Every first-time first-year is automatically offered a St. Thomas Scholarship of up to $34,000/year, and — unusually favorably — outside aid does not reduce it for most students, with the award protected for eight semesters up to the cost of attendance.
Verified Jul 20262 months ago
The short answer
Is St. Thomas (MN) worth a closer look?
St. Thomas (MN) is worth checking if your student has strong grades or scores. We found 2 published awards, and one is based on those numbers.
Merit tiers21 based on grades or scores
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team
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See what St. Thomas (MN)'s published rules mean for your student. Takes 30 seconds.
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.
Up to $34,000
St. Thomas Scholarship
Based on grades or scoresCan continue
See who qualifies+
Who qualifies
All first-time, first-year students are automatically offered a St. Thomas Scholarship (100%); no separate application. Award amount varies up to the $34,000 ceiling.
How to keep it
Not reduced during the undergraduate program for up to eight semesters as long as the student is consecutively enrolled full-time, degree-seeking, making Satisfactory Academic Progress, and total St. Thomas + outside aid does not exceed the cost of attendance.
Notes
Merit-based ceiling of $34,000/year; can be used toward any cost of attendance. Per-tier GPA-keyed amounts are on the JS-rendered /scholarships/ page that did not render via fetch (see Section C) — not fabricated here.
Ten first-year students with high financial need who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership, and community commitment. Competitive (separate application + interview). NOT open to international students.
How to keep it
Scholars must participate in program activities for all 4 years and the Emerging Scholars LLC in the first year.
Notes
Covers FULL TUITION only — not room and board (federal/state grants may help with room/board). Deadline Feb 9, 2026; FAFSA/MN Dream Act recommended by Feb 1, 2026.
These are the rules we would flag for your family. Each comes from St. Thomas (MN)'s published information.
Renewal ruleSt. Thomas Scholarship: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Not reduced during the undergraduate program for up to eight semesters as long as the student is consecutively enrolled full-time, degree-seeking, making Satisfactory Academic Progress, and total St. Thomas + outside aid does not exceed the cost of attendance. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.
Aid capHard $77,772 cost-of-attendance ceiling
Institutional aid at St. Thomas (MN) cannot push the package past $77,772. Big outside wins can mathematically reduce institutional grant once the ceiling is reached.
Straight from the aid office
What St. Thomas (MN)'s aid office says
Per the Office of Admissions, University of St. Thomas, August 2026. How we verify
Merit scholarship range and duration
How much is the merit scholarship and how long does it last?
All admitted students receive a merit scholarship; last year it ranged from $27K-$35K/year, and it would be renewable for all 4 years.
“Part 1 is the merit scholarship all our admitted students receive.”
GPA used for merit scholarships
Is the GPA used for scholarships weighted or unweighted?
The highest GPA listed on the transcript is used, whether weighted or unweighted.
“The GPA used for admission and merit scholarships is the highest one listed on the transcript, weighted or unweighted. We’ll use the highest!”
Departmental scholarships impact
Can departmental scholarships stack with the merit award?
Departmental scholarships vary in amount, so their impact on a financial aid offer is undetermined.
“These scholarships vary in their amounts, so the impact they would have on a financial aid offer is TBD.”
What families often miss
100% of first-year students are OFFERED a St. Thomas scholarship, but $34,000 is the ceiling ('up to $34,000'); the actual amount varies by student.
Outside aid does not reduce the St. Thomas scholarship for MOST students — note the 'most.' If total St. Thomas plus outside aid exceeds your cost of attendance, awards can be reduced.
The scholarship is protected for up to eight semesters only while you are consecutively enrolled full-time, degree-seeking, and making Satisfactory Academic Progress.
The Dease Scholarship covers full tuition only, not room and board; federal or state grants (not the Dease award) would cover housing/food.
The Dease Scholarship is explicitly not open to international students.
University of St. Thomas (stthomas.edu) is in St. Paul, Minnesota — not the University of St. Thomas in Houston (stthom.edu) or St. Thomas University in Florida (stu.edu).
See costs and school data+
Who this school may work for
Any admitted first-year (100% are offered a St. Thomas Scholarship up to $34,000); high-need, high-achieving students — especially domestic students — can compete for full-tuition named awards like the Dease Scholarship.
Published yearly cost: Approximately $77,772 for 2026-2027. Source
Cost and graduation facts
Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at St. Thomas (MN), what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.
Average annual net price by family income at St. Thomas (MN), academic year 2021-22
Family income
Average net price paid
$0–$30,000
$28,131
$30,001–$48,000
$26,820
$48,001–$75,000
$24,357
$75,001–$110,000
$25,363
$110,001+
$33,232
All income levels (average)
$29,155
Sticker price vs. what students actually pay
Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$54,398
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$29,155
That works out to roughly a 56% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $66,116 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).
Outcomes for students who enrolled here
Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
76%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
88%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$23,250 (~$246/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$73,739
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
29%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
46%
See other scholarships and cost examples+
If your student brings another scholarship
Favorable but qualified: outside aid does NOT reduce the St. Thomas scholarship for most students, and the merit award is protected for up to eight semesters — unless total St. Thomas plus outside aid exceeds the cost of attendance (a COA cap).
'Outside aid does not reduce the St. Thomas scholarship for most students.' The merit award is not reduced during the program (up to 8 semesters) as long as the student stays consecutively full-time, degree-seeking, makes SAP, and St. Thomas + outside aid does not exceed cost of attendance. St. Thomas must consider all outside scholarships/grants when calculating the aid package.
Do I have to apply for the St. Thomas Scholarship?
No. 100% of first-time, first-year students are automatically offered a St. Thomas merit scholarship of up to $34,000 per year; no separate application is required.
Will an outside scholarship reduce my St. Thomas scholarship?
For most students, no — outside aid does not reduce the St. Thomas scholarship, unless your total St. Thomas plus outside aid exceeds your cost of attendance.
How long does the merit scholarship last?
Up to eight semesters, not reduced as long as you remain consecutively enrolled full-time, degree-seeking, and making Satisfactory Academic Progress.
What is the Dease Scholarship deadline?
February 9, 2026 (with the FAFSA or MN Dream Act recommended by February 1, 2026). It is a competitive full-tuition award for ten domestic first-year students with high need.
What does St. Thomas cost for 2026-2027?
The total estimated cost of attendance is $77,772 (tuition $56,856 + required fees $1,742 + housing, food, and indirect costs).
See sources and other schools+
How St. Thomas (MN) compares
235 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use cost-of-attendance cap displacement.
St. Thomas (MN) 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.
St. Thomas (MN) 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 St. Thomas (MN)’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
