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The merit-aid verdict at Thomas More (KY)
Thomas More (KY, Catholic) gives every admitted student an automatic academic award (Thomas More Award $15,000 floor up to Presidential $18,000+), then lets a $1,000-$4,000 Test Score Bonus stack on top — while its top signature awards (National Merit/CIS Workship full tuition, Governor's Scholars $25,000) cannot be stacked. (DRAFT)
Rules that bite at Thomas More (KY)
The trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook. Each is derived from Thomas More (KY)'s own published policy, not generic advice.
displacementNo published displacement order
Thomas More (KY)'s policy doesn't specify whether outside scholarships hit loans, grants, or only the COA ceiling. Get a written aid-office answer before chasing private awards.
Common merit-aid mistakes at Thomas More (KY)
The National Merit Full Tuition, CIS Workship Full Tuition, and Governor's Scholars $25,000 each explicitly 'Cannot be stacked with other institutional scholarships and awards' — you take one of these instead of, not on top of, your academic award.
Unlike the full-tuition guarantees, the $1,000-$4,000 Test Score Bonus is awarded IN ADDITION to your academic scholarship for a 23 ACT / 1130 SAT / 74 CLT or higher — easy free money on top of the base award.
National Merit and CIS Workship guarantees cover full TUITION only; with a full-COA near $57,623 (on campus, 2025-26) and tuition at $41,400, housing, food, and fees remain.
James Graham Brown applications are due December 15, CIS Workship March 1, and Bishop Foys priority November 1 — these competitive awards close well before general aid.
The $17,000 Parochial Promise requires graduating from a Catholic high school (transfers not eligible); other students rely on the Thomas More Award floor ($15,000).
The CIS Workship full-tuition guarantee requires working 20 hours per week, 50 weeks per year in the campus Computer Center, and cannot be combined with other institutional awards.
Who this school is for
Every admitted traditional student gets at least the $15,000 Thomas More Award; high-GPA students reach Presidential/Dean's tiers and can add a Test Score Bonus, while National Merit Finalists, Governor's Scholars, and CIS Workship students compete for full-tuition/$25,000 guarantees. (DRAFT)
Tuition / cost of attendance: Approximately $57,623 for 2025-2026. Source
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.
Where you landAutomatic merit aid by ACT compositeEach bar marks the ACT score range that qualifies for the tier.
Test Score Bonus$1,000
ACT 23SAT 1130
2024283236
Not on this ladder:Academic Scholarships (Presidential / Dean's / Thomas More Award / Parochial Promise / Transfer), National Merit Finalist Full Tuition Guarantee, James Graham Brown Scholars Program, Governor's Scholars / Governor's School for the Performing Arts / Entrepreneurs, Computer Information Systems Workship Program, Msgr. Cleves University Honors Program — application required, holistic, or scored on a different axis.
View as table
Tier
ACT composite
Award
Test Score Bonus
23
$1,000-$4,000
$2,000-$18,000
Academic Scholarships (Presidential / Dean's / Thomas More Award / Parochial Promise / Transfer)
AutomaticRenewable
GPA
Presidential 4.0+; Dean's 3.0-3.99; Thomas More Award: all admitted; Parochial Promise 2.5 min (Catholic HS grad); Transfer: 1+ semester full-time elsewhere
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
Parochial Promise: Catholic high school graduate, transfers not eligible
Renewal terms
Renewable (Trust scholarships renewable for four years with continued requirements; academic renewal terms not detailed on this page).
Notes
Tiered academic awards — a student receives one academic scholarship. Presidential $18,000+ (4.0+), Dean's $16,000+ (3.0-3.99), Thomas More Award $15,000 (all admitted), Parochial Promise $17,000 (2.5+ Catholic HS), Transfer $2,000+. The Test Score Bonus is awarded IN ADDITION to the academic scholarship.
IMPORTANT: stacks ON TOP of the academic scholarship (a sanctioned stacking exception). Amount varies by test score; 23 ACT / 1130 SAT / 74 CLT or higher qualifies.
CLT 90; apply by December 15; finalists selected to interview
Renewal terms
Renewal terms not detailed on this page.
Notes
Top 2 candidates guaranteed full-tuition scholarship when combined with other scholarships and aid; other admitted program applicants may receive variable James Graham Brown funding.
Governor's Scholars / Governor's School for the Performing Arts / Entrepreneurs
ApplicationRenewable
View requirements+
Eligibility
Certificate required (Kentucky programs)
Renewal terms
Renewable for up to four years.
Notes
IMPORTANT: $25,000 academic scholarship guarantee but 'Cannot be stacked with other institutional scholarships and awards.' Effectively a KY-program-gated award.
The school does not publish a specific outside-scholarship displacement policy; confirm treatment with the aid office before counting on stacking.
Verified policy language (2026-07-02): Students who receive aid from any outside sources must contact the Office of Financial Aid at Thomas More University so that we may adjust their financial aid package if needed. Students who neglect to contact the Office of Financial Aid are in danger of compromising or losing their outside scholarships or grants.
Named awards that don’t always surface on the main financial aid page. Each one has its own eligibility rules.
Amount$20,000 in institutional aid (combination of academic + extracurricular)EligibilityDiocese of Covington graduates meeting minimum admissions criteria
Yes — Thomas More awards financial aid to 100% of admitted traditional students; all admitted students are eligible for at least the $15,000 Thomas More Award.
Can I stack scholarships?
Your academic scholarship can be combined with the Test Score Bonus and with Thomas More Trust scholarships. But National Merit Full Tuition, the CIS Workship Full Tuition, and the Governor's Scholars $25,000 cannot be stacked with other institutional scholarships and awards.
What are the signature-scholarship deadlines?
James Graham Brown: December 15; CIS Workship: March 1; Bishop Foys Ministry: priority November 1.
What's the cost of attendance?
For 2025-26, a traditional undergraduate living on campus has an estimated COA of $57,623 (tuition $41,400 + orientation fee $275 + food/housing $10,500 + indirect costs).
How Thomas More (KY) compares across our verified dataset
134 of 750 verified schools in our dataset use unclear or unpublished displacement.
Thomas More (KY) is in a recognizable cluster (134 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
134 of 750 verified schools publish no clear displacement order.
Thomas More (KY) is one of them. The right move is the aid-office email script below, not a guess.
669 of 750 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Thomas More (KY) is one of them. The cohort minority (81 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 Thomas More (KY)’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
