Notre Dame Merit Award

I would not qualify for need-based financial aid. Does anyone have experience with how ND decides on and allocates merit awards?

@4Family4 Just around 3 percent of admitted Notre Dame students receive some type of merit aid. The Notre Dame Scholars’ Program selects prospective first-year Notre Dame students to receive merit-based scholarship awards based on their highly competitive academic records, demonstrated leadership, and service to their communities: https://scholars.nd.edu/

Merit aid at ND is VERY tough to get. Maybe 100 kids out of a frosh class of 2,070.

And the dollars are not that huge – the typical merit award is $25k per year – less than half the $56k tuition.

My 35 ACT, 4.0 UW kid did not even get nominated to compete for a merit award, and only a fraction of those nominated end up getting an award.

But your chance will be as good/bad as anyone else’s.

Agree with both posts above. D had a 36 ACT and solid GPA. Do not count on merit aid from Notre Dame

@4Family4 - ND need-based aid can be awarded where most others would not. The Financial Aid office says that aid may be provided with a family income of up to $250k. If that does not apply to your situation, then plan on full payment. As others have stated, merit aid is really tough to get.

Also agree about the limited chances of getting merit aid at ND. S had a 36 ACT and strong GPA and was even invited to apply for the scholarship (which is the first hurdle). He put a lot of work into the video and essays, but did not even make it to the next stage. The kids getting the merit scholarships are highly exceptional and likely also accepted to ivy league schools.

Hi! I’m a current merit scholar at Notre Dame, everything you’ve heard about its rigor is true. There are less than 80 of us per class total, and the selection process is intense, but it is important to note you must be invited to apply to the program. This doesn’t make it impossible, however! Let me know if you have any questions.

@bachbend what were your statistics?

@jjwonn i can PM them to you, but it’s important to note they vary by scholarship, by year and by degree of need. If you’re interested, I’d also check out https://scholars.nd.edu/ which is a great resource.

I was notified yesterday morning that I was nominated for a merit scholarship. Did anyone else get this email?

@bachbend hi! i was recently selected as an ND merit scholarship finalist. do you mind if we have a conversation about the interview process + your experiences in the scholars program? i can’t for the life of me figure out how to pm lol

The Notre Dame Prospective Scholars’ Program is wrapping up the virtual week today. How quickly does Notre Dame notify finalists whether they will receive a merit scholarship or not?