What are the income thresholds for full need-based aid at Notre Dame?

Per Notre Dame's Pathways model, families with adjusted gross income up to $60,000 typically have full cost of attendance (tuition, fees, housing, food) covered. Families up to $150,000 typically have at least full tuition covered. Families up to $200,000 typically have at least half tuition covered. Specific awards depend on full FAFSA + CSS Profile assessment of need.

Will an outside scholarship help me at Notre Dame?

Usually not in the way you'd hope. Because ND already meets 100% of demonstrated need, outside scholarships generally reduce ND grant aid rather than your bottom-line family contribution. Always report outside awards as soon as you're notified so ND can re-package — but plan financially as if outside scholarships will be absorbed into the existing ND offer.

Do I need the CSS Profile for Notre Dame?

Yes. The CSS Profile is required for need-based University scholarship consideration; the FAFSA alone is not sufficient. ND's CSS code is 1841 and federal school code is 001840. Both must be on file by the deadlines on the Office of Financial Aid website to receive an institutional aid offer with admission.

Can I stack Stamps or Hesburgh-Yusko with need-based aid?

Partially. Per federal regulations and ND policy, students who receive both a merit scholarship and a need-based scholarship from the University are subject to a reduction or elimination of the need-based portion. The merit award (Stamps full COA, Hesburgh-Yusko $25K/yr) typically replaces or absorbs the institutional need-based component up to the cost of attendance. The enrichment component (e.g. Stamps $12K fund) is a separate program benefit that does not affect the aid calculation.

Notre Dame· Outside Scholarship Displacement

Will Notre Dame Reduce Your Outside Scholarship?

When you win a private scholarship, who actually keeps the money — your family or the school?

Verified May 20265 days ago· PT

The rule at Notre Dame

Grant-first displacement

Notre Dame displaces institutional grants first. In plain dollar terms, that means a $5,000 outside award shrinks institutional grant by $5,000 first — the family pays the same.

financialaid.nd.edu publishes the $86,045 cost-of-attendance worksheet the math is run against.

Source: https://financialaid.nd.edu/aid-types/undergraduate-students/scholarships-grants/

The math: a $5,000 outside scholarship at Notre Dame

Setup
You've received Notre Dame's institutional merit grant. You win a $5,000 outside scholarship and report it to the aid office.
What Notre Dame does
Notre Dame reduces its institutional grant first to keep total aid at the same level. Outside scholarship arrives, institutional grant shrinks by the same amount, and your family pays no less than before.
Family takeaway
Grant-first displacement makes outside scholarships effectively pay the school instead of the family. Verify in writing before chasing big private awards.

Schools with the same policy

These schools also use grant-first displacement for outside scholarships. The same dollar math above applies at each.

PrincetonNJ

Schools that handle this differently

If Notre Dame’s policy concerns you, these schools treat outside scholarships under a different rule.

When this rule bites hardest

Adding outside scholarships expecting them to reduce your bill
Because ND already meets 100% of demonstrated need, external scholarships typically reduce ND grant aid rather than reduce the family's out-of-pocket cost. There are limited exceptions (e.g. unrestricted enrichment awards or scholarships with specific use designations). Always report outside awards immediately so ND can re-package — but don't assume they will improve your net cost.

Displacement questions families ask

What are the income thresholds for full need-based aid at Notre Dame?: Per Notre Dame's Pathways model, families with adjusted gross income up to $60,000 typically have full cost of attendance (tuition, fees, housing, food) covered. Families up to $150,000 typically have at least full tuition covered. Families up to $200,000 typically have at least half tuition covered. Specific awards depend on full FAFSA + CSS Profile assessment of need.
Will an outside scholarship help me at Notre Dame?: Usually not in the way you'd hope. Because ND already meets 100% of demonstrated need, outside scholarships generally reduce ND grant aid rather than your bottom-line family contribution. Always report outside awards as soon as you're notified so ND can re-package — but plan financially as if outside scholarships will be absorbed into the existing ND offer.
Do I need the CSS Profile for Notre Dame?: Yes. The CSS Profile is required for need-based University scholarship consideration; the FAFSA alone is not sufficient. ND's CSS code is 1841 and federal school code is 001840. Both must be on file by the deadlines on the Office of Financial Aid website to receive an institutional aid offer with admission.
Can I stack Stamps or Hesburgh-Yusko with need-based aid?: Partially. Per federal regulations and ND policy, students who receive both a merit scholarship and a need-based scholarship from the University are subject to a reduction or elimination of the need-based portion. The merit award (Stamps full COA, Hesburgh-Yusko $25K/yr) typically replaces or absorbs the institutional need-based component up to the cost of attendance. The enrichment component (e.g. Stamps $12K fund) is a separate program benefit that does not affect the aid calculation.

Rules that bite at Notre Dame

Trip wires derived from Notre Dame's own published policy — the things a custom playbook would flag in the first pass.

renewalStamps Scholars Program: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Renewable for up to eight semesters of full-time enrollment (ten semesters for Architecture or five-year engineering programs). Standard ND merit renewal terms apply. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.
displacementGrant-first displacement = outside wins can pay the school
Notre Dame reduces institutional grant before any other aid line when an outside award arrives. A $5,000 community-foundation win can leave the family bill unchanged.

Aid-office script (copy & send)

The displacement rule is only binding when it's in writing. This script asks Notre Dame's aid office the specific question that matters for grant-first displacement.

Subject: Outside-scholarship treatment question — fall applicant

Dear Notre Dame Financial Aid Office,

I'm a fall applicant reviewing how outside scholarships interact with my institutional aid package. I've read the public policy at https://financialaid.nd.edu/aid-types/undergraduate-students/scholarships-grants/ and the $86,045 cost-of-attendance worksheet.

If I win a $5,000 outside scholarship after the package is built, can you confirm it reduces institutional grant aid first?

Is there any award type (loans, work-study) the family can ask to have reduced first instead, to preserve institutional grant?

A written answer (email is fine) is important because the outside-scholarship awarding bodies want confirmation before disbursing. Thank you for the time.

— [Student name], [Application ID if available]

How Notre Dame compares across our verified dataset

2 of 78 verified schools in our dataset use grant-first displacement.
Notre Dame is one of just 2 schools with that treatment — useful framing when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
Grant-first displacement is the rarest published policy in our dataset.
It also produces the worst family-dollar outcome on outside scholarships. Notre Dame sits in this small minority — treat outside-award strategy here as conservatively as you would at a school with no published policy at all.
70 of 78 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Notre Dame is one of them. The cohort minority (8 schools) only awards one-year scholarships — meaning 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 Notre Dame’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.