Private research university in New Orleans that awards partial merit up to $32,000 automatically at admission and reserves competitive full-tuition scholarships for top applicants, all without a separate scholarship application, with exclusive full-tuition programs for Louisiana residents.
Verified May 20261 month ago· PT
Merit tiers81 automatic on stats
Get merit aid28%First-year students, CDS 2025-2026
Last verifiedMay 2026Analyst PT
Quick verdict
Worth optimizing for only if your student is genuinely top-of-class and willing to chase a named award by application; Tulane's automatic merit is holistic, capped, and not something you can engineer toward.
Tulane publishes no stats-to-dollars grid and sets no fixed thresholds. The automatic Admission-Based Merit is holistic and tops out at $32,000/yr, so the entry move is simply being a competitive admit. The real prize is a named award you apply for: Dean's Honor and Paul Tulane each cover full tuition, and the Stamps Scholarship covers full cost of attendance ($94,707/yr) plus enrichment funds. Stamps is the only true full ride here, but roughly 5 are awarded, with a semifinalist supplement due January 5 and a finalist interview in spring. On stacking, Tulane does not cut your Tulane merit for outside awards; instead it reduces need-based aid plus federal loan, grant, and work-study to stay within cost of attendance, and the named full-tuition awards are mutually exclusive, so you can hold only one. The Louisiana Excellence Award (LA residents, due November 15) follows the same exclusivity rule.
Rules that bite at Tulane
The trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook. Each is derived from Tulane's own published policy, not generic advice.
cliffOne ACT point can move the award by +$62,707/yr ($94,707 full cost of attendance − $32,000 automatic max)
Tulane publishes a tier ladder where crossing Automatic merit ceiling → Stamps Scholarship changes the marginal value by +$62,707/yr ($94,707 full cost of attendance − $32,000 automatic max). The largest computable step, and the only one that can be computed here. It understates the true Stamps premium because Stamps also adds enrichment funds beyond full COA, which carry no published dollar value. The jump from the automatic ceiling to a full-tuition award (Dean's Honor / Paul Tulane / Louisiana Excellence) is real but not computable, since this data gives no tuition-only figure.
renewalDean's Honor Scholarship: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
3.000 cumulative GPA; renewable for 4 years (5 for Architecture). Fixed amount that never changes during undergraduate career. Students found guilty of Code of Student Conduct or Academic Conduct violations forfeit all remaining portions. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.
displacementDifferent aid types are displaced differently
Tulane treats loans, work-study, and institutional grant under different rules. The same $5,000 outside award can land against any of them depending on category.
Common merit-aid mistakes at Tulane
Tulane uses holistic review for all merit awards and does not publish minimum thresholds. The typical-recipient profiles (ACT 33+, SAT 1500+, top 5% for DHS) are descriptive, not prescriptive. Roughly 60% of enrolled students submitted no test scores at all. Families who expect a published merit grid will not find one.
All named full-tuition scholarships (Stamps, Dean's Honor, Paul Tulane, Louisiana Excellence, Mayoral, Legislative, Presidential, Premier, Distinguished Scholar's, Founder's) are mutually exclusive. A student who qualifies for multiple full-tuition programs receives only one. The only merit awards that can stack with the Louisiana full-tuition programs are National Merit and Louisiana TOPS.
Tulane's published policy explicitly states that it does not reduce Tulane merit scholarship in light of outside scholarship except as stipulated in the merit award letter. Outside awards reduce need-based Tulane aid, not merit. This is a favorable policy that many families miss when calculating net cost. The exception is that total aid still cannot exceed cost of attendance under federal rules.
What each tier actually pays
Tulane does not publish fixed thresholds; the typical-recipient profiles below are descriptive, not cutoffs. The full-tuition awards state "full tuition" without a published tuition-only dollar figure in this data, so they are shown as full tuition rather than a single number.
Student profile
Likely outcome
Competitive admit, no named award
Admission-Based Merit — up to $32,000/yrAutomatic, holistic, no application. Dollar amounts are set holistically at admission and are final; there are no published thresholds, so the dollar figure is not predictable from stats.
Dean's Honor recipient (typical recipients top ~5% of class, SAT 1500+ / ACT 33+, test-optional eligible)
Dean's Honor Scholarship — full tuitionBy competitive selection, not guaranteed on stats; no separate application as of Fall 2025 entry. Mutually exclusive with all other named full-tuition awards.
Paul Tulane recipient (typical recipients top ~5% of class; "near the top of the range" on a college admission test)
Paul Tulane Award — full tuitionNo SAT/ACT figure published for this tier. Competitive selection. Mutually exclusive with the other named full-tuition awards.
Louisiana resident graduating from a Louisiana high school
Louisiana Excellence Award — full tuitionLA residents only; application due November 15. GPA and test thresholds not published. Cannot combine with the other full-tuition awards.
Exceptional leadership/impact applicant
Stamps Scholarship — full cost of attendance ($94,707/yr) + enrichment fundsThe only true full ride. About 5 awarded per year; semifinalist supplement due January 5, finalist interview in spring. Cannot be combined with other Tulane merit.
Where the dollars actually jump
Only one step is computable from the verified data, because the full-tuition awards carry no published tuition-only dollar figure (the $94,707 is full cost of attendance, and the $71,997 in the cost data is tuition AND fees, not tuition alone). Because Tulane awards holistically, this is a selection cliff, not a test-score cliff you can guarantee.
Threshold
Marginal value
Automatic merit ceiling → Stamps Scholarship
+$62,707/yr ($94,707 full cost of attendance − $32,000 automatic max)The largest computable step, and the only one that can be computed here. It understates the true Stamps premium because Stamps also adds enrichment funds beyond full COA, which carry no published dollar value. The jump from the automatic ceiling to a full-tuition award (Dean's Honor / Paul Tulane / Louisiana Excellence) is real but not computable, since this data gives no tuition-only figure.
Who this school is for
High-achieving students who value a private research university in New Orleans with a strong public service culture and holistic admissions. Tulane is test-optional and does not publish fixed merit cutoffs, so polished essays, leadership, and extracurricular depth matter as much as grades. Louisiana residents have access to exclusive full-tuition programs (Louisiana Excellence, Legislative, Mayoral) not available to out-of-state applicants.
Cost of attendance$94,708 for 2025-2026Each bar is the full published cost for that scenario, sized against the highest figure so totals compare at a glance.
On-campus$94,708
$72K
$20K
Tuition & fees
Housing & food
Books
Personal
Loan fees
Freshman resident, on-campus. Transportation is variable (median ~$1,000) and excluded from the official total.
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.
Total cost of attendance (tuition, fees, housing, and meals) plus enrichment funds for experiential learning
Stamps Scholarship
ApplicationRenewable
View requirements+
Eligibility
Semifinalists submit supplements by January 5; finalists interview in spring. Approximately 5 awarded per year. Exceptional leadership, academic achievement, and a commitment to making a meaningful impact.
Renewal terms
3.000 cumulative GPA; renewable for 4 years (5 for Architecture).
Notes
Tulane's highest award. Cannot be combined with other Tulane merit scholarships, ROTC, Faculty-Staff Tuition Waiver, or Tuition Exchange. May combine with a partial athletic scholarship.
Typical recipients rank in the top 5% of the class
SAT
Typical recipients have SAT of 1500+
ACT
Typical recipients have ACT of 33+
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
Rigorous academic program with honors and advanced placement courses, and outstanding extracurricular record. Test scores are not required to be considered. No separate scholarship application needed as of Fall 2025 entry.
Renewal terms
3.000 cumulative GPA; renewable for 4 years (5 for Architecture). Fixed amount that never changes during undergraduate career. Students found guilty of Code of Student Conduct or Academic Conduct violations forfeit all remaining portions.
Notes
Cannot be combined with any other Tulane merit scholarship, ROTC, Faculty-Staff Tuition Waiver, or Tuition Exchange. May combine with a partial athletic scholarship. The typical-recipient profiles are descriptive, not prescriptive cutoffs.
Typical recipients rank in the top 5% of the class
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
Score near the top of the range in a college admission test. Rigorous academic program with honors and AP courses, and outstanding extracurricular record.
Renewal terms
3.000 cumulative GPA and continuous primary undergraduate enrollment; renewable for 4 years (5 for Architecture). Fixed amount.
Notes
Cannot be combined with any other Tulane merit scholarship, ROTC, Faculty-Staff Tuition Waiver, or Tuition Exchange. May combine with a partial athletic scholarship.
Must be a current Louisiana resident graduating from a Louisiana high school. Application due November 15. GPA and test score thresholds not published.
Renewal terms
3.000 cumulative GPA; four-year renewable.
Notes
Louisiana residents only. Cannot be combined with Stamps, DHS, Paul Tulane, Presidential, Premier, Distinguished Scholar's Award, Founder's, or other full-tuition merit awards.
Application submitted to the Office of Undergraduate Admission. Outstanding record of service and leadership in high school. Approximately 15 fellowships awarded annually. Monthly meetings required.
Renewal terms
Subject to merit scholarship renewal criteria; must complete an average of 100 service & leadership hours per year at Tulane.
Notes
Can combine with other merit scholarships if stated on the award letter, but cannot combine with Mayoral, Legislative, ROTC, Faculty-Staff Tuition Waiver, or Tuition Exchange. Service is deeply embedded in Tulane's institutional identity, and this fellowship reflects that.
No separate application. All applicants automatically considered through the Common Application. Superior academic performance and test scores (when available), exceptional community and school involvement, potential for leadership, and extraordinary intellectual promise. Holistic review with no published thresholds.
Renewal terms
2.700 cumulative GPA for most Tulane merit awards unless specified otherwise in the initial offer. Fixed amount that never changes. Renewable for 4 years.
Notes
Tulane does not publish fixed stats-to-dollars merit grids. Dollar amounts are determined holistically at admission and are final. Test-optional students are fully eligible.
$15,000 to $30,000 per year, dependent upon academic background
FIRST Scholarship
ApplicationRenewable
View requirements+
Eligibility
At least one full season on a FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) team or FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) team during junior or senior year. Must be admitted to the School of Science and Engineering. Application requires a 250-word essay and a letter from the FIRST team mentor. May be utilized for any undergraduate course of study within SSE.
Renewal terms
Four years, contingent on good academic standing.
Notes
A niche award that uses FIRST robotics participation as an admissions and merit signal. Families with FIRST experience should flag this before applying.
Must be a National Merit Finalist who names Tulane as first-choice institution through the National Merit process.
Renewal terms
Must meet NMSC renewal requirements. After one-year NMSC awards expire, Tulane applies $2,000 per academic year for subsequent years.
Notes
Awards come from either the National Merit Scholarship Corporation or Tulane, but not both in the same year. Can be combined with Louisiana Legislative and Mayoral Scholarships. Relatively modest compared to peer NMF packages at schools like Alabama or Oklahoma.
Tulane does not reduce merit scholarships for outside awards, but reduces need-based aid to stay within cost of attendance, and all named full-tuition scholarships are mutually exclusive with each other.
Tulane's published policy states that Tulane does not reduce Tulane merit scholarship in light of outside scholarship except as stipulated in the merit award letter. Outside scholarships reduce Tulane need-based scholarship to stay within the student's financial aid cost of attendance. Federal loan, grant, and work-study eligibility is also reduced as required. Full-tuition named merit scholarships (Stamps, Dean's Honor, Paul Tulane, Louisiana Excellence, Mayoral, Legislative, Presidential, Premier, Distinguished Scholar's, Founder's) are mutually exclusive and cannot be combined with each other. Only National Merit and Louisiana TOPS can stack with the Louisiana-specific full-tuition programs. Families should not assume they may retain all scholarships originally offered from all parties, because one type may eventually effect a change in another.
Merit penetrationHow likely is merit aid here?From Tulane’s Common Data Set: the share of first-year students who receive institutional merit and the average dollar amount when they do.
28%of admitsget merit
Average award$19,636Covers ~21% of $94,708 cost of attendance
At Tulane, roughly 1 in 4 first-year admits receive institutional merit aid. The average award is $19,636 — about 21% of total cost.
Named awards that don’t always surface on the main financial aid page. Each one has its own eligibility rules.
Amount$10,000 annual awardEligibilityOpen to qualified students in Architecture, Landscape + Engineering, and Historic Preservation programs at the School of Architecture. Up to three incoming students per program. All applicants are automatically considered.
Tulane's Boudreaux page describes this award as renewable for the duration of the graduate program. Undergraduate Architecture (B.Arch) applicants who hope to use this award should confirm undergraduate eligibility directly with the School of Architecture before relying on it for net-cost modeling.
Amount$1,000 to $10,000 per year (varies by program)EligibilityTulane awards a family of talent-based scholarships under the Artistic Scholarships umbrella: Architecture Portfolio Award, Creative and Performing Arts Award, Musicianship Scholarship, Studio Art Portfolio Award, and Marching Band Scholarship. Each requires a portfolio, audition, or interview specific to the discipline.
Listed alongside merit awards on Tulane's official merit-scholarships page but typically not stats-based. Families with strong arts/music/architecture portfolios should confirm the specific application route for their discipline early; these awards are separate from the partial-merit award and generally do not require a separate scholarship application beyond the discipline-specific submission.
Amount$2,500 stipend spread over the full academic yearEligibilityIntended major in the School of Science and Engineering. Invitation-only for admitted students deemed a good fit. Paired with a faculty member for approximately 10 hours per week of research.
Not a traditional scholarship but a paid first-year research position. Students do not apply directly; Tulane invites candidates after admission.
Amount$5,000 per awardEligibilityRising sophomores, juniors, and seniors with a commitment to public service. Requires resume, personal statement, transcript, and two professional references. Application period January 1 through April 1.
Not available to incoming freshmen. Awarded through the Center for Public Service. A lesser-known supplemental award for students who build a service track record at Tulane.
Do I need to submit test scores to receive merit scholarships at Tulane?
No. Tulane is test-optional and considers applicants for all merit scholarships, including full-tuition awards, without test scores. Only about 27% of enrolled first-year students submitted ACT scores and 11% submitted SAT scores in the Fall 2025 cohort.
Is there a separate application for merit scholarships?
No separate application is needed for partial merit or full-tuition merit scholarships. Beginning with the class entering Fall 2025, Tulane considers all Common Application submissions for all merit tiers. Some competitive programs like Stamps and Community Service Fellowship may invite semifinalists to submit supplemental materials after the initial application.
What GPA do I need to keep my merit scholarship?
Stamps, Dean's Honor, Paul Tulane, Global, and Louisiana Excellence require a 3.000 cumulative GPA. Most other Tulane merit awards require a 2.700 GPA unless the initial offer specifies otherwise. Mayoral, Louisiana Legislative, Posse Award, and College Track Award require a 2.300 GPA. Merit amounts are fixed at admission and never increase.
Are Louisiana residents eligible for special scholarships?
Yes. Louisiana residents have access to the Louisiana Excellence Award (full tuition), Louisiana Legislative Scholars Scholarship (one year of tuition, valued at $67,592 for 2025-2026, awarded by Louisiana legislative district), Mayoral Scholars Scholarship (four years of tuition, valued at $67,592/yr for 2025-2026, 10 awards per year, one per New Orleans city council district, for Orleans Parish residents and graduates of Orleans Parish high schools), and the Louisiana Promise No Loan Assistance Scholarship (LPNOLA) for qualifying Louisiana families. These programs are not available to out-of-state applicants. The LPNOLA AGI threshold should be confirmed directly with Tulane Financial Aid before relying on it for net-cost modeling.
Does Tulane reduce my merit scholarship if I win an outside award?
No. Tulane's published policy states that it does not reduce Tulane merit scholarship in light of outside scholarship except as stipulated in the merit award letter. Outside awards reduce Tulane need-based aid to stay within cost of attendance, but the merit component is protected.
How Tulane compares across our verified dataset
19 of 203 verified schools in our dataset use mixed displacement.
Tulane is in the small minority (19 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
178 of 203 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Tulane is one of them. The cohort minority (25 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.
63 of 203 verified schools publish a marginal-value cliff table we can quantify.
Tulane is one of them. Most schools won't tell families what one ACT point is actually worth. At the schools that do, a strategic retake is sometimes mathematically more valuable than test-optional positioning.
Sources used on this page
Every claim is checked against Tulane’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
