Lewis & Clark is a private liberal arts college of about 2,000 undergraduates on a wooded campus in the southwest hills of Portland, Oregon. It charges one price to everyone, whether you live in Portland or Pittsburgh, and it pairs that big sticker price with two things families should know right away: every admitted student is considered for merit money starting at $20,000 a year, and the school says it met about 92% of first-year students’ financial need last year.
🏆 Full tuition available (Barbara Hirschi Neely Scholarship & Posse Scholarship (Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico))
Average Net Price
$34,286/year
Average paid.
Automatic Merit
Starts at $20,000/yr
No separate application.
Scholarships Tracked
10 opportunities
1 automatic · 2 competitive · 7 hidden gem
Typical Qualifiers
Holistic review, test-free
Entry-level benchmarks for automatic merit.
Testing Policy
Test-free (scores not used)
Automatic merit ignores test scores
No superscore.
Key Deadlines
Priority: Nov 1 • FAFSA: Jan 15
Full-Tuition / Full-Ride
Barbara Hirschi Neely Scholarship & Posse Scholarship (Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico)
Financial Aid Forms
FAFSA Only
🚨 Easy-to-Miss “Gotchas” at Lewis & Clark (Read This First)
Test-free really means test-free, even for scholarships. L&C does not look at SAT or ACT scores for admission or for merit money. Don’t pay to send them. The transcript and the rest of the application do all the work.
The full-tuition Neely Scholarship is local and early. Only students who go to high school in 13 northwest Oregon counties or Clark County, Washington are eligible, and they have to apply Early Action or Early Decision by November 1. Apply in January and your student is not in the running.
There is a $5,655 health insurance charge on the bill. Every student is enrolled in the school plan unless the family waives it with comparable coverage at the start of each fall. It is not part of the tuition number you see in most places.
L&C’s own website shows two different 2026-27 cost numbers. The billing office lists tuition of $70,658, but the financial aid office’s cost-of-attendance table shows tuition and fees of $74,272. Budget with the higher one until your aid offer tells you otherwise.
Tuition Exchange can cost you money. If a parent works at a Tuition Exchange school, taking that award means giving up L&C’s own merit scholarship, and the college may reduce need-based aid it already offered. Compare before you accept.
FAQ
Is this college test-optional? Yes, for admission. Lewis & Clark College is test-optional for admission, but scholarships can work differently (see the next question).
Do you need test scores for scholarships at Lewis & Clark College? Test-free: SAT and ACT scores are not used for admission or for any merit scholarship, so there is nothing to send.
What is the middle 50% ACT/SAT? ACT: Not used; SAT: Not used.
Average net price? About $34,286/year after aid.
Does this school use waivers/reciprocity?
No. It is a private school, so everyone pays the same rate.
💰 Cost of Attendance at Lewis & Clark College: 2026–2027 Rates
Figures verified against official sources in November 2026.
📅 Planning for 2027–2028? These are the 2026–2027 rates, the newest Lewis & Clark College has published. Colleges usually release next year's costs in the spring, and we update this page when they do.
Budgeting tip: costs typically rise 2% to 5% a year. For 2027–2028, plan on roughly $1,800 to $4,400 more than the total below.
✔ Same price for every student, no matter which state you live in.
All students: billed cost per year
$87,984
Tuition, fees, housing, and meals for two semesters
Tuition & mandatory fees
$71,092
Housing & meals (typical)
$16,892
Total billed cost
$87,984
Average federal net price: $34,286 per year.
This is what first-time, full-time students who received grant aid paid after grants and scholarships, based on the most recent federal data. It counts books and living costs, so it can run higher than the billed total above. Families who got no grants are not in this average, so many middle-income families pay more. New to Net Price & SAI? Read our guide.
One Price for Everyone, Plus Two Lines Families Miss
Lewis & Clark is private, so there is no in-state discount. An Oregon family and a Texas family see the same sticker price. The table above shows what L&C bills for 2026-27: tuition plus the required student body and wellness fees, and a double room with the 14-meal Flex plan. Two more charges land on the bill. Health insurance is $5,655 unless your student waives it with comparable private coverage at the start of fall semester, and first-year students pay a one-time $215 orientation fee. Books run about $800 a year on top of that.
Heads Up: L&C Publishes Two Different 2026-27 Cost Numbers
The billing office and the course catalog list 2026-27 tuition at $70,658, a double room at $9,578, and the 14-meal Flex plan at $7,314. Those are the numbers in our table. The Financial Aid Office’s cost-of-attendance table, also labeled 2026-27, shows tuition and fees of $74,272, housing of $9,962, and food of $7,590. Every line is about 4% higher, which looks like next year’s estimate. Our advice: plan with the higher numbers. If your student starts in fall 2027, that is probably closer to what you will actually be billed.
FAQ: Cost of Attendance at Lewis & Clark College
Do we have to pay the $5,655 health insurance charge?
Only if your student doesn’t already have comparable coverage. L&C requires every degree-seeking student to have health insurance and enrolls them in the school plan by default. Students covered on a parent’s plan can waive it, but only once a year at the start of fall semester. Miss the waiver window and the charge stays on the bill for the year.
What do families actually pay after aid?
The federal College Scorecard puts the average at about $34,286 a year for students who get federal aid, and it changes a lot with income: about $15,700 for families earning under $30,000, around $21,000 for families between $30,000 and $75,000, about $27,100 between $75,000 and $110,000, and about $44,100 above $110,000. Run L&C’s net price calculator for your own number.
Do Oregon residents get a lower price?
No. Tuition is the same for everyone. Oregon families can qualify for state money that out-of-state families can’t, mainly the Oregon Opportunity Grant for lower-income students, which is listed with the automatic scholarships below.
Does my student have to live on campus?
Yes, for the first two years. L&C requires first- and second-year students to live in campus housing and anyone living on campus to buy a meal plan, so the housing and food lines are not optional early on.
What does a semester abroad cost?
L&C bills an overseas or off-campus semester at a combined $44,754, which covers tuition plus the program fee. Since more than half of L&C students study away, ask the Financial Aid Office early how your student’s scholarships apply to that semester.
Will the price go up each year?
Plan on it. Private college tuition usually rises a few percent a year, and L&C’s own aid-office estimate runs about 4% above this year’s billed rates. Merit scholarships renew each year with satisfactory academic progress, but ask whether the dollar amount rises with tuition or stays fixed.
📅 Lewis & Clark Scholarship Timeline (Simple Version)
November 1: Early Action and Early Decision applications due. This is also the financial aid priority date for those rounds and the only way to be considered for the Neely Scholarship.
Early December: Early Decision decisions go out (Dec 5). Early Action decisions follow by January 1.
January 15: Regular Decision applications due, plus the FAFSA priority date for Regular Decision.
By April 1: Regular Decision decisions and merit offers.
May 1: Deposit deadline. Compare offers before then.
Parent rule of thumb: if your student is even thinking about L&C, apply Early Action by November 1. It’s nonbinding, it gets you the merit number by January, and for local students it is the Neely deadline.
Automatic Merit Scholarships at Lewis & Clark College
Every admitted student is automatically considered for an academic merit scholarship, called the Oregon Maple or the Sequoia. L&C says these start at $20,000 a year. There is no separate form and no test score to send: L&C is test-free, so the award comes from the transcript and the rest of the application. The catch is that L&C doesn’t publish a GPA grid, so you won’t know the exact amount until the admission offer arrives.
Find your student's tier
Enter the numbers you have. We'll highlight the automatic award your student would actually get and tuck the rest out of the way. Leave it blank to browse everything.
Residency
Based on published cutoffs for entering freshmen. Always verify with the college before finalizing plans.
Start with your state. The awards in this first group come from the state, not the college. They are decided by residency and the FAFSA, and they stack on top of whatever automatic merit award the college gives below. If you live out of state, use the toggle above and these will step aside.
State AidAutomatic⚠ All Undergrad Only
Oregon Opportunity Grant
📅 Deadline: File the 2027-28 FAFSA or ORSAA in October or November 2026, listing Lewis & Clark (L&C's own priority dates are Nov 1 ED/EA and Jan 15 RD). OSAC awards first-come until funds run out. ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$1,800–$8,352/yr
✔ Stackable
🎓 All UndergradOregon resident for at least 12 months before college (DACA and undocumented students qualify through the ORSAA), working on a first bachelor's degree at a participating Oregon public or private nonprofit college. Must file an error-free FAFSA or ORSAA before OSAC's cutoff, listing at least one eligible Oregon college, and first-time students must also apply for admission to at least one. The SAI must be at or under the year's limit, which was 8,000 for 2026-27. Full-time, full-year amounts at four-year colleges ran from $1,800 to $8,352 in 2026-27, and from $1,224 to $4,320 at community colleges. Since 2026-27, part-time students are paid by the credit. Degrees in theology, divinity, or religious education are not eligible.
✚
Stacking & Combining
Pays first, alongside Pell, and is the same amount at every Oregon four-year college for the same SAI. College tuition promises such as PathwayOregon and Portland State's Tuition-Free Degree are figured after it, so their line on the aid letter can read $0 when Pell and this grant already cover tuition. The Oregon Promise is also reduced by it. Total aid is capped at the cost of attendance.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: Low-income families who file early. Families often assume a Pell Grant means this grant too, but the 2026-27 cutoff was an SAI of 8,000, well below where Pell stops. A family that files in the spring can meet every rule and still get nothing because the money is gone. First-time recipients who file the next FAFSA by May 1 and attend every fall, winter, and spring term can lock in the second year.
State AidApp Required⚠ All Undergrad Only
Oregon Tribal Student Grant
📅 Deadline: 2026-27 priority deadline was September 30, 2026. The 2027-28 application is not posted yet; the last one opened December 1. Apply every year ✓ Renews
Varies
✔ Stackable
🎓 All UndergradEnrolled member of one of Oregon's nine federally recognized tribes, attending an Oregon community college, public university, or Oregon-based private nonprofit college (schools outside Oregon are not eligible). There is no separate Oregon residency rule; tribal enrollment is the test, so generated rows should carry residency_required = any. Must submit the OSAC application, the FAFSA or ORSAA, and a Tribal Enrollment Verification Form from the tribe, enroll at least half time every term, and be working on a first degree at the current level. Graduate students can also apply, with undergraduates and master's students awarded first.
✚
Stacking & Combining
Built on the college's average cost of attendance at 15 credits a term, minus all federal and state grants and scholarships. Scholarships from the student's own Oregon tribe are not subtracted. At a private college, the award is figured on the average cost at the highest-cost public university, not the private school's own cost. Prorated by credits, never more than actual cost of attendance, and summer is not funded.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Tribal members who start the paperwork early. The enrollment verification has to come from the tribe's own official, and that step takes the longest. Because the grant fills the gap after other aid, it can cover housing and meals, which makes it worth more at a residential university than most families expect.
State AidApp Required⚠ All Undergrad Only
Oregon Student Child Care Grant
📅 Deadline: 2027-28 application opens mid-January 2027 and closes at the end of May. Prior recipients are funded first ✓ Renews (6 yrs)
$10,000/yr
✔ Stackable
🎓 All UndergradOregon resident undergraduate with no bachelor's degree, with a child 12 or under (older with special needs) in care with a provider listed with the Oregon Department of Human Services or registered or certified with the Oregon Child Care Division. Eligible at Oregon community colleges, public universities, and Oregon-based private colleges. Award is the lesser of actual child care cost or the local average per child, up to $10,000 a year, for up to six years of eligibility. Requires a new application and FAFSA or ORSAA every year, and renewal requires 36 quarter or 24 semester credits across fall, winter, and spring.
✚
Stacking & Combining
Paid to the college and applied to the student's account with the rest of their aid; the student pays the provider. Cannot be combined with Employment Related Day Care (ERDC) benefits.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Returning recipients, who are funded first. New applicants are ranked by credits already earned toward the degree, financial need, use of an eligible provider, and full-time enrollment, so a student parent partway through a degree has the best shot. Mostly matters for parents going back to school themselves.
State AidApp Required⚠ All Undergrad Only
Deceased or Disabled Public Safety Officer Grant
📅 Deadline: No fixed deadline. Mail the application with the FAFSA or ORSAA as soon as possible after it opens; awarded until funds run out ✓ Renews (4 yrs)
$13,000/yr
✔ Stackable
🎓 All UndergradNatural child, adopted child, or stepchild of an Oregon police officer, fire service professional, corrections officer, parole and probation officer, reserve officer, or youth correction officer who died or became permanently and totally disabled, on or off duty. Must be under 25 when applying, have no bachelor's degree, be an Oregon resident for at least 12 months, and attend a participating Oregon public or private nonprofit college. Mailed paper application with a certification completed by the officer's employer, plus the FAFSA or ORSAA every year.
✚
Stacking & Combining
Covers tuition and standard fees minus state and federal grants, up to the lesser of actual tuition and fees or $13,000 a year. Does not cover housing. Awarded until funds run out.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: Eligible families who know it exists and file early. It is a paper form that needs the officer's employer to sign, so the delay usually comes from getting the certification, not from the student. The age-25 limit applies when the application is filed.
State AidApp Required⚠ All Undergrad Only
Oregon National Guard State Tuition Assistance
📅 Deadline: By term: December 1, 2026 for winter quarter and spring semester; March 1, 2027 for spring quarter. Reapply every year ✓ Renews
Varies
✔ Stackable
🎓 All UndergradCurrent Oregon National Guard member who has completed basic training, is drilling and attending all scheduled training, has no bachelor's degree, is not in federal loan default, and keeps a 2.0 GPA or satisfactory academic progress at a participating Oregon college. Covers up to 90 credits at a community college and 180 quarter or 120 semester credits at a university. Apply every year: the OSAC application plus the FAFSA. Army Guard members must also request Federal Tuition Assistance in Army IgnitED for each course.
✚
Stacking & Combining
Federal Tuition Assistance (or MilTA) is applied first, then this pays undergraduate tuition at the in-state resident rate. At private colleges it is figured on the average in-state tuition at the seven Oregon public universities, capped at $274 a credit for 2026-27. Adds a book allowance of $25 a credit at quarter schools or $35 at semester schools, up to $1,000 a year; fees are not covered for 2026-27, and summer has no book allowance. Other VA education benefits can be used at the same time, but it affects the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Guard members who stay on top of three separate approvals: OSAC checks the application and FAFSA, the Guard confirms military eligibility, and the college confirms credits. Students using the Post-9/11 GI Bill should talk to the college's VA certifying official first, because this award changes that benefit.
One award, not a pile. Colleges apply your student's single best automatic award. Automatic scholarships almost never stack with each other, though some stack with housing, departmental, or outside money. The stacking notes on each card tell you which.
Automatic
Academic Merit Scholarship (Oregon Maple or Sequoia)
📅 Deadline: Considered with the admission application (ED/EA Nov 1, RD Jan 15) · 📢 Results: With the admission decision ✓ Renews
Varies
✔ Stackable
Entering first-year and transfer students, based on academic program and performance.
✚
Stacking & Combining
Families who file the FAFSA and qualify can also receive need-based Lewis & Clark Grants and federal and state aid, with total aid capped at the cost of attendance. If your student also wins Neely or Posse, ask how the awards combine before you budget. Tuition Exchange recipients are not eligible for other institutional merit.
💡
Strategic Detail
Two named levels, Oregon Maple and Sequoia, with amounts set case by case and not published. Renewable each year with satisfactory academic progress. Test-free: SAT and ACT scores are not used.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: Every admitted student is considered, and L&C says merit starts at $20,000 a year. The CDS shows first-years with no financial need averaged $35,287 in non-need awards. There is no published grid, so the amount depends on the strength of the transcript and the rest of the file, not test scores. Families only see their number when the admission offer arrives.
Data last verified Nov 6, 2026.* GPA/test bands are estimates based on official selectivity and prior cohort profiles. "Who Actually Wins" insights are pulled from external peer-sourced data where students and parents have reported real-world award results. Because colleges can change funding thresholds and deadlines at any time, always verify these details with the institution before finalizing your application strategy.
Note: Last year, first-year students who had no financial need received non-need awards averaging about $35,287 (Common Data Set 2025-26). Oregon residents may also see state grants above, and need-based Lewis & Clark Grants can be added for families who file the FAFSA and qualify.
Automatic Merit: FAQs (Lewis & Clark College)
How much is the Lewis & Clark merit scholarship?
At least $20,000 a year, according to L&C’s financial aid office. The college doesn’t publish a top amount or a chart, but its Common Data Set shows first-year students with no need averaged about $35,287 in non-need awards last year.
What’s the difference between the Oregon Maple and the Sequoia?
They are the two named levels of the same academic merit award. L&C doesn’t say publicly what separates them or what each is worth. The “Oregon” in the name doesn’t mean residents only: L&C’s merit page offers both to all entering first-year and transfer students, with no residency rule.
Do test scores help with merit at L&C?
No. Starting with students who entered in fall 2025, L&C is test-free. Its own application checklist says SAT and ACT scores are not used in admission or in merit scholarship review. Put the energy into grades, course rigor, and the essays instead.
Do we need a separate scholarship application?
No. The admission application is the merit application. The only exceptions are the performance awards in music and speech and debate, which need an audition or a conversation with the coach.
Is the merit scholarship renewable?
Yes, every year, as long as your student makes satisfactory academic progress.
Can transfer students get merit?
Yes. The Oregon Maple and Sequoia awards are offered to entering transfer students as well as first-year students.
Is there any Oregon state money for families at a private college?
Yes. The Oregon Opportunity Grant works at Oregon private nonprofit colleges, and it is the same dollar amount at every Oregon four-year college for the same family. It goes to lower-income families who file the FAFSA or ORSAA early, because the money runs out. The other Oregon programs shown above are for narrower groups like tribal members, student parents, and National Guard members.
Lewis & Clark has two full-tuition scholarships, and both have a gate in front of them. The Barbara Hirschi Neely Scholarship goes to five students a year, and only students who attend high school in northwest Oregon or Clark County, Washington and apply Early Action or Early Decision can be considered. The Posse Scholarship goes to cohorts nominated through the Posse Foundation’s Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico sites. For most families, the automatic merit award above is the big number. These two are worth knowing about if your student fits the gate.
The Neely Scholarship in Plain English
Who can be considered: Students at high schools in Benton, Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Hood River, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Tillamook, Washington, or Yamhill County in Oregon, or Clark County in Washington.
How to get in the pool: Apply through the Common App by Early Action or Early Decision (both November 1). There’s no separate Neely form.
What happens next: Finalists come to campus for a day-long program that includes a group interview. Selection weighs academics, leadership, and community impact.
What it pays: Full tuition, renewable each year, plus a $2,000 stipend after the fourth semester for a faculty-approved research, internship, or creative project.
✅ Can You Stack Scholarships at Lewis & Clark?
Aid Type
Stacks with Merit?
L&C Parent Translation
Academic Merit (Oregon Maple or Sequoia)
N/A
Every admitted student is considered for one of the two. It’s the starting point of the offer.
Neely or Posse (full tuition)
Ask
L&C doesn’t publish how these combine with the merit award. Assume tuition can only be covered once, and ask what the package covers beyond tuition.
Need-based Lewis & Clark Grant
Yes, if you qualify
This is where most of the real discount comes from for families with need. File the FAFSA by the priority date.
Music or Speech and Debate
Not published
Ask the department when your student auditions or reaches out.
Outside scholarships
Usually
You must report every one. If aid has to be trimmed, L&C cuts the subsidized loan first, then work-study, then the federal SEOG grant.
Tuition Exchange
No
Recipients can’t get other L&C merit, and need-based aid may be reduced. Run the numbers both ways.
Full TuitionAutomatic
Barbara Hirschi Neely Scholarship
📅 Deadline: 11-01 ✓ Renews
Full Tuition
Full tuition, plus a $2,000 project stipend after the fourth semester
✘ Not stackable
⚠ High school in 13 NW Oregon counties or Clark County, WA; ED/EA only
👥 ~5 winners/yrMust attend high school in Benton, Clackamas, Clatsop, Columbia, Hood River, Lincoln, Linn, Marion, Multnomah, Polk, Tillamook, Washington or Yamhill County, Oregon, or Clark County, Washington, and apply Early Action or Early Decision.
💡
Strategic Detail
Lewis & Clark's highest merit award. Renewable each year with satisfactory academic progress. The $2,000 stipend funds a faculty-approved research, internship or artistic project after the fourth semester and must be used before graduation.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Five students a year, chosen from a pool limited to 13 northwest Oregon counties and Clark County, Washington. The committee looks at academics, leadership and community impact, then the group interview at the finalist day. Students who apply Regular Decision are not considered at all, so a strong local student who waits until January has already missed it.
Full TuitionApp Required
Posse Scholarship (Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico)
📅 Deadline: Nominations open in the spring before senior year; check with the local Posse office ✓ Renews
Full Tuition
Full tuition
✘ Not stackable
⚠ Nominated through Posse D.C. or Posse Puerto Rico
👥 ~About 10 per cohort from each site winners/yrNomination required through the Posse Foundation's Washington, D.C. or Puerto Rico site.
📄
How to Apply
Students must be nominated by their high school or a community organization to Posse D.C. or Posse Puerto Rico, usually in the spring or summer before senior year, then go through Posse's group and individual interviews.
🎤 Interview🌟 Finalist Event
💡
Strategic Detail
Funded by Lewis & Clark and donors through the Posse partnership that began in fall 2021 (D.C.) and expanded to Puerto Rico in fall 2023. A new endowed fund created in 2025 supports the program.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: Student leaders from public high schools in the Washington, D.C. area or from Puerto Rico who get nominated early. Posse says only about 4 percent of nominees make the final cut. Selected scholars commit to Lewis & Clark early and arrive with a cohort of about 10 and a faculty mentor.
Data last verified Nov 6, 2026.* GPA/test bands are estimates based on official selectivity and prior cohort profiles. "Who Actually Wins" insights are pulled from external peer-sourced data where students and parents have reported real-world award results. Because colleges can change funding thresholds and deadlines at any time, always verify these details with the institution before finalizing your application strategy.
❓ Flagship / Competitive Scholarship FAQs
When is the deadline for the Neely Scholarship?
November 1, the Early Action and Early Decision deadline. There’s no separate application, but a Regular Decision applicant can’t be considered, even if they live in an eligible county.
Can we apply Early Action and still be considered for Neely?
Yes. Early Action is nonbinding, so a local student can be in the Neely pool without committing to L&C.
How many Neely Scholarships are there?
Five a year, for entering first-year students only.
How does a student become a Posse Scholar at L&C?
Posse is nomination-only. A high school or community organization nominates the student to Posse D.C. or Posse Puerto Rico, usually in the spring or summer before senior year, and Posse runs the interviews. L&C funds full tuition for each cohort, and a new endowed fund created in 2025 helps keep the program going.
Does L&C offer a National Merit scholarship, QuestBridge, or Stamps?
We couldn’t find any of them on L&C’s current scholarship pages. Don’t count on a National Merit award here.
What should students prepare for competitive awards?
For Neely, a strong record of leadership and community impact and practice working in a group interview. Our Essay Toolkit and Brag Sheet Builder help organize that story before November 1.
🧠 Parent Strategy: L&C Publishes Names, Not Numbers
Almost none of Lewis & Clark’s smaller awards list a dollar amount, and most don’t have their own application. They show up on the aid offer, sometimes with a name you’ve never heard. That makes the FAFSA and a few early conversations the real “application.”
File the FAFSA (school code 003197) by November 1 for Early Action or Early Decision, or January 15 for Regular Decision.
If your student plays an instrument or debates, contact the Music Department or the speech and debate coach in the fall of senior year.
If your student went to high school in Wallowa County, Oregon or Lemhi or Custer County, Idaho, say so in an email to the Financial Aid Office.
When the offer arrives, ask what each named award is, whether it renews, and whether it replaces anything else.
Parent translation: at a school that publishes this little, the families who ask questions are the ones who understand their offer.
💎 Hidden Gem Scholarships
These aren’t the headline awards, but they can add real money to an L&C offer for the right student. Some come straight from the admission file, some from the FAFSA, and a few need an audition or a phone call.
Automatic
Fir Acres Award
📅 Deadline: Considered with the admission application ✓ Renews
Varies
✔ Stackable
Applicants with strong potential to contribute to the Lewis & Clark community.
✚
Stacking & Combining
Listed on the aid offer alongside other Lewis & Clark awards.
💡
Strategic Detail
Named for the college's campus home. Renewable while full-time, in good academic standing and meeting satisfactory academic progress.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: Applicants the admissions team sees as likely to add to campus life, decided from the admission application. There is no published amount or cutoff, so families usually learn about it only when it shows up on the offer. Worth asking about if it appears and you do not know what it is.
Automatic⚠ All Undergrad Only
Sibling in College Grant
📅 Deadline: File the FAFSA by the aid priority date (Nov 1 ED/EA, Jan 15 RD) ✓ Renews
Varies
✔ Stackable
🎓 All UndergradThe FAFSA must show more than one family member enrolled in college at the same time.
✚
Stacking & Combining
Shows up as its own line on the aid offer.
💡
Strategic Detail
Renewable while the family keeps more than one student enrolled and the student stays full-time and in good standing.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: Families with two kids in college at the same time who filed the FAFSA. It does not have to be two kids at Lewis & Clark. The catch is that the FAFSA no longer gives a family a break for siblings in college, so this L&C grant matters more than it used to.
App Required
Music Performance Scholarship
📅 Deadline: Audition during senior year; contact the department early ✓ Renews
Varies
✔ Stackable
Audition required.
✚
Stacking & Combining
L&C does not publish how it combines with academic merit; ask the Music Department when you schedule the audition.
📄
How to Apply
Contact the Department of Music (503-768-7460, music@lclark.edu) to schedule an audition.
💡
Strategic Detail
Awarded annually for outstanding talent. Renewable with continued participation in Music Department activities and satisfactory academic progress.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Musicians who audition. Renewal depends on staying active in Music Department ensembles and activities, so it fits students who want to keep playing.
App Required
Speech and Debate Scholarship
📅 Deadline: Contact Professor Gantt during senior year ✓ Renews
Varies
✔ Stackable
Outstanding high school record in debate and forensics; must compete on the team.
✚
Stacking & Combining
L&C does not publish how it combines with academic merit; ask Professor Gantt.
📄
How to Apply
Contact Professor Joseph Gantt (503-768-7615, jgantt@lclark.edu) during senior year.
💡
Strategic Detail
For students with an outstanding record in debate and forensics. Renewable with continued competition and satisfactory academic progress.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: High school debaters and forensics competitors with a real competitive record who want to keep competing. Recipients must compete for Lewis & Clark to keep it.
Automatic
Regional Endowed Scholarships (Wallowa County, OR and Lemhi/Custer County, ID)
📅 Deadline: File the FAFSA by the aid priority date (Nov 1 ED/EA, Jan 15 RD) ✓ Renews
Varies
✔ Stackable
⚠ Wallowa County, OR or Lemhi/Custer County, ID graduates
Sheryl Reed Smith: graduate of a Wallowa County, Oregon high school. Steele-Reese: graduate of a Lemhi or Custer County, Idaho high school. Helen Sanders: any entering student with need.
✚
Stacking & Combining
Awarded as part of the financial aid package. Recipients learn the donor's name in the fall and may be asked to write a thank-you note.
💡
Strategic Detail
Bundled row for three endowed funds listed on L&C's Scholarships and Grants page. Only the Steele-Reese amount is published.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
A handful of students from two small rural pockets: Wallowa County in northeast Oregon (Sheryl Reed Smith Scholarship) and Lemhi or Custer County in Idaho (Steele-Reese Foundation Scholarship, up to $5,000, renewable for three more years). Both are chosen by academic record and financial need. The related Helen Sanders Scholarship is need-based for any entering student, with extra weight for an interest in history or ethnohistory.
Automatic
Davis Scholarship and LC/UWC Grant (United World College graduates)
📅 Deadline: Apply for aid by the priority date ✓ Renews
Varies
✔ Stackable
⚠ United World College graduates with need
Must have attended a United World College for secondary school and show financial need.
✚
Stacking & Combining
Part of the need-based package.
💡
Strategic Detail
Davis Scholarship funded by the Davis Foundation; LC/UWC Grant is institutional. Renewable while need, good standing and aid policies are met.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Graduates of a United World College high school with financial need, domestic or international. L&C calls the Davis Scholarship one of its most prestigious awards, but it only matters for that small group.
⚠ Children of employees at Tuition Exchange member schools
Dependent of an eligible employee at a Tuition Exchange, Inc. participating institution.
📄
How to Apply
Apply through the Tuition Exchange liaison at the parent's employer, and tell L&C Admissions. A limited number are offered each year.
💡
Strategic Detail
Amount follows Tuition Exchange, Inc. guidance. Renewal requires satisfactory academic progress and continued certification by the parent's employer.
🕵
Who Actually Wins
Most winners: Children of employees at Tuition Exchange member colleges, chosen by L&C Admissions from a limited number of slots. Before accepting, compare it with your merit offer: recipients lose eligibility for other Lewis & Clark merit, and L&C may cut need-based aid already awarded.
Data last verified Nov 6, 2026.* GPA/test bands are estimates based on official selectivity and prior cohort profiles. "Who Actually Wins" insights are pulled from external peer-sourced data where students and parents have reported real-world award results. Because colleges can change funding thresholds and deadlines at any time, always verify these details with the institution before finalizing your application strategy.
❓ Hidden Gems FAQ
What is the Fir Acres Award?
An L&C award for applicants the admissions team thinks will add a lot to the campus community. It’s decided from the admission application, renews each year with good standing, and doesn’t have a published amount.
We have two kids in college. Does that help at L&C?
It can. The federal FAFSA formula no longer gives families a break for having more than one student in college, but L&C still offers a Sibling in College Grant when the FAFSA shows two or more family members enrolled at the same time.
Are there music or debate scholarships?
Yes. Music awards require an audition and renew as long as your student stays active in the Music Department. Speech and debate awards are for students with a strong competitive record who keep competing for L&C.
Do outside scholarships reduce our L&C aid?
Sometimes, but not first. You have to report every outside award. If the total goes over what your student needs, L&C’s stated order for trimming aid is the subsidized federal loan first, then work-study, then the federal SEOG grant. L&C students brought in almost $1.4 million in outside scholarships last year, so local awards are worth chasing.
Can current students get more money later?
Yes, but by invitation. L&C invites some continuing students to apply for additional scholarships, and endowed scholarships are assigned through the aid process each year.
Lewis & Clark does not have an honors college or a separate honors program that students apply to as freshmen, and there is no honors scholarship. At a school of about 2,000 undergraduates where most classes are already small, the whole college works a lot like an honors program would at a big university. Recognition comes later, once your student is on campus.
Departmental honors: Most departments offer an honors track, often built around a senior thesis or project, that students are nominated for or apply to based on each department’s rules.
Society of Fellows: L&C’s highest student honor. Seven second-year students are invited each year to join a small society with four endowed professors that hosts a visiting scholar and picks a Teacher of the Year.
Graduating with distinction and Phi Beta Kappa: Based on grades earned at L&C.
Honors Scholarships
This institution does not offer designated Honors College scholarships at this time.
Where the “honors money” actually is: For a high-achieving student, the closest thing to an honors scholarship at L&C is the full-tuition Neely Scholarship (local students who apply Early Action or Early Decision) and, for everyone, the academic merit award, which is decided on the strength of the transcript. Both are covered above.
Honors: FAQs (Lewis & Clark College)
Does Lewis & Clark have an honors college?
No. There’s no honors college, no separate honors application, and no honors scholarship for incoming students.
What is the Society of Fellows?
An honor society, founded in 1993, that invites seven second-year students a year. It’s a recognition and leadership opportunity, not a scholarship, and students don’t apply to it as freshmen.
Can my student still write an honors thesis?
Yes. Most departments have their own honors path, typically in junior and senior year. Requirements vary by department.
Is L&C a good fit for a student who wants an honors-style experience?
Often, yes. Small classes, faculty-mentored research, and a big overseas study program give students a lot of what honors colleges promise elsewhere. It just doesn’t come with a separate label or price tag.
Lewis & Clark is a small liberal arts college, so the draw isn’t one giant professional school. It’s the combination of a close-knit campus, a big city fifteen minutes away, and one of the most travel-heavy undergraduate programs in the country. Students who pick L&C tend to want the world in their education, whether that means a semester abroad, a career in international work, or a degree in environmental issues taught right in the Pacific Northwest.
Signature Program: Overseas and Off-Campus Study: L&C has been sending students abroad since it started its overseas program in 1962, and today more than half of students study away through one of more than 35 overseas and off-campus programs. It isn’t an add-on. Majors like international affairs, world languages, and environmental studies are built around it, so budget for that semester early.
International Affairs: One of L&C’s best-known majors and one of its largest. The program pairs coursework with the overseas program and an annual International Affairs Symposium.
Environmental Studies: A popular, interdisciplinary major that uses Portland and the Pacific Northwest as a field site, with many students earning major credit while abroad.
Psychology, Biology, and Sociology and Anthropology: The largest majors by number of graduates, with opportunities for students to do research alongside faculty.
Political Science: A strong fit for students thinking about law, policy, or public service.
A Fast Track to Law School: L&C’s 3+3 BA/JD program lets students finish a bachelor’s and a law degree in six years with Lewis & Clark Law School, which is best known for environmental law. A 3+1 BA/MSL option is also offered.
4-5-6 Commitment: L&C’s promise built around on-time graduation and accelerated degrees with its graduate and law schools, which matters a lot when every extra semester costs this much.
🔗 Official Lewis & Clark College Links
Use Lewis & Clark’s official pages below to check admission deadlines, scholarship and aid rules, costs, and school data. Always rely on these pages for final deadlines, award terms, and official figures.
Big picture? Lewis & Clark is a small Portland liberal arts college with a big sticker price, about $88,000 a year in billed tuition, housing, and food before the $5,655 health plan, and an aid system that cuts that number down a lot more than most families expect. Every admitted student is considered for merit starting at $20,000 a year without sending a single test score, and families who file the FAFSA tap into a school that says it met about 92% of first-year need last year. The federal average after aid is about $34,000, and much lower for families earning under $75,000.
Three moves matter most here. Apply Early Action by November 1, since it’s nonbinding and it’s the only door to the full-tuition Neely Scholarship for students from northwest Oregon and Clark County. File the FAFSA by the same date. And when the offer comes, ask about every award you don’t recognize, because L&C names its scholarships but rarely publishes the dollar amounts. Then plan for the semester abroad that brings so many students here in the first place.
Your kid did everything right. That does not mean the money follows.
Most families build a college list first and think about scholarships second, which is backwards. This free four-part series shows you where the money actually comes from, and how to build a list around it.
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Leo founded CollegeReadyParent after working through the college cost maze with his own daughter. He builds these guides so middle-income and first-gen families can see the real numbers before they commit. No paywall, no lead forms.
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