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UMW scholarships and merit aid

The short answer

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

Where does your student land?

Verified Jun 2026
6 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. In-State Merit Scholarships (Residential vs Commuter)$500-$8,000 per yearAutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    In-State Merit Scholarships (Residential vs Commuter)

    $500-$8,000 per year

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

    GPA
    3.00-4.00 (weighted when provided) per tier
    SAT
    1000-1400 per tier
    ACT
    20-30 per tier
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for In-State Merit Scholarships (Residential vs Commuter)

    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.

    Worth knowing

    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.

  2. Out-of-State Merit Scholarships$1,000-$9,000 per yearAutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Out-of-State Merit Scholarships

    $1,000-$9,000 per year

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

    GPA
    <3.00-4.00 per tier
    SAT
    <1000-1300 per tier
    ACT
    <20-27 per tier
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Out-of-State Merit Scholarships

    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.

    Worth knowing

    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.

  3. Washington Scholars Program (full ride — Virginia residents)Full tuition, fees, room, and boardNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Washington Scholars Program (full ride — Virginia residents)

    Full tuition, fees, room, and board

    Published coverage or packageNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Washington Scholars Program (full ride — Virginia residents)

    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.

    Worth knowing

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

  4. Alvey Scholars Program (full ride — out-of-state residents)Full tuition, fees, room, and boardNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

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

    Full tuition, fees, room, and board

    Published coverage or packageNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Alvey Scholars Program (full ride — out-of-state residents)

    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.

    Worth knowing

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

Lights up against UMW's published cutoffs. Not an award offer; confirm with the financial aid office.

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The fine print

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 makes UMW different

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.

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

More than one award path

Separate the two paths.

Some awards use published academic thresholds. Others have different selection criteria. A score chart does not describe every award at this school.

  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 UMW'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. 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

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

Keep exploring UMW merit aid

The next chapter

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