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The merit-aid verdict at Stonehill
Stonehill's only publicly-priced merit award is the Catholic High School Scholarship, which automatically gives every admitted U.S. Catholic-high-school graduate $25,000-$40,000 per year (a stated commitment of $100,000 or more over four years); its three named admission merit awards (Shields Merit, Stonehill Scholarship, Founders Award) are real but publish no dollar figures.
Common merit-aid mistakes at Stonehill
The Catholic HS Scholarship is its own program — a student who is part of another Stonehill scholarship or grant program is not eligible for it. You receive one Stonehill merit pathway, not several added together.
Stonehill names these three admission-time merit awards but does not publish their amounts. Eligibility is 'established on an individual basis,' so the exact figure only appears in your admission/aid offer — ask the office rather than assuming.
A change in residency status from resident to commuter reduces the merit scholarship by approximately 20%, because cost of attendance is one of the factors that sizes the award.
The 2026-2027 estimated cost of attendance for a resident is $82,460; on top of billed tuition, general service fee, and food & housing, it adds indirect costs (books ~$893, personal ~$867, transportation ~$675, federal loan fees ~$65).
Division I recruited student-athletes are not eligible for the merit commitment (including the Catholic HS Scholarship) because of athletics-related aid.
Who this school is for
Catholic-high-school graduates who want a large, automatic, no-application merit floor at a Holy Cross liberal-arts college; strong applicants from any high school can still earn the (unpublished-amount) Shields Merit, Stonehill, or Founders awards at admission.
Tuition / cost of attendance: Approximately $82,460 for 2026-2027. Source
Federal cost and outcome data
Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Stonehill, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.
Average annual net price by family income at Stonehill, academic year 2021-22
Family income
Average net price paid
$0–$30,000
$23,605
$30,001–$48,000
$25,053
$48,001–$75,000
$26,357
$75,001–$110,000
$31,059
$110,001+
$37,147
All income levels (average)
$33,016
Sticker price vs. what students actually pay
Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$57,490
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$33,016
That works out to roughly a 55% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $72,714 (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
76%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
84%
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)
$77,745
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
20%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
71%
Institutional merit aid tiers
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.
$25,000-$40,000 per year
Catholic High School Scholarship
AutomaticRenewable
View requirements+
Eligibility
All graduates from Catholic high schools in the United States who are offered admission to Stonehill. Awarded automatically upon acceptance; no separate application required unless need-based aid is sought. Not combinable with another Stonehill scholarship/grant program. Division I recruited student-athletes are excluded.
Renewal terms
Renewable for all four years for students who remain in good standing at the College.
Notes
This is the only Stonehill merit award with publicly stated dollar figures. It is automatic on admission for U.S. Catholic-high-school graduates and is the school's headline 'commitment of $100,000 or more over 4 years.' Students cannot also hold one of the other named merit awards (it is one program, not a stack).
Competitive; eligibility established on an individual basis, driven primarily by overall academic achievement, rank in class, rigor of curriculum, and the student's cost of attendance as a resident or commuter. Awarded at the time of admission. Division I recruited student-athletes are not eligible.
Renewal terms
All merit-based awards are renewable for up to four years provided the student maintains a cumulative GPA of at least 2.00 and Satisfactory Academic Progress.
Notes
Named as one of the three admission-time merit scholarships beginning with the class of 2026, but Stonehill does NOT publish a dollar amount for the Shields award on any official page reviewed. Amount must be confirmed with the admission/financial-aid office. A change from resident to commuter reduces the merit scholarship by approximately 20%.
Competitive; eligibility established on an individual basis, driven primarily by overall academic achievement, rank in class, rigor of curriculum, and the student's cost of attendance as a resident or commuter. Awarded at the time of admission. Division I recruited student-athletes are not eligible.
Renewal terms
All merit-based awards are renewable for up to four years provided the student maintains a cumulative GPA of at least 2.00 and Satisfactory Academic Progress.
Notes
Named as one of the three admission-time merit scholarships beginning with the class of 2026; Stonehill publishes no dollar amount for it. Confirm value with the financial-aid office.
Competitive; eligibility established on an individual basis, driven primarily by overall academic achievement, rank in class, rigor of curriculum, and the student's cost of attendance as a resident or commuter. Awarded at the time of admission. Division I recruited student-athletes are not eligible.
Renewal terms
All merit-based awards are renewable for up to four years provided the student maintains a cumulative GPA of at least 2.00 and Satisfactory Academic Progress.
Notes
Named as one of the three admission-time merit scholarships beginning with the class of 2026; Stonehill publishes no dollar amount for it. Confirm value with the financial-aid office.
Outside/private scholarships are applied loan-first: students must report all private scholarships, and Stonehill reduces SEOG/Perkins-MASS NIL loans, then Federal Work-Study, then the Federal Direct Loan, in that order. Stonehill's own gift aid is protected and is only cut if total gift aid exceeds federal need or billed costs (a billed-cost / need cap overlay).
From the Award Guidelines: students must notify Student Financial Services of all private scholarships so any effect on awarded resources can be determined. If federal regulations require an adjustment, the College eliminates/reduces 1) SEOG then Perkins/MASS NIL Loans, 2) Federal Work-Study, then 3) Federal Direct Student Loan, in that order. Stonehill gift aid is not reduced unless total gift aid exceeds federal need or billed costs. Note the three named admission merit awards and the Catholic High School Scholarship are mutually exclusive programs (you hold one, not several Stonehill merit awards at once).
Named awards that don’t always surface on the main financial aid page. Each one has its own eligibility rules.
AmountVaries (amounts not published)EligibilityMostly earmarked for rising sophomores, juniors and seniors; many require demonstrated financial need plus an essay (e.g., McDonough, Lopes, O'Malley, Branco, Greuter Lincoln, Cullum Teaching, Moriarty, Magee).
Upper-class awards requiring a separate application; the application window runs March 1, 2026 through March 31, 2026. Most are need-aware, not pure merit.
Do I have to apply separately for the Catholic High School Scholarship?
No. Upon acceptance, all graduates from Catholic high schools in the United States automatically receive it; a separate application is not required unless you are also seeking need-based aid. It is worth a minimum of $25,000 (up to $40,000) per year.
How much are the Shields Merit, Stonehill, and Founders awards?
Stonehill names all three as merit scholarships awarded at the time of admission (beginning with the class of 2026) but does not publish their dollar amounts. The amount is set on an individual basis from academic achievement, class rank, curriculum rigor, and your resident-vs-commuter status, so confirm your figure in your admission/aid offer.
What GPA do I need to keep my Stonehill merit scholarship?
All merit-based awards are renewable for up to four years as long as you maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 2.00 and Satisfactory Academic Progress, with continuous full-time enrollment for a maximum of eight semesters.
If I win an outside scholarship, does it cut my Stonehill merit money?
Not first. You must report all private scholarships. If an adjustment is required, Stonehill reduces SEOG/Perkins-NIL loans, then Federal Work-Study, then the Federal Direct Loan, in that order. Your Stonehill gift aid is only reduced if your total gift aid exceeds federal need or billed costs.
How Stonehill compares across our verified dataset
147 of 750 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.
Stonehill is in a recognizable cluster (147 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
668 of 750 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Stonehill 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.
Sources used on this page
Every claim is checked against Stonehill’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
