University of Dallas (Catholic, Irving TX — NOT UT Dallas) publishes an automatic GPA/test grid of $28,000-$36,000/yr plus several competitive full-tuition tracks; all non-need awards are tuition-directed and stack only up to full tuition.
Verified Jun 2026today· COWORK
Merit tiers72 automatic on stats
Last verifiedJun 2026Analyst COWORK
Rules that bite at UDallas
The trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook. Each is derived from UDallas's own published policy, not generic advice.
renewalFreshman Academic Achievement Scholarship (automatic merit grid): renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Requires full-time enrollment (12+ credits/semester) and Satisfactory Academic Progress; a 2.5 cumulative GPA is required by the end of sophomore year. GPAs of 2.0-2.4999 are prorated to 50%; below 2.0 the award is suspended. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.
capHard $79,160 cost-of-attendance ceiling
Institutional aid at UDallas cannot push the package past $79,160. Big outside wins can mathematically reduce institutional grant once the ceiling is reached.
Common merit-aid mistakes at UDallas
All non-need UDallas scholarships and grants stack only up to full tuition; a full-tuition scholarship winner is ineligible for any additional non-need award, including the Family Grant, and departmental awards cannot be added on top of a full-tuition scholarship.
A 2.5 cumulative GPA is required by the end of sophomore year (end of four semesters). GPAs of 2.0-2.4999 are prorated to 50% and below 2.0 are suspended; departmental awards need a 2.95 CGPA with no proration.
The National Merit Finalist Scholarship is only $2,000/year, and finalists who hold a corporate-sponsored or National Merit $2,500 award are not eligible for it.
The full-tuition competitive scholarships still require FAFSA completion for consideration.
University of Dallas is a private Catholic college in Irving; UT Dallas is a separate public university in Richardson with entirely different aid.
Who this school is for
A strong-stats applicant (especially one aiming high enough to compete for a full-tuition Scholars of Excellence/Crusader/Disciplinary award) who understands every non-need dollar is capped at tuition and that a 2.5 CGPA must be hit by the end of sophomore year.
Tuition / cost of attendance: Approximately $79,160 for 2026-2027. 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.
Weighted 3.0+ / unweighted 3.0+ (tier depends on GPA)
SAT
1000+ (tier depends on score)
ACT
20+ (tier depends on score)
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
Awarded at admission on the higher of best test score (or superscore) OR weighted/unweighted GPA; no separate application; CLT also accepted
Renewal terms
Requires full-time enrollment (12+ credits/semester) and Satisfactory Academic Progress; a 2.5 cumulative GPA is required by the end of sophomore year. GPAs of 2.0-2.4999 are prorated to 50%; below 2.0 the award is suspended.
Notes
Automatic at admission, completely funded by UDallas, no additional application. Amounts are for students starting fall 2026 or later. Tuition-directed (see stacking).
Based on cumulative college GPA; the admission application is the scholarship application
Renewal terms
Same renewal terms (full-time, SAP, 2.5 CGPA by end of sophomore year).
Notes
Elite $35,000 (3.75+), Premier $31,000 (3.5-3.749), Select $28,000 (3.0-3.49). Scholarships/grants except Pell may be stacked up to but not beyond full tuition.
Full-Tuition Scholars of Excellence & Crusader Scholarships
ApplicationRenewable
View requirements+
Eligibility
Any incoming full-time undergraduate seeking first bachelor's degree; competitive (Crusader has a creative/expressive component). FAFSA completion required even though merit-based.
Renewal terms
Renewable for all four years; full tuition scholarships cover up to 18 credit hours each for fall and spring; standard 2.5 CGPA renewal applies.
Notes
Open Aug 1, deadline Jan 5. Full-tuition winners are ineligible for additional non-need awards (anti-stacking).
High school seniors and transfer students; apply in one department (may apply for up to two but receive only one); may require interview, test, or work submission
Renewal terms
Renewable for up to eight semesters; require a 2.95 cumulative GPA (no proration) plus department-specific performance criteria.
Notes
Open Aug 1, deadline Dec 1 (additional-requirements deadline Dec 15, 2025). Applied to tuition. A departmental scholarship may NOT be added on top of a full-tuition scholarship.
Any National Merit Finalist who lists UDallas as first choice with the National Merit Corporation. Finalists with a Corporate-sponsored award or National Merit $2,500 Scholarship are NOT eligible.
Renewal terms
Renewable for up to four years of undergraduate study.
Notes
Modest $2,000/yr — a common surprise for high scorers expecting a large NM award.
All UDallas non-need scholarships and grants are tuition-directed: they may be combined (stacked) up to but not over full tuition. A full-tuition scholarship recipient is therefore ineligible for any additional non-need scholarship or grant, including the Family Grant; departmental awards cannot sit on top of a full-tuition scholarship.
Non-need scholarships/grants (except a Federal Pell Grant) stack up to but not beyond full tuition. The number of scholarships is not limited, but combined non-need awards cannot exceed tuition unless otherwise noted. Full-tuition winners get no further non-need aid.
Amount$5,000 toward tuitionEligibilityFirst-year admits with one or more siblings already enrolled full-time at any college, regardless of family income
Deadline April 1. Cannot be received by a full-tuition scholarship winner.
Scholars of Excellence & Crusader: Jan 5 (open Aug 1). Disciplinary: Jan 5 (open Sept 1). Departmental: Dec 1 (additional requirements by Dec 15, 2025). DFW/Regional Catholic & Homeschool: March 1. Full-Tuition Transfer: June 1, 2026. Family Grant: April 1. FAFSA Early Application Grant: Dec 15. Phi Theta Kappa: July 1 (fall) / Jan 1 (spring).
Is the automatic merit award really automatic?
Yes — the admission application automatically enters you into consideration for the academic-achievement grid ($28,000-$36,000) based on your GPA or best test score; no separate application is needed.
What is the 2026-27 cost of attendance?
On-campus total $79,160 (tuition $54,760; fees $4,140; books $1,090; housing $8,430; food $7,650; transportation $2,130; personal $960). Off-campus $76,300; at home $71,420.
How UDallas compares across our verified dataset
62 of 272 verified schools in our dataset use cost-of-attendance cap displacement.
UDallas is in a recognizable cluster (62 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
247 of 272 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
UDallas 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.
75 of 272 verified schools publish a dedicated National Merit Finalist package.
UDallas is one of them. NMF packages typically carry their own stacking and renewal carve-outs separate from the standard automatic merit ladder; confirm those before assuming the headline NMF value is final.
Sources used on this page
Every claim is checked against UDallas’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
