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Louisville scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$35,970per year · 2025-2026 · ResidentNon-resident $52,316
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

Louisville is worth checking if your student has strong grades or scores. We found 5 published awards, and 5 are based on those numbers.

Where does your student land?

Verified Jul 2026
4 school sources to explore

Published rules, with the school sources close at hand. Confirm the details before you count on an award.

The award collection

Published scholarships

These amounts and requirements come from the school’s own published pages. Open an award to see who qualifies and how to keep it.

Where does your student land?

  1. Border Benefit Award (base)$16,000 per yearAutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Border Benefit Award (base)

    $16,000 per year

    Published amountAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Border Benefit Award (base)

    Who qualifies

    Automatic upon admission for eligible out-of-state freshmen. No scholarship application required; guaranteed to students admitted by April 1.

    How to keep it

    All awards listed on the out-of-state grid are renewable. The grid does not publish a renewal GPA on the page; confirm the renewal GPA with the financial aid office.

  2. Border Benefit Award (top stacked tier)$21,000 per year ($16,000 base + $5,000)AutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Border Benefit Award (top stacked tier)

    $21,000 per year ($16,000 base + $5,000)

    Published award termsAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3.5 weighted GPA
    SAT
    1570-1600
    ACT
    36
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Border Benefit Award (top stacked tier)

    Who qualifies

    Stacked add-on grid: +$1,000 at 26-27 ACT/1230-1290 SAT, +$2,000 at 28-29/1300-1350, +$3,000 at 30/1360-1380, +$4,000 at 31-35/1390-1560, +$5,000 at 36/1570-1600 — each requiring a 3.5 weighted GPA. Test scores are only considered when they advantage the student.

    How to keep it

    Renewable. The $5,000 add-on is the top band on the published grid.

  3. Regional Scholars Program$12,000–$16,000 per yearAutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Regional Scholars Program

    $12,000–$16,000 per year

    Published rangeAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Regional Scholars Program

    Who qualifies

    For students from designated regional/border areas. Base $12,000 automatic upon admission; $13,000 at 24-26 ACT/1160-1250 and 3.25 weighted GPA; $14,000 at 27-28/1260-1320 and 3.5; $16,000 at 29 ACT/1330 SAT and 3.5.

    How to keep it

    Renewable. Accepted freshmen from designated regional areas automatically receive this award.

  4. National Scholars Program$5,000–$15,000 per yearAutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    National Scholars Program

    $5,000–$15,000 per year

    Published rangeAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for National Scholars Program

    Who qualifies

    $5,000 at 24 ACT/1160 SAT and 3.0 weighted GPA; $7,500 at 24/1160 and 3.25; $10,000 at 25-26/1200-1250 and 3.25; $12,000 at 27-28/1260-1320 and 3.5; $15,000 at 29 ACT/1330 SAT and 3.5.

    How to keep it

    Renewable. Five-band published grid for out-of-state students who do not qualify for Border Benefit / Regional tiers.

  5. National Merit Finalist/Semifinalist Award$20,000 per yearAutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    National Merit Finalist/Semifinalist Award

    $20,000 per year

    Published amountAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for National Merit Finalist/Semifinalist Award

    Who qualifies

    For National Merit Finalists/Semifinalists with a 3.5 weighted GPA.

    How to keep it

    Renewable with a 3.5 weighted GPA requirement.

Lights up against Louisville's published cutoffs. Not an award offer; confirm with the financial aid office. Award terms and residency rules change; some awards differ for in-state and out-of-state students. Always confirm at the school’s source page.

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The fine print

Renewal ruleNational Merit Finalist/Semifinalist Award: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

Renewable with a 3.5 weighted GPA requirement. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

What makes Louisville different

Kentucky public flagship with one of the most transparent automatic out-of-state merit grids in the country: every admitted non-resident gets a published stat-banded award with no separate application, and the awards are calibrated to chew through the out-of-state tuition surcharge.

Merit tiers55 based on grades or scores
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team

Published academic criteria

Start with the thresholds.

These awards are recorded as automatic on academic criteria. Match the published grades and scores, then check residency, entering year and every additional condition.

  1. Match the published criteria

    Use all requirements together, including residency and the entering class.

  2. Check the application dates

    Confirm the current admission and scholarship deadlines directly with the school.

  3. Know what happens next year

    Check renewal, credit requirements and how other aid affects the award.

The fine print / Three questions to carry forward

Before you count on it.

Does it apply to us? Confirm the entering year, residency and every eligibility condition.

Can we keep it? Check renewal GPA, credits and how long the award lasts.

Can we combine it? Ask how outside scholarships and other school awards change the offer.

Take Louisville's decision sheet

A printable research summary, source links and room for your questions.

See what could change an award

What families often miss

  1. The Border Benefit, Regional Scholars, and National Scholars programs are alternative tracks for out-of-state students, not awards you add together. You are placed on the grid that applies to your residency/region and stats — you do not collect a Border Benefit award AND a National Scholars award on top of it. Model the single award you actually qualify for, not the sum.

  2. The Border Benefit Award is a $16,000 base plus a stat-driven add-on of $1,000 to $5,000. The top published figure is $16,000 + $5,000 = $21,000, not $16,000 plus a separate $21,000. Compute the base plus the single add-on band your scores land in.

  3. Out-of-state tuition and fees are about $29,960 (2026-27), but total cost of attendance is much higher once housing, food, books, and personal expenses are added. A $16,000-$21,000 award is excellent against tuition, but families should still budget for room, board, and indirect costs the merit award does not touch.

See award cutoffs and special programs

Border Benefit Award — Louisville's out-of-state anchor scholarship

The Border Benefit Award is the foundation of Louisville's out-of-state package: every admitted non-resident freshman automatically receives a $16,000 base award, with up to $5,000 in additional stacked merit on top of it based on a published test-score and GPA grid. At the top of the grid (36 ACT / 1570-1600 SAT and a 3.5 weighted GPA), the award reaches $21,000 per year. Crucially, the entire structure is automatic and guaranteed for students admitted by April 1 with no scholarship application required. Because out-of-state tuition and fees run about $29,960 (2026-27), a $16,000-$21,000 renewable award erases more than half — and in some cases nearly two-thirds — of the non-resident tuition bill. This is the kind of stat-driven, no-application, guaranteed merit that families can model precisely before committing.

Source

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Out-of-state students, especially from the Midwest and South, who want a large public research university where the merit award is guaranteed on a published GPA/test grid rather than decided by a holistic committee. Particularly strong for families who want to know their exact award before they apply.

Cost of attendance$35,970–$52,316 for 2025-2026Each bar is the full published cost for that scenario, sized against the highest figure so totals compare at a glance.
Out-of-state, on-campus$52,316
In-state, on-campus$35,970
  • Tuition & fees
  • Housing & food
  • Books
  • Travel
  • Personal
  • Loan fees

Official full COA is 2025-26 (input total $29,960 was the prior out-of-state tuition&fees figure, not a COA total). Housing & food published as a single 'housing/living expense' line.

Louisville cost-of-attendance source

Cost and graduation facts

Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Louisville, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.

Average annual net price by family income at Louisville, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$15,138
$30,001–$48,000$14,601
$48,001–$75,000$16,419
$75,001–$110,000$20,995
$110,001+$25,186
All income levels (average)$17,988

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$13,136
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$29,482
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$17,988

That works out to roughly a 45% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $32,941 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

Louisville is a public school; Scorecard's net price figure covers in-state, Title-IV-aid-recipient payers only — there is no comparable federal figure for out-of-state students.

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
61%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
81%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$20,500 (~$217/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$53,899
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
40%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
35%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Louisville publishes a clear overaward/stacking policy. When you bring an outside scholarship, the office reduces self-help aid (loans and work-study) FIRST before touching any grant or scholarship — so an outside award generally replaces your loans rather than displacing your institutional merit, up to the cost-of-attendance ceiling.

Per the Student Financial Aid Office overaward & stacking policy, total institutional aid cannot exceed the university's total standard direct cost of attendance plus a stipend, and when an outside award would push a student over, self-help aid (loans and work-study) is adjusted before grant or scholarship aid. This is a student-favorable order: outside scholarships tend to buy down loans first.

Source

Louisville merit aid FAQ

  • Do I have to apply separately for Louisville's out-of-state scholarships?

    No. Louisville states there is 'No scholarship application required' and the awards are 'Guaranteed to be awarded to students admitted by April 1.' Your award is placed automatically based on your residency, GPA, and (if it helps you) test scores.

  • How much is the automatic out-of-state award worth?

    Every admitted non-resident gets a $16,000 Border Benefit base, with up to $5,000 stacked on by a published GPA/test grid (top tier $21,000 at 36 ACT / 1570-1600 SAT and 3.5 weighted GPA). Students from designated regional areas instead receive $12,000-$16,000 through the Regional Scholars Program, and other out-of-state students fall on the $5,000-$15,000 National Scholars grid. National Merit Finalists/Semifinalists receive $20,000.

  • Are test scores required to get the bigger awards?

    No. Louisville says test scores are only considered when they advantage the student, and applicants without scores are reviewed for scholarships through a comprehensive academic review. Submitting a strong score can move you up the add-on grid, but a missing score will not disqualify you from merit consideration.

  • Will an outside scholarship reduce my Louisville merit award?

    Usually it reduces your loans first. Louisville's overaward policy says self-help aid (loans and work-study) is adjusted before grant or scholarship aid, and total institutional aid cannot exceed the cost of attendance plus a stipend. Report outside awards early so the office can adjust without creating a repayment situation later.

See sources and other schools

How Louisville compares

  • 145 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.

    Louisville is in a recognizable cluster (145 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

  • 665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

    Louisville is one of them. The cohort minority (84 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.

  • 132 of 749 verified schools publish a dedicated National Merit Finalist package.

    Louisville 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 Louisville’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

Keep exploring Louisville merit aid

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