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Wilkes University · Pennsylvania

Wilkes Merit Aid

Verified Jul 20264 days ago· HX-AUTO
Merit tiers7See requirements
Get merit aid11%First-year students, CDS 2025-2026 (school-estimated)
Last verifiedJul 2026Analyst HX-AUTO

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The merit-aid verdict at Wilkes

Wilkes rewards regional ties, family connections, and transfer students who excel academically.

Who this school is for

Students with ties to the Berks County or Lehigh Valley areas will find strong support here. Transfer students and those with family legacies at Wilkes also benefit from dedicated awards.

Tuition / cost of attendance: Approximately $42,764 for 2026-2027. Source

Federal cost and outcome data

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

Average annual net price by family income at Wilkes, academic year 2021-22
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$25,062
$30,001–$48,000$23,440
$48,001–$75,000$26,432
$75,001–$110,000$27,843
$110,001+$31,638
All income levels (average)$27,743

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$43,496
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$27,743

That works out to roughly a 51% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $56,765 (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
63%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
72%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$26,000 (~$276/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$63,454
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
43%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
78%

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.

$4,000–$5,000

Spark Scholars Award

ApplicationRenewable

Source

$1,000

Legacy Scholarship

ApplicationRenewable

Source

$1,000

Sibling Discount

ApplicationRenewable

Source

$500–$2,000

Hometown Advantage Award

ApplicationRenewable

Source

$2,000

Berks County Connection Scholarship

ApplicationRenewable

Source

$2,000

Lehigh Valley Loyal Scholarship

ApplicationRenewable

Source

$2,000

Out Of State Award

ApplicationRenewable

Source

Common Data Set snapshot

From the Wilkes Common Data Set 2025-2026 (school-estimated figures):

Merit penetrationHow likely is merit aid here?From Wilkes’s Common Data Set: the share of first-year students who receive institutional merit and the average dollar amount when they do.
11%of admitsget merit
Average award$28,097Covers ~66% of $42,764 cost of attendance

At Wilkes, roughly 1 in 9 first-year admits receive institutional merit aid. The average award is $28,097about 66% of total cost.

As filed in Wilkes's CDS Section H2A: of 560 first-time, full-time degree-seeking freshmen, 61 had no financial need and received institutional merit (non-need) scholarship or grant aid, averaging $28,097. Across all full-time degree-seeking undergraduates: 173 of 1,885, averaging $26,326. 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 merit11%First-year students, CDS 2025-2026 (school-estimated)
Average merit award$28,097Across recipients, CDS 2025-2026 (school-estimated)

Source: Common Data Set 2025-2026 (verified 2026-07-23)

Lesser-known scholarships at Wilkes

Named awards that don’t always surface on the main financial aid page. Each one has its own eligibility rules.

Amount$2,000EligibilityThe Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship is awarded to transfer students who are members of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society, in addition to the transfer scholarship listed above; proof of PTK membership must be submitted with the admission application, and the award is $2,000.

Source

Wilkes merit aid FAQ

  • What is the deadline for Air Force Rotc Scholarships?

    Applications for Air Force ROTC Scholarships must be completed by Dec. 1.

  • What is the deadline for Alumni Association Scholarship?

    Students may apply for the Alumni Association Scholarship by early April of their first year, sophomore year or junior year.

How Wilkes compares across our verified dataset

  • 668 of 750 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

    Wilkes is one of them. The cohort minority (82 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 Wilkes’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

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