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Wabash scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$73,170per year · 2026-2027 · cost of attendance
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

Wabash is worth checking if your student has strong grades or scores. We found 8 published awards, and one is based on those numbers.

Where does your student land?

Verified Jul 2026
4 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. Wabash Merit-Based Scholarships (President's / Dean's / Alumni automatic GPA grid)$21,000-$34,000AutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Wabash Merit-Based Scholarships (President's / Dean's / Alumni automatic GPA grid)

    $21,000-$34,000

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

    GPA
    3.00+ unweighted (tier depends on band)
    SAT
    Test-optional; superscored if submitted
    ACT
    Test-optional; superscored if submitted
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Wabash Merit-Based Scholarships (President's / Dean's / Alumni automatic GPA grid)

    Who qualifies

    Awarded upon admission; amount within each band set by holistic review of grade trend, curriculum strength, scores if submitted, class rank if available. Grades/scores reviewed through May 1, 2026

    How to keep it

    Renewable annually provided the student attains the cumulative GPA and number of course credits required at the end of each academic year to make normal progress toward graduating in four years. Available for 4 years. Amounts do NOT increase each year.

    Worth knowing

    Automatic from the admission application — no separate form. Tier band is set by unweighted HS GPA.

  2. Wabash College Lilly AwardsFull tuition, fees, on-campus housing and food (full ride)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Wabash College Lilly Awards

    Full tuition, fees, on-campus housing and food (full ride)

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

    GPA
    3.5 (4.0 scale) OR top 10% of class OR SAT 1240 (EBRW+M) OR ACT 26 — meet 1 of 3 stated criteria to apply
    SAT
    1240 EBRW+M (one qualifying path)
    ACT
    26 (one qualifying path)
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Wabash College Lilly Awards

    Who qualifies

    Submit the Lilly Award application by January 4, 2026; finalists interviewed February 22-23, 2026. Selected on character, creativity, and academic accomplishment

    How to keep it

    Renewable annually; covers tuition, fees, on-campus housing and the standard meal plan each year. More than $240,000 over four years.

    Worth knowing

    The College's most prestigious scholarship and the ONLY one needing a separate application. Effectively a full ride (not just full tuition).

  3. Honor Scholarships (Scarlet Honors Weekend)$2,000-Full tuitionNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Honor Scholarships (Scarlet Honors Weekend)

    $2,000-Full tuition

    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 Honor Scholarships (Scarlet Honors Weekend)

    Who qualifies

    Apply for admission by December 1, 2025; attend Scarlet Honors Weekend (December 5-6, 2025 OR February 15-16, 2026). Awarded without regard to financial need

    How to keep it

    $2,000 base is guaranteed and renewable for 4 years; larger awards up to full tuition possible.

    Worth knowing

    Competitive track separate from the automatic GPA grid; includes named endowed Honor Scholarships (Hadley, McLain-McTurnan-Arnold, etc.).

  4. Early Decision Scholarship$3,000Not automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Early Decision Scholarship

    $3,000

    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.

    Open award details for Early Decision Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Apply Early Decision by November 15, 2025. $3,000 in addition to your merit scholarship

    Worth knowing

    Stacks on top of the merit grid. ED applicants are NOT eligible for the FAFSA ($2,000) or Campus Visit ($1,000) add-on scholarships.

  5. Snodell ScholarshipsUp to $10,000 (added to grid amount)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Snodell Scholarships

    Up to $10,000 (added to grid amount)

    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 Snodell Scholarships

    Who qualifies

    Residence in Chicago, northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin, and eastern Iowa; complete admission application; file FAFSA by March 1, 2026. Academically qualified Federal Pell Grant recipients receive grants to cover the balance of tuition and fees not covered by government grants

    How to keep it

    Annually renewable for 4 years.

    Worth knowing

    Geography-gated, layered on top of the automatic merit grid; need/Pell element for the full tuition-and-fees coverage.

  6. FAFSA Scholarship$2,000Not automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    FAFSA Scholarship

    $2,000

    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.

    Open award details for FAFSA Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Be admitted; complete application for admission and file a FAFSA by April 15, 2026. No additional selection criteria. NOT available to Early Decision applicants

    Worth knowing

    Stacks on merit; ED applicants ineligible.

  7. Campus Visit Scholarship$1,000Not automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Campus Visit Scholarship

    $1,000

    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.

    Open award details for Campus Visit Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Be admitted; attend any campus visit except Scarlet Honors Weekend. NOT available to Early Decision applicants

    Worth knowing

    Stacks on merit; ED applicants ineligible.

  8. Army ROTC / Wabash ROTC ScholarshipFull tuition + on-campus room & board (full ride; >$240,000 over 4 years)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Army ROTC / Wabash ROTC Scholarship

    Full tuition + on-campus room & board (full ride; >$240,000 over 4 years)

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

    GPA
    2.50 cumulative (HS or college)
    SAT
    1000 minimum
    ACT
    19 minimum
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Army ROTC / Wabash ROTC Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    U.S. citizen, ages 17-26, medically qualified, agree to commission. Up to three Army-selected freshmen per year; up to five additional get the Wabash ROTC Scholarship

    How to keep it

    Four-year participants; Wabash ROTC recipients get room & board year one and full-ride for remaining three years.

    Worth knowing

    Selected by the Army; apply via goarmy.com ROTC application and select Wabash.

Lights up against Wabash'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

Aid capHard $73,170 cost-of-attendance ceiling

Institutional aid at Wabash cannot push the package past $73,170. Big outside wins can mathematically reduce institutional grant once the ceiling is reached.

What makes Wabash different

Wabash (all-male, IN) publishes an automatic unweighted-GPA merit grid ($21,000-$34,000) awarded at admission, layered with a separate competitive Honors/Lilly track that can reach full tuition or a full ride. (DRAFT)

Merit tiers81 based on grades or scores
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 Wabash'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. Wabash states scholarship amounts 'do not increase each year' and are flat for 4 years, while cost of attendance rises annually (e.g., $71,220 in 2025-26 to $73,170 in 2026-27) — so your out-of-pocket share grows each year even with the same award.

  2. The automatic GPA grid ($21,000-$34,000) is awarded at admission with no application, but the larger Honor Scholarships (up to full tuition) require attending Scarlet Honors Weekend, and the Lilly Award (full ride) requires a separate application by January 4, 2026 — miss those steps and you only get the grid amount.

  3. Per the academic catalog, merit scholarships renew only if you attain the required cumulative GPA and number of course credits each year to stay on track to graduate in four years; falling below that can cost the scholarship. The exact GPA/credit thresholds are not published on the public scholarships page.

  4. Early Decision applicants are explicitly NOT eligible for the $2,000 FAFSA scholarship or the $1,000 Campus Visit scholarship, so the ED $3,000 add-on does not stack with those two.

  5. Recipients of Tuition Exchange or the GLCA Tuition Remission Exchange are not eligible for Wabash merit-based assistance.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Academically strong men: a 3.85+ unweighted GPA locks in the top $34,000 automatic award, while top-10%/3.5-GPA candidates willing to attend Scarlet Honors Weekend or apply for the Lilly Award compete for full-tuition-to-full-ride packages. (DRAFT)

Published yearly cost: Approximately $73,170 for 2026-2027. Source

Cost and graduation facts

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

Average annual net price by family income at Wabash, academic year 2021-22
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$16,586
$30,001–$48,000$13,526
$48,001–$75,000$18,175
$75,001–$110,000$18,681
$110,001+$30,511
All income levels (average)$24,336

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$50,800
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$24,336

That works out to roughly a 63% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $65,144 (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
77%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
93%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$27,000 (~$286/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$69,952
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
21%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
66%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Wabash reduces need-based aid only when total awards exceed direct costs of tuition, on-campus housing, the 15-meal plan, and books — fees are not part of that cap; merit-only awards are separately protected below a direct-cost cap of tuition, fees, on-campus housing, and the 15-meal plan, which does not include books.

Verified policy language (2026-07-02): "If a student with need-based financial aid and/or merit award/s receives outside scholarships, the outside funding may reduce or eliminate other aid. Outside scholarships and awards do not affect the value of other aid unless the total of all awards exceeds total direct costs (tuition, on-campus housing and 15-meal plan), and books. ... Outside scholarships typically do not affect the value of merit-only awards unless the total of all awards exceeds direct educational costs (tuition, fees, on-campus housing and 15-meal plan)." Separately, the school's own award-stacking rules: Add-ons (ED, FAFSA, Visit, Snodell) otherwise stack on top of the GPA grid. (per https://www.wabash.edu/admissions/finances/sources)

Source

Other Wabash scholarships worth checking

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

AmountPart of the Honor Scholarship poolEligibilityAwarded via the Honors Admissions event (no separate application)

Listed in the academic catalog as components of the Honor Scholarships.

Source

Wabash merit aid FAQ

  • What is the largest automatic merit scholarship?

    The top automatic award is the $34,000 President's Scholarship for an unweighted high school GPA of 3.85+. The grid runs $21,000 (3.00-3.24) up to $34,000 (3.85+).

  • When is the Lilly Award application due?

    Submit the Lilly Award application by January 4, 2026; finalists are interviewed February 22-23, 2026. It covers tuition, fees, on-campus housing and food each year.

  • What are the Honors Scholarship deadlines?

    Apply for admission by December 1, 2025 and attend Scarlet Honors Weekend (December 5-6, 2025 or February 15-16, 2026). A $2,000 award is guaranteed with the possibility of up to full tuition.

  • Is Wabash test-optional for scholarships?

    Yes. Wabash practices test-optional admission; scores are not required and are superscored if submitted. The merit grid is based on unweighted high school GPA.

See sources and other schools

How Wabash compares

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

    Wabash 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.

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

Compare with similar schools

Keep exploring Wabash merit aid

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