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University of Mary Washington · Virginia

UMW scholarships and merit aid

UMW awards automatic, stat-based merit scholarships off published GPA × test grids — but the dollar amount depends heavily on residency AND whether you live on campus: in-state residential awards run up to $8,000 while the same student commuting gets as little as $500.

Verified Jun 20263 months ago

The short answer

Is UMW worth a closer look?

UMW is worth checking if your student has strong grades or scores. We found 4 published awards, and 2 are based on those numbers.

Merit tiers42 based on grades or scores
Research checkedJun 2026By our research team

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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.

$500-$8,000 per year

In-State Merit Scholarships (Residential vs Commuter)

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
3.00-4.00 (weighted when provided) per tier
SAT
1000-1400 per tier
ACT
20-30 per tier
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Virginia residents; must live on-campus to receive the Residential (higher) amount; for Fall 2026 applicants who apply, are admitted, and enroll

How to keep it

Renewal terms not stated on this page.

Notes

Full grid (Residential / Commuter): Collegiate (4.00, 1400/30) $8,000/$2,000; Presidential (4.00, 1300/27) $6,000/$2,000; Provost (3.60, 1200/25) $4,000/$1,500; Eagle (3.25, 1100/22) $3,000/$1,000; Blue & Gray (3.00, 1000/20) $2,000/$500.

Source

$1,000-$9,000 per year

Out-of-State Merit Scholarships

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
<3.00-4.00 per tier
SAT
<1000-1300 per tier
ACT
<20-27 per tier
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Out-of-state residents; must live on campus for the full award; off-campus students may submit a waiver to receive a comparable In-State Commuter scholarship; Fall 2026 enrollees

How to keep it

Renewal terms not stated on this page.

Notes

Full grid: Presidential (4.00, 1300/27) $9,000; Provost (3.60, 1200/25) $7,000; Eagle (3.25, 1100/22) $7,000; Blue & Gray (3.00, 1000/20) $5,000; Aerie Award (<3.00, <1000/20) $1,000. Note the Aerie Award has no in-state equivalent.

Source

Full tuition, fees, room, and board

Washington Scholars Program (full ride — Virginia residents)

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Legal Virginia resident; offered admission to the UMW Honors Program; full-time, residing on-campus (except up to two semesters of approved educational experiences); preference to National Merit finalists/semifinalists, valedictorians, salutatorians. Apply for admission by Nov 15 (priority); interview in March; notified by April 1.

How to keep it

Renewable for up to eight total semesters (four years); enroll full-time each semester; maintain a UMW GPA of 3.25 during the first semester and 3.50 each semester thereafter.

Notes

One or more awarded annually. Competitive; requires Honors Program admission.

Source

Full tuition, fees, room, and board

Alvey Scholars Program (full ride — out-of-state residents)

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Legal out-of-state resident; offered admission to the UMW Honors Program; full-time, residing on-campus. Special consideration for Rodgers Alvey applicants with STEM distinction intending a STEM major. Apply by Nov 15 (priority); interview in March; notified by April 1.

How to keep it

Renewable for up to eight total semesters (four years); enroll full-time each semester; maintain a UMW GPA of 3.25 during the first semester and 3.50 each semester thereafter.

Notes

ONE Alvey Scholarship awarded annually. Competitive; requires Honors Program admission.

Source

See what could change an award

Rules that could change the answer

These are the rules we would flag for your family. Each comes from UMW's published information.

  • Renewal ruleWashington Scholars Program (full ride — Virginia residents): renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

    Renewable for up to eight total semesters (four years); enroll full-time each semester; maintain a UMW GPA of 3.25 during the first semester and 3.50 each semester thereafter. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

What families often miss

  1. In-state amounts are much smaller for commuters: a Collegiate Award is $8,000 if you live on campus but only $2,000 if you commute, and a Blue & Gray drops from $2,000 to $500. You must live on-campus to receive the Residential amount.

  2. UMW is a residential college; out-of-state students must live on campus for the full award. Off-campus students may only get a 'comparable In-State Commuter scholarship' via an approved waiver — a steep reduction.

  3. The grids differ: in-state has a top 'Collegiate' tier ($8,000); out-of-state has no Collegiate tier but adds an 'Aerie Award' ($1,000) for sub-3.00 GPAs, and pays more at each comparable tier (e.g., out-of-state Presidential $9,000 vs in-state residential $6,000).

  4. Washington (VA) and Alvey (out-of-state) Scholarships require admission to the UMW Honors Program, an interview in March, on-campus residence, and renewal GPAs of 3.25 (first semester) then 3.50 — apply by November 15.

  5. Virginia's surcharge applies to in-state undergrads who complete more than 150 credits (125% of the 120 required); for 2026-27 it is $366 per credit hour beyond 150 — on top of normal tuition and fees.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Stat-driven applicants who can hit UMW's published GPA + SAT/ACT thresholds — especially those willing to live on campus (the residential amounts are several times the commuter amounts); top Honors-eligible students should target the Nov 15 full-ride deadline.

Cost and graduation facts

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

Average annual net price by family income at UMW, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$10,304
$30,001–$48,000$11,061
$48,001–$75,000$15,477
$75,001–$110,000$26,212
$110,001+$30,986
All income levels (average)$20,667

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Total cost of attendance (sticker), AY 2021-22
$31,137
Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$14,640
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$27,560
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$20,667

That works out to an average 34% discount off the sticker price above — both figures come from the same federal AY 2021-22 Scorecard report, not a number the school itself published.

UMW is a public school; Scorecard's net price and cost of attendance figures cover 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
66%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
84%
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)
$60,613
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
21%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
30%
See other scholarships and cost examples

Other UMW scholarships worth checking

These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityPer the Noyce Scholars Program page (STEM teaching, NSF-funded program).

Listed under First-Year Scholarships; details not captured.

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityPer the Presidential Emerging Leaders Program page.

Listed under First-Year Scholarships; details not captured.

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityTransfer applicants.

Separate transfer scholarship track.

Source

UMW merit aid FAQ

  • Do I need a separate application for merit scholarships?

    No — the In-State and Out-of-State Merit Scholarships are awarded automatically to applicants who apply, are admitted, and enroll, based on the published GPA + SAT/ACT grids. The full-ride Washington/Alvey awards are competitive and tied to Honors Program admission.

  • Why is my merit award smaller than the grid's top number?

    For in-state students, the higher 'Residential' amount requires living on campus; commuters get the lower amount. For out-of-state students, living off-campus (with an approved waiver) reduces you to a comparable In-State Commuter scholarship.

  • What is the full-ride deadline?

    Apply for admission by November 15 (priority) to be considered for the Washington Scholars (Virginia residents) or Alvey Scholars (out-of-state) programs; recipients are notified by April 1.

See sources and other schools

How UMW compares

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

    UMW 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.

Sources used on this page

Every claim is checked against UMW’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

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  • Virginia Tech merit aid. Virginia public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.

Keep exploring UMW merit aid