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Tulane · Louisiana

Tulane Merit Aid

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 Apr 2026Analyst pt-browser
Merit tiers81 automatic on stats
Get merit aid28%First-year students, CDS 2025-2026
Last verifiedApr 2026Analyst pt-browser

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.

Tuition / cost of attendance: Approximately $94,707 for 2025-2026. On-campus freshman COA for 2025-2026: tuition and fees $71,997, housing $11,128, meals $8,598, books $1,200, miscellaneous $1,726, transportation variable (median ~$1,000), loan fees $58. 2026-2027 tuition and mandatory fees are published at $75,136, but full 2026-2027 COA (room, board, books, miscellaneous, transportation) is not yet published. Health insurance premium update pending June 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.

Total cost of attendance (tuition, fees, housing, and meals) plus enrichment funds for experiential learning

Stamps Scholarship

Application3.000 cumulative GPA; renewable for 4 years (5 for Architecture).

RequirementsSemifinalists submit supplements by January 5; finalists interview in spring. Approximately 5 to 10 awarded per year. Exceptional leadership, academic achievement, and a commitment to making a meaningful impact.

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.

Source

Full tuition

Dean's Honor Scholarship

Application3.000 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.

RequirementsGPA Typical recipients rank in the top 5% of the class · SAT Typical recipients have SAT of 1500+ · ACT Typical recipients have ACT of 33+ · 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.

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.

Source

Full tuition

Paul Tulane Award

Application3.000 cumulative GPA and continuous primary undergraduate enrollment; renewable for 4 years (5 for Architecture). Fixed amount.

RequirementsGPA Typical recipients rank in the top 5% of the class · Score near the top of the range in a college admission test. Rigorous academic program with honors and AP courses, and outstanding extracurricular record.

Cannot be combined with any other Tulane merit scholarship, ROTC, Faculty-Staff Tuition Waiver, or Tuition Exchange. May combine with a partial athletic scholarship.

Source

Full tuition

Louisiana Excellence Award

Application3.000 cumulative GPA; four-year renewable.

RequirementsMust be a current Louisiana resident graduating from a Louisiana high school. Application due November 15. GPA and test score thresholds not published.

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.

Source

Up to full tuition

Community Service Fellowship

ApplicationSubject to merit scholarship renewal criteria; must fulfill 150 service and leadership hours per year at Tulane.

RequirementsApplication submitted to the Office of Undergraduate Admission. Outstanding record of service and leadership in high school. Approximately 15 fellowships awarded annually. Monthly meetings required.

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.

Source

Up to $32,000 per year

Admission-Based Merit Scholarship (partial, automatic)

Automatic2.700 cumulative GPA for most Tulane merit awards unless specified otherwise in the initial offer. Fixed amount that never changes. Renewable for 4 years.

RequirementsNo 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.

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.

Source

$15,000 to $30,000 per year, dependent upon academic background

FIRST Scholarship

ApplicationFour years, contingent on good academic standing.

RequirementsOne full season on a FIRST Robotics Competition or FIRST Tech Challenge team during junior or senior year. Must be admitted to the School of Science and Engineering. May be utilized for any undergraduate course of study within SSE.

A niche award that uses FIRST robotics participation as an admissions and merit signal. Families with FIRST experience should flag this before applying.

Source

At least $2,000 per year

National Merit Scholarship

ApplicationMust meet NMSC renewal requirements. After one-year NMSC awards expire, Tulane applies $2,000 per academic year for subsequent years.

RequirementsMust be a National Merit Finalist who names Tulane as first-choice institution through the National Merit process.

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.

Source

Outside scholarship stacking policy

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.

Source

Common Data Set snapshot

From the Tulane Common Data Set 2025-2026:

SAT mid-50%1430–150025th / 75th percentile
ACT mid-50%32–3425th / 75th percentile
Receive institutional merit28%First-year students
Average merit award$19,636Across recipients

Source: Common Data Set

Lesser-known scholarships at Tulane

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 all qualified students in Architecture, Landscape and Engineering, and Historic Preservation programs. Up to three incoming students per program. All applicants are automatically considered.

Offered in addition to merit scholarships. Renewable for the duration of the program. Not advertised on the main merit scholarships page.

Source

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.

Source

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.

Source

Common mistakes at Tulane

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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.

Tulane merit aid FAQ

  • 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, Legislative, and need-based scholarships 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 (full tuition, 10 per year by legislative district), Mayoral Scholars Scholarship (full tuition, 10 per year for Orleans Parish residents), and the Louisiana Promise No Loan Assistance Scholarship for families with AGI under $100,000. These programs are not available to out-of-state applicants.

  • 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.