decision and you are ineligible for these Civic Scholar programs.

  2. Coverage varies sharply: the Academic Scholarship is half tuition; Dean's and Dewitt Dean's are full tuition ONLY; while Presidential, Dovey Johnson Roundtree, Jonathan Smith, Morgan Stanley, Baldwin Richardson, and Robert D. Flanigan add fees and the room-and-board equivalent. Joan B. Johnson ($25,000), Karsh KIPP ($20,000), and SOD (up to $10,000) are fixed dollar amounts, not full cost.

  3. Several of the richest awards are gated: Jonathan Smith and Flanigan require Georgia residency, Robert D. Flanigan requires graduating from Atlanta Public Schools, Karsh KIPP requires graduating from a KIPP high school, Gordon Zeto is for international students, and Baldwin Richardson requires a Business/Entrepreneurship interest. You won't be considered for these without meeting the gate.

  4. The Presidential Scholarship goes to only five scholars and the Dovey Johnson Roundtree to only twenty per class, so even a strong applicant may not receive one despite qualifying.

  5. Spelman's current published 2026-27 first-year cost of attendance is $61,683 on campus (tuition $30,042 + mandatory fees $3,566). Older PDFs floating on the site show out-of-date numbers; confirm with the live Cost of Attendance page.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

High-achieving applicants whose admission profile stands out; Georgia and Atlanta Public Schools graduates, KIPP alumnae, STEM-focused students, and international students have access to specific named tracks, and Early Action/Early Decision is required for the Civic Scholar (Bonner/UPS/Ralph Lauren) programs. (DRAFT)

Published yearly cost: Approximately $61,683 for 2026-2027. Source

Cost and graduation facts

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

Average annual net price by family income at Spelman, academic year 2021-22
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$32,923
$30,001–$48,000$34,108
$48,001–$75,000$36,602
$75,001–$110,000$38,640
$110,001+$44,529
All income levels (average)$38,967

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$31,556
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$38,967

That works out to roughly a 24% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $50,952 (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
78%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
94%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$25,000 (~$265/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$59,993
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
39%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
70%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Outside scholarships reduce loans and/or work-study first; institutional grants are only reduced if required to prevent an over-award.

Verified policy language (2026-07-02): The receipt of a private scholarship may result in the reduction or repayment of need-based financial assistance previously awarded to the student by Spelman College. In accordance with Federal regulations, our office is required to monitor whether a student's total financial assistance remains within their financial need-based eligibility. Similar practices are followed with some institutional need-based grants. Whenever possible, self-help awards, such as loans and federal work study are reduced before federal or institution gift assistance.

Source

More school data

From the Spelman Common Data Set 2024-2025:

Merit penetrationHow likely is merit aid here?From Spelman’s Common Data Set: the share of first-year students who receive institutional merit and the average dollar amount when they do.
3%of admitsget merit
Average award$25,840Covers ~42% of $61,683 cost of attendance

At Spelman, roughly 1 in 33 first-year admits receive institutional merit aid. The average award is $25,840 — about 42% of total cost.

As filed in Spelman's CDS Section H2A: of 616 first-time, full-time degree-seeking freshmen, 18 had no financial need and received institutional merit (non-need) scholarship or grant aid, averaging $25,840. Across all full-time degree-seeking undergraduates: 80 of 2,292, averaging $32,356. Athletic awards are excluded per the CDS definition.

Receive institutional merit3%First-year students, Common Data Set 2024-2025
Average merit award$25,840Across recipients, Common Data Set 2024-2025

Source: Common Data Set 2024-2025 (verified 2026-07-23)

Other Spelman scholarships worth checking

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

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilitySeparate application; must apply Early Action or Early Decision; administered outside the Office of Admissions

Civic Scholar program.

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilitySeparate application; must apply Early Action or Early Decision; administered outside the Office of Admissions

Civic Scholar program.

Source

Spelman merit aid FAQ

  • Do I need a separate application for Spelman merit scholarships?

    No — your application for admission also serves as your merit-scholarship application, and you are automatically considered. EXCEPTIONS: the Bonner, UPS, and Ralph Lauren (Civic Scholar) scholarships require a separate application and you must apply Early Action or Early Decision.

  • Who decides scholarships at Spelman?

    Merit scholarship decisions for incoming first-year students are made in the Office of Admissions (404-270-5193), not the Office of Financial Aid. You're notified at the time of admission via your SpelCheck portal.

  • What is the largest merit award?

    The top awards (Presidential, Dovey Johnson Roundtree, Jonathan Smith, Morgan Stanley, Baldwin Richardson, Robert D. Flanigan, Gordon Zeto) cover tuition, fees, and the equivalent cost of room and board for four years — effectively full cost. The 2026-27 on-campus cost of attendance is $61,683.

  • Are test scores required for scholarship consideration?

    No. All students are considered for merit scholarships with or without standardized test scores.

See sources and other schools

How Spelman compares

  • 145 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.

    Spelman 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.

  • 665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

    Spelman is one of them. The cohort minority (84 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.

Sources used on this page

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

Compare with similar schools

Keep exploring Spelman merit aid

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