Washington College (Chestertown MD — not WashU/UW/W&L) guarantees every admit a $33,000-$38,000/yr holistic merit scholarship (no test grid), with separate-application Honors Fellowships that stack and an invitation-only full-tuition George Washington Signature Scholarship (5/class).
Verified Jul 20262 months ago
The short answer
Is Washington College worth a closer look?
Washington College may be worth checking, but its awards do not follow a simple grades-and-scores chart. Start with the published scholarships below.
Merit tiers6See who qualifies
First-year students with school awards25%First-year students, CDS 2025-2026 (school-estimated)
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team
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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.
All first-year and transfer applicants automatically considered upon applying; if admitted, guaranteed at least $33,000 and up to $38,000/yr. Holistic — no published GPA/test grid. Regardless of financial need.
How to keep it
Renewable annually; requires a 2.5 cumulative GPA (international students 2.0) and full-time, continuous enrollment. Maximum of eight semesters; renewal reviewed at the end of every spring term (notified in June).
Notes
100% of incoming students receive institutional aid. Amount is based on the applicant's strengths (holistic), not a stats chart — did NOT invent a grid.
Maryland DSCI service members (Maryland Corps / Service Year Option or a Maryland-located AmeriCorps program); recommendation required; FAFSA. Final award contingent on a completed admission application by Feb 15, 2026.
How to keep it
Renewable for four years; total value $132,000.
Notes
$33,000/yr ($132,000 total) plus a paid internship and Civic Innovation programming.
Tuition…Tuition + housing (double room) + meal plan (student pays $2,500/yr)
Washington Scholars Program
Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies+
Who qualifies
Maryland residents with substantial financial need; must be nominated (counselor/teacher/community leader/WC admissions); complete FAFSA and MHEC One-App; be Pell- and Guaranteed Access Grant-eligible.
How to keep it
Renewable annually; student responsible for $2,500/year plus books and indirect costs.
Notes
Need-based access program (Pell/GAG-eligible MD residents); covers most direct costs but not the $2,500 student contribution or indirect costs.
These are the rules we would flag for your family. Each comes from Washington College's published information.
Renewal ruleMerit-based Academic Tuition Scholarship (guaranteed): renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Renewable annually; requires a 2.5 cumulative GPA (international students 2.0) and full-time, continuous enrollment. Maximum of eight semesters; renewal reviewed at the end of every spring term (notified in June). A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.
Straight from the aid office
What Washington College's aid office says
Per the Admissions / Enrollment Management & Marketing Office, Washington College, August 2026. How we verify
Breakdown of merit awards by GPA
Is there a published breakdown showing which GPA maps to which merit award amount?
The office does not have a breakdown of merit awards and the corresponding GPA.
“I unfortunately do not have a breakdown of merit awards and the subsequent GPA”
GPA threshold for higher merit
What GPA might qualify a student for higher merit amounts?
A student with a 3.8 GPA or higher could be considered for higher merit amounts, though review is holistic.
“A student with a 3.8 or higher could be considered for higher merit amounts but we do review holistically.”
Early read option
Can the office give an early estimate of the merit award before applying?
The office can offer an early read, giving a preliminary estimate of the award based on a transcript and SAT/ACT scores if available.
“We can offer your student an early read! We would just need a transcript and SAT or ACT test scores if they have them. Once we have that we can do a preliminary read and based on the information we have we can give an estimate on what the award might look like.”
Average admitted student stats
What are the average GPA and test scores of admitted students?
The school's averages are a 3.7 GPA, 1250 SAT, and 27 ACT.
“GPA: 3.7 SAT: 1250 ACT: 27”
Net Price Calculator
Is there a tool to estimate merit aid?
The school provides a Net Price Calculator to give an idea of what the merit award might look like.
“I can provide our averages as well as our Net Price Calculator which will give you a good idea of what the merit award might look like.”
What families often miss
The full-tuition George Washington Signature Scholarship REPLACES other merit offers (it is not additive), and only five are awarded per incoming class via an invitation/interview through the Presidential Fellows program.
A private scholarship can affect need-based aid if total aid exceeds calculated need or the sum of scholarships exceeds the cost of attendance; Washington College reduces loan and work-study first, but an over-award can still reduce grant.
Top-merit add-ons (Francis Waters / Presidential Fellows, which lead to the full-tuition Signature) require applying by December 1, while the separate Honors Fellowships and the Civic Innovation Scholarship are due February 15, 2026.
The merit scholarship requires a 2.5 cumulative GPA (international 2.0) and full-time continuous enrollment, is capped at eight semesters, and reviewed each spring; leaving WC to attend another school forfeits the merit and need-based aid.
It is limited to up to five recipients AND restricted to children of current GE employees at the time of application.
Washington College (washcoll.edu, Chestertown MD) is not WashU, Washington State, the University of Washington, Washington & Lee, or Washington & Jefferson.
See costs and school data+
Who this school may work for
Any admitted student (100% receive institutional aid) who wants a guaranteed five-figure merit floor; high achievers should apply by Dec 1 for Presidential Fellows and the full-tuition George Washington Signature, and submit Honors Fellowship applications by Feb 15.
Published yearly cost: Approximately $81,442 for 2026-2027. Source
Cost and graduation facts
Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Washington College, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.
Average annual net price by family income at Washington College, academic year 2021-22
Family income
Average net price paid
$0–$30,000
$17,804
$30,001–$48,000
$22,722
$48,001–$75,000
$25,068
$75,001–$110,000
$26,760
$110,001+
$33,980
All income levels (average)
$27,898
Sticker price vs. what students actually pay
Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$55,326
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$27,898
That works out to roughly a 62% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $73,314 (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
65%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
84%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$26,956 (~$286/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$65,518
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
27%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
39%
See other scholarships and cost examples+
If your student brings another scholarship
Honors Fellowships ($1,500-$5,000/yr) are stackable with other merit aid. The full-tuition George Washington Signature Scholarship, however, REPLACES other merit offers. For private/outside scholarships, the office reduces loan and work-study first, but an over-award can still affect grant aid.
Outside private scholarships may affect need-based aid if total aid exceeds calculated need or the sum of scholarships exceeds the cost of attendance; whenever possible the Office of Student Financial Aid reduces loan and work-study awards first. Honors Fellowships explicitly stack with other merit aid; the George Washington Signature does not (it replaces other merit).
From the Washington College Common Data Set 2025-2026 (school-estimated figures):
Merit penetrationHow likely is merit aid here?From Washington College’s Common Data Set: the share of first-year students who receive institutional merit and the average dollar amount when they do.
25%of admitsget merit
Average award$35,954Covers ~44% of $81,442 cost of attendance
At Washington College, roughly 1 in 4 first-year admits receive institutional merit aid. The average award is $35,954 — about 44% of total cost.
As filed in Washington College's CDS Section H2A: of 271 first-time, full-time degree-seeking freshmen, 69 had no financial need and received institutional merit (non-need) scholarship or grant aid, averaging $35,954. Across all full-time degree-seeking undergraduates: 304 of 898, averaging $36,476. Athletic awards are excluded per the CDS definition.
The 2025-2026 column is marked "estimated" in the school's own CDS filing — school-projected figures, not final audited counts.
Receive institutional merit25%First-year students, Common Data Set 2025-2026 (school-estimated)
Average merit award$35,954Across recipients, Common Data Set 2025-2026 (school-estimated)
Amount$2,500/year (+ $5,000 experiential stipend for one)EligibilityInterest in religion's influence on history/politics; via Institute of Religion, Politics and Culture
Amount$1,500/year (+ $2,000 one-time Chesapeake Semester grant for some)EligibilityEastern Shore MD residents/heritage in environmental science/studies
Apply by December 1 for top-merit consideration (Francis Waters / Presidential Fellows, which gates the full-tuition George Washington Signature). Honors Fellowships and the Civic Innovation Scholarship are due February 15, 2026.
Does every admitted student get a scholarship?
Yes — 100% of incoming students receive institutional aid, with a guaranteed merit-based academic tuition scholarship of $33,000-$38,000/year, renewable annually.
What is the 2026-27 cost of attendance?
On-campus new students: $81,442 total COA (tuition & fees $58,704; housing $9,350; food $9,232; total direct $77,286; plus transportation, personal, and books). Off-campus is $83,976 and living with a parent is $74,260.
See sources and other schools+
How Washington College compares
145 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.
Washington College is in a recognizable cluster (145 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.
Washington College 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 Washington College’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
