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University of Puget Sound · Washington

Puget Sound Merit Aid

Verified Jul 202615 days ago· HX-AUTO
Merit tiers81 automatic on stats
Last verifiedJul 2026Analyst HX-AUTO

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The merit-aid verdict at Puget Sound

Puget Sound centers merit on a stacked Academic Scholarship suite plus named awards (Matelich, Lillis), talent scholarships in art and forensics, and National Merit and Posse recognition.

Rules that bite at Puget Sound

The trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook. Each is derived from Puget Sound's own published policy, not generic advice.

  • capHard $90,766 cost-of-attendance ceiling

    Institutional aid at Puget Sound cannot push the package past $90,766. Big outside wins can mathematically reduce institutional grant once the ceiling is reached.

Who this school is for

Strong applicants to this private Pacific-Northwest liberal-arts college, talent candidates in art or forensics, and students who can combine academic and named awards.

Tuition / cost of attendance: Approximately $90,766 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.

$5,000

Art Scholarship

Application
View requirements
Notes

Official Puget Sound snapshot states Art Scholarships are $5,000 per year, for students planning visual arts or art history, with Jan. 15 application deadline.

Source

Full cost of attendance

Lillis Foundation Scholarship

Application
View requirements
Notes

Official Lillis Scholarship snapshot supports coverage of tuition, standard double room, and standard medium meal plan for up to four years; says two scholarships are awarded and completed admission plus scholarship applications are due December 1.

Source

$1,000+

Forensics Scholarship

Application
View requirements
Notes

Official Puget Sound snapshot states Forensics Scholarships are $1,000-$3,000 per year, recipients compete in intercollegiate speech and debate, and deadline is Jan. 15.

Source

$1,000+

National Merit Scholarship

Application
View requirements
Notes

Official Puget Sound snapshot states incoming first-year National Merit Finalists listing Puget Sound first-choice with NMSC by May 31 are eligible for $1,000-$2,000 depending on financial need, in addition to other academic scholarships.

Source

Full tuition

Posse Foundation Scholarship

Application
View requirements
Notes

Official Puget Sound snapshot states partnership with Posse Foundation, 10 San Francisco Bay Area public high school students selected each year for full-tuition scholarships regardless of financial need, with process coordinated by Posse.

Source

Up to $45,000

Academic Scholarship Suite

Automatic
View requirements
Notes

Official Puget Sound scholarship snapshot supports automatic consideration for incoming undergraduates, academic application basis, no separate application, up to $45,000/year, and constant annual amounts if eligibility is met; scholarship list includes the named academic tiers.

Source

$2,000

All Washington Academic Team Scholarship

Application
View requirements
Notes

Official Puget Sound snapshot states AWAT recognizes Washington community college academic achievers and Puget Sound offers up to three $2,000 scholarships, in addition to other academic scholarships.

Source

Full cost of attendance

Matelich Scholarship

Application
View requirements
Notes

Official Matelich Scholarship snapshot supports 100% of tuition and fees (standard double room, standard medium meal plan, and student government fee) for up to four years; says two awards and completed admission plus scholarship application due Dec. 1.

Source

Outside scholarship stacking policy

Outside scholarships only trigger an aid adjustment if total aid would exceed the cost of attendance (or the student's aid eligibility cap); below that ceiling, awards are not displaced.

Verified policy language (2026-07-02): Outside scholarships will be applied to any remaining unmet financial need. If your need has already been met with other federal, state, or Puget Sound need-based aid, additional scholarships will result in your need-based aid being reduced. Reductions occur in the following order: work study, loan assistance, and finally Puget Sound grant assistance. Puget Sound grant programs are need-based awards and will be reduced in a financial aid package if the total amount of all scholarships combined with the grant assistance exceeds financial need.

Source

Puget Sound merit aid FAQ

  • What is the deadline for Deadline Academic Scholarship Automatic?

    No separate application is required for academic merit scholarships. All incoming undergraduates are considered automatically at the point of admission.

  • What is the deadline for Deadline Talent Scholarships Jan15?

    Applications for Art, Forensics, and Theatre talent scholarships are due January 15.

How Puget Sound compares across our verified dataset

  • 242 of 750 verified schools in our dataset use cost-of-attendance cap displacement.

    Puget Sound is in a recognizable cluster (242 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

  • 133 of 750 verified schools publish a dedicated National Merit Finalist package.

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

Compare with similar schools

  • Whitman College merit aid — Washington private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • Whitworth merit aid — Washington private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • PLU merit aid — Washington private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • Seattle Pacific merit aid — Washington private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.

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