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UMN Duluth scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$31,100per year · 2026-2027 · cost of attendance
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

UMN Duluth awards automatic merit on admission. UMN Duluth does not publish a GPA or test chart, so you cannot self-calculate the dollars.

Where does your student land?

Verified Jul 2026
3 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. First Year Student Admissions Scholarship (Best of Class / Zenith / Superior / Beacon / North Shore / Ascent tiers)$750-$8,000AutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    First Year Student Admissions Scholarship (Best of Class / Zenith / Superior / Beacon / North Shore / Ascent tiers)

    $750-$8,000

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

    GPA
    Primarily based on GPA at time of admission (Best of Class tier requires 3.9+)
    ACT
    A strong composite ACT may benefit/raise the award if submitted (test-optional)
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for First Year Student Admissions Scholarship (Best of Class / Zenith / Superior / Beacon / North Shore / Ascent tiers)

    Who qualifies

    Automatic consideration on the admission application; no separate scholarship application. Apply by the Jan 15 regular-decision deadline for full consideration.

    How to keep it

    Renewable for up to 4 years (total $3,000-$32,000) contingent on maintaining a 3.0 University of Minnesota cumulative GPA and full-time (12+ credit) enrollment. Graduating in less than four years forfeits the remaining award and it cannot transfer to non-degree/grad/professional enrollment.

    Worth knowing

    The page names six tiers by Duluth landmarks (Best of Class, Zenith, Superior, Beacon, North Shore, Ascent) but publishes only the overall $750-$8,000 range — NO per-tier dollar amounts are given, so none are invented here. Best of Class is the top honor.

  2. Best of Class ScholarshipAmount not publishedNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Best of Class Scholarship

    Amount not published

    Published award termsNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    Minimum 3.9 GPA
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Best of Class Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Highest-honor admissions tier; effectively for students ranked #1 or #2 in their MN class (schools that don't rank require a scholarship-appeal verification). Homeschooled students do NOT qualify. Must apply by the Jan 15 regular-decision deadline.

    How to keep it

    Same renewal terms (3.0 UMN CGPA + full-time).

    Worth knowing

    Distinct named top tier with a hard 3.9 GPA floor and a rank/MN-resident pathway; the dollar amount is not published on this page (do not assume the $8,000 top of the general range applies).

  3. Transfer ScholarshipUp to $3,000 total over three yearsNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Transfer Scholarship

    Up to $3,000 total over three years

    Variable or qualified amountNot 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 Transfer Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Transfer applicants (attempted at least one college credit after high school)

    How to keep it

    Standard renewal (3.0 UMN CGPA + full-time).

  4. International Student Scholarship$5,000Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    International Student Scholarship

    $5,000

    Published amountNot 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 International Student Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    International applicants

    How to keep it

    Up to $20,000 over four years.

    Worth knowing

    $5,000 annually, up to $20,000 over four years.

Lights up against UMN Duluth'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 ruleFirst Year Student Admissions Scholarship (Best of Class / Zenith / Superior / Beacon / North Shore / Ascent tiers): renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

Renewable for up to 4 years (total $3,000-$32,000) contingent on maintaining a 3.0 University of Minnesota cumulative GPA and full-time (12+ credit) enrollment. Graduating in less than four years forfeits the remaining award and it cannot transfer to non-degree/grad/professional enrollment. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

Aid capHard $31,100 cost-of-attendance ceiling

Institutional aid at UMN Duluth cannot push the package past $31,100. Big outside wins can mathematically reduce institutional grant once the ceiling is reached.

What makes UMN Duluth different

UMN Duluth automatically considers applicants for a single GPA-based admissions scholarship ($750-$8,000/yr, up to $32,000 over four years) with Duluth-landmark tier names; you can only hold one UMD admissions scholarship.

Merit tiers41 based on grades or scores
First-year students with school awards44%First-year students, CDS 2023-2024
Research checkedJul 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 UMN Duluth'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. UMD awards only ONE admissions scholarship per student from the Office of Admissions — the named tiers are mutually exclusive, not additive.

  2. Total aid (all scholarships + grants) cannot exceed UMD's cost of attendance; receiving an outside scholarship triggers a review and may reduce your loans, work-study, or institutional aid.

  3. The admissions scholarship requires a 3.0 University of Minnesota cumulative GPA and full-time (12+ credit) enrollment to renew; graduating early forfeits the remaining award.

  4. Swenson College of Science & Engineering undergraduates pay an additional $520/year in tuition that is NOT shown in the COA charts but is included in financial-aid eligibility.

  5. Best of Class requires a 3.9 GPA and is tied to being ranked #1 or #2 in a Minnesota class (with an appeal path for non-ranking schools); homeschooled students do not qualify.

  6. Duluth has its own scholarships, costs, and One Stop system of record on the d.umn.edu domain.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

A solid-GPA applicant (3.9+ unlocks the top Best of Class honor) who applies by the Jan 15 regular-decision deadline, will live on campus, and understands UMD awards exactly one admissions scholarship and caps total aid at cost of attendance.

Published yearly cost: Approximately $31,100 for 2026-2027. Source

Cost and graduation facts

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

Average annual net price by family income at UMN Duluth, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$7,256
$30,001–$48,000$8,145
$48,001–$75,000$11,965
$75,001–$110,000$17,056
$110,001+$24,453
All income levels (average)$18,743

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$14,610
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$20,130
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$18,743

That works out to roughly a 32% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $27,680 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

UMN Duluth 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
65%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
81%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$22,024 (~$233/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$62,616
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
22%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
57%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

A student may hold only ONE admissions scholarship from the Office of Admissions. Outside (non-UMD) scholarships may be combined with the admissions scholarship, but total aid (all scholarships and grants) cannot exceed UMD's cost of attendance; an outside award may reduce loans, work-study, or institutional aid.

Per the FAQ: students may only qualify for one admissions scholarship; scholarships from outside the university may be combined. Total annual aid cannot exceed COA; financial aid (loans, work-study, scholarships, grants) may be reduced if total aid exceeds the program cost. An outside scholarship triggers a review and possible reduction of other aid.

Source

More school data

From the UMN Duluth Common Data Set 2023-2024:

Merit penetrationHow likely is merit aid here?From UMN Duluth’s Common Data Set: the share of first-year students who receive institutional merit and the average dollar amount when they do.
44%of admitsget merit
Average award$2,487Covers ~8% of $31,100 cost of attendance

At UMN Duluth, roughly 1 in 2 first-year admits receive institutional merit aid. The average award is $2,487 — about 8% of total cost.

As filed in UMN Duluth's CDS Section H2A: of 1,808 first-time, full-time degree-seeking freshmen, 792 had no financial need and received institutional merit (non-need) scholarship or grant aid, averaging $2,487. Across all full-time degree-seeking undergraduates: 2,289 of 7,091, averaging $2,540. Athletic awards are excluded per the CDS definition.

Receive institutional merit44%First-year students, Common Data Set 2023-2024
Average merit award$2,487Across recipients, Common Data Set 2023-2024

Source: Common Data Set 2023-2024 (verified 2026-07-23)

Other UMN Duluth scholarships worth checking

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

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityNon-resident students with UMD alumni parents or grandparents; apply by Jan 15 of senior year; contingent on acceptance and enrollment

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityListed among renewable admissions scholarships (micro-scholarship platform)

Listed on the renewal-requirements page among admissions scholarships; dollar value not published on these pages.

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityListed among renewable admissions scholarships

Source

UMN Duluth merit aid FAQ

  • What is the scholarship deadline?

    December 1 is the Early Action priority deadline; January 15 is the Regular Decision deadline for all merit scholarship consideration (and the deadline to qualify for Best of Class). August 1 offers limited consideration depending on availability. For spring entry, the Regular Decision merit deadline is October 15.

  • Do I need to apply separately for the scholarship?

    No — UMD automatically considers you for the merit scholarship when you apply for admission, primarily based on your GPA (a strong ACT may help if submitted).

  • What is the 2026-27 cost of attendance?

    Resident living on campus is about $31,100 (tuition $13,815; fees $1,725; housing $6,160; food $6,200; books $760; personal $2,000; transportation $340; loan fees $100). Midwest nonresident on campus is $31,760 and full nonresident on campus is $38,650. Swenson science/engineering students add $520/year.

See sources and other schools

How UMN Duluth compares

  • 235 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use cost-of-attendance cap displacement.

    UMN Duluth is in a recognizable cluster (235 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.

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

Compare with similar schools

Keep exploring UMN Duluth merit aid

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