University of Notre Dame Scholarships (2026–2027)
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Last Updated on September 24, 2026- Tuition, housing, and average family net price
- Automatic merit ranges and qualifier benchmarks
- Flagship and hidden-gem awards
- Honors and stacking strategy
📊 Admissions Snapshot
- Acceptance Rate: ~9%
- Middle 50% ACT: 33-35
- Middle 50% SAT: 1460-1540
- Average GPA: 3.9
If you came here looking for a big automatic scholarship based on your student’s ACT score, Notre Dame does not have one. Not a small one. Not any. What it has instead is one of the most generous need-based aid commitments in the country, and for most middle-income families that is worth far more than any merit award they would have gotten elsewhere.
Here is what Notre Dame publishes that it covers, based on family income:
- Most families up to $60,000: tuition, fees, housing, and food.
- Up to $150,000: at least full tuition.
- Up to $200,000: at least half tuition.
- Above $200,000: full demonstrated need.
Three more things that make this unusual. Admission is need-blind, so asking for money does not hurt your chances. Notre Dame meets 100% of demonstrated need. And the aid offer is built from grants and scholarships only, with no loans packaged in. More than 70% of undergraduates receive some form of financial aid.
The asterisk matters: families with assets above what is typical for their income may not land in their income band. Notre Dame counts savings, investments, business net worth, real estate and home equity, though it excludes qualifying retirement accounts. A family with a modest salary and a paid-off rental property will not be treated like a family with the same salary and nothing else.
Comparing multiple schools? Try the Scholarship Tool to search by GPA, test scores, and state →
📌 University of Notre Dame at a Glance
- The test-optional window is closing. Notre Dame is test-optional through the 2026-2027 application cycle only. It reinstates a standardized testing requirement beginning with the 2027-2028 cycle, which means anyone applying to enroll in Fall 2028 must submit an ACT or SAT. If your student is currently a sophomore, plan on testing.
- There is zero automatic merit. No GPA and no test score guarantees a dollar at Notre Dame. Fewer than 100 first-year students receive a merit scholarship each year, out of roughly 3,200 admitted. Build your plan around need-based aid.
- Regular Decision is January 4, not January 1. Families copy the January 1 date from other schools and get it wrong. Supporting documents are due January 15.
- Financial aid has its own earlier deadline. The FAFSA, CSS Profile and IDOC documents are due November 15 if you apply Early Action, January 15 if you apply Regular Decision. Miss it and your aid offer gets delayed, not denied.
- Both parents have to file if you are divorced. Notre Dame requires the CSS Profile from the custodial parent and the noncustodial parent. There is a waiver petition, but submitting it does not guarantee anything.
- Winning an outside scholarship may not lower your bill. Because Notre Dame already meets full need, an outside award usually reduces your work-study first and your Notre Dame scholarship second. More on this below, with Notre Dame’s own numbers.
FAQ
Is this college test-optional? Yes, for admission. University of Notre Dame is test-optional for admission.
What is the middle 50% ACT/SAT? ACT: 33-35; SAT: 1460-1540.
Average net price? About $29,083/year after aid.
Does this school use waivers/reciprocity? No. It is a private school, so everyone pays the same rate.
Notre Dame Stamps Scholars Program: https://stampsscholars.nd.edu/
Notre Dame Glynn Family Honors: https://glynnhonors.nd.edu
Notre Dame AnBryce Scholars: https://anbryce.nd.edu
ND Office of Undergraduate Education — Scott Scholars Program: https://undergraduateeducation.nd.edu/center-for-academic-transformation-and-excellence/undergraduate-scholars-programs/scott-scholars-program/
ND ClubHub: https://clubhub.nd.edu/page/club-scholarships
ND Scholars, Honors & Fellows: https://cuse.nd.edu/about/scholars-honors-and-fellows-programs/
ND Institute for Latino Studies — Latino Studies Scholars Program: https://latinostudies.nd.edu/undergraduate/latino-studies-scholars-program/
Notre Dame Financial Aid – Scholarships & Grants: https://financialaid.nd.edu/aid-types/scholarships-grants/
Notre Dame Financial Aid — Merit-Based Scholarships: https://financialaid.nd.edu/aid-types/merit-based-scholarships/
ND Kellogg Undergraduate Research Grants: https://kellogg.nd.edu/opportunities/undergraduate-students/kelloggkroc-undergraduate-research-grants
Notre Dame Music Scholarships: https://music.nd.edu/academics/admissions-and-scholarships/
CollegeScorecard / Admissions: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
💰 Cost of Attendance at University of Notre Dame: 2026–2027 Rates
Figures verified against official sources in September 2026.
📅 Planning for 2027–2028? These are the 2026–2027 rates, the newest University of Notre Dame 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.
| Tuition & mandatory fees | $69,794 |
| Housing & meals (typical) | $18,992 |
| Total billed cost | $88,786 |
Average federal net price: $29,083 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.
Notre Dame is private, so there is no in-state rate and no out-of-state rate. A family in South Bend and a family in San Diego see the identical sticker price. There is no residency waiver to chase and no regional reciprocity program to apply for. The only thing that moves your number is financial need, which is why the net price below looks so different from the sticker.
Published 2026-2027 direct costs: tuition of $69,280 plus $514 in mandatory fees, and $18,992 for housing and food. Notre Dame estimates another $1,250 for books and supplies, $1,200 in personal expenses and $750 for transportation, bringing the full published cost of attendance to $91,986.
FAQ — Cost of Attendance at the University of Notre Dame
The sticker price is almost $92,000. How does anyone afford this?
Most families do not pay it. Notre Dame meets 100% of demonstrated financial need using grants and scholarships rather than loans, and more than 70% of undergraduates get some form of aid. A family earning up to $150,000 can expect at least full tuition covered. That turns a $92,000 sticker into something much closer to the cost of housing and food.
Can an out-of-state student get a cheaper rate?
There is no cheaper rate to get. Private universities charge one tuition to everyone. Indiana residents and out-of-state students pay the same published price, and the same aid formula applies to both.
Why is the net price so much lower than the published total?
Net price is what families actually paid after grants and scholarships came off, averaged across everyone who received aid. It is the honest number for planning. Your own figure could land well below it if your income is modest, or at full sticker if your family has substantial income and assets and receives no need-based aid.
Do savings and home equity count against us?
They can. Notre Dame’s need formula looks at income and also at assets, including savings, investments, business net worth, other real estate and home equity. Qualifying retirement accounts are excluded. The published income bands assume assets that are typical for that income level, so a family sitting on unusual assets may not land where the chart suggests. Run the estimator before you assume.
What do we have to file, and when?
Both the FAFSA (school code 001840) and the CSS Profile (school code 1841), plus supporting documents through IDOC. Priority dates are November 15 for Early Action applicants and January 15 for Regular Decision. QuestBridge applicants file by November 1. Filing late does not disqualify you, it just delays your offer.
Our student wants architecture. Does the fifth year cost extra?
Yes, it is a fifth year of tuition and housing, and the required third year in Rome carries its own travel and living costs. The good news is that Notre Dame extends University scholarship consideration to ten semesters for architecture and for the approved five-year engineering program, instead of the standard eight. Some limited scholarship aid is also available for the extra expenses of the Rome year. Budget for five years, not four.
Will our aid hold steady for four years?
Notre Dame makes a four-year commitment. As long as your family’s finances stay substantially the same, your aid stays consistent. If your circumstances change for the worse, you can submit a Change in Circumstances form and ask for a review.
https://financialaid.nd.edu/costs-and-affordability/
https://studentaccounts.nd.edu/rates/undergraduate-programs/
https://financialaid.nd.edu/apply-or-renew/first-year-applicants/
📅 Notre Dame Money Timeline (Simple Version)
- August 1: The application opens. Merit consideration starts the moment you apply, so applying early is the only lever you have.
- November 1: Restrictive Early Action deadline. Also the QuestBridge financial aid deadline.
- November 15: Early Action financial aid priority date. FAFSA, CSS Profile and IDOC documents due.
- Early December: Merit semi-finalists from the Early Action pool hear about next steps.
- January 4: Regular Decision deadline. Supporting documents January 15.
- January 15: Regular Decision financial aid priority date.
- Early March: Merit semi-finalists from the Regular Decision pool hear about next steps.
- May 1: Confirmation deadline.
Parent rule of thumb: at Notre Dame the financial aid deadline arrives two weeks after the application deadline, and it is the one families forget.
Automatic Merit Scholarships — University of Notre Dame
We want to say that plainly rather than pad this section. There is no GPA cutoff, no ACT threshold, and no published chart that guarantees your student a dollar. Notre Dame’s own financial aid office describes merit awards as a limited number, competitive, with financial need not a factor unless otherwise noted.
If you have been comparing Notre Dame to schools like Alabama or Arizona State, where a 32 ACT prints a predictable award, throw that mental model out. At Notre Dame the money comes from the need-based side, and it is substantial.
This institution does not offer designated Automatic Merit scholarships at this time.
- Need-based University scholarships. This is the main event. Every admitted student who completes the financial aid process is automatically considered, with no separate application.
- Competitive named merit awards. More than 20 of them, typically $25,000 per year. Covered in the next section.
- Alumni club scholarships. Around 150 clubs, need-based, automatic consideration if you filed for aid.
- Department and institute funding. Research grants, summer stipends and travel money, mostly for sophomores and up.
Automatic Merit — FAQs (University of Notre Dame)
Is there really no automatic scholarship at all?
Correct. Notre Dame publishes no automatic award and no qualifying grid. Every dollar of merit money is awarded competitively out of the admitted pool.
Then what does our ACT score do for us?
It helps with admission, and admission is the gate everything else runs through. Notre Dame superscores both the SAT and ACT, taking the highest composite and the highest section scores across all of your test dates. The writing sections and the ACT science section are not required.
Do we have to submit scores at all?
Not for the 2026-2027 cycle. Notre Dame is test-optional through it, and students who do not submit get full consideration. Starting with the 2027-2028 cycle, scores become required again for anyone enrolling in Fall 2028 and after.
Do we have to apply separately for merit money?
No. Every application for admission is considered for merit scholarships. There is no separate form unless Notre Dame notifies your student that they have been chosen as a merit semi-finalist, at which point extra essays or an interview may be requested.
Does applying Early Action improve our merit odds?
Notre Dame selects merit recipients from both the Early Action and Regular Decision pools, so applying early is not a shortcut. Notre Dame says directly that Restrictive Early Action is not easier to get into. Apply early if your application is genuinely at its best in October, not otherwise.
Is merit aid renewable?
Yes. Notre Dame’s merit scholarships renew for four years of undergraduate study, contingent on satisfactory academic performance and participation in the scholars program. University scholarship consideration runs for a maximum of eight semesters, or ten for architecture and the approved five-year engineering program.
https://financialaid.nd.edu/aid-types/merit-based-scholarships/
https://admissions.nd.edu/apply/
https://financialaid.nd.edu/aid-types/scholarships-grants/
🏆 Flagship Scholarships (Competitive Scholarships)
Two things to keep straight. First, there is no application. Your student’s admission application is the scholarship application. Second, the odds are brutal: fewer than 100 first-year students join the Notre Dame Scholars’ Program as merit recipients each year, out of roughly 3,200 admitted from a pool of 36,104.
✅ Can You Stack Scholarships at Notre Dame?
| Aid Type | Stacks? | Parent Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Two named merit awards | No | Your student gets one. Stamps, Scott and Latino Studies are alternatives to each other, not add-ons. |
| Merit + need-based aid | Yes, up to a ceiling | Notre Dame combines them up to your total cost of attendance. Go over that line and the need-based portion gets trimmed to bring you back under it. |
| Outside scholarships | Usually displaces | Because Notre Dame already meets full need, outside money typically replaces aid rather than adding to it. See the worked example below. |
| Alumni club scholarships | Generally yes | Need-based, awarded by your home region’s club, automatic consideration when you file for aid. |
| Department research and travel grants | Yes | These fund projects and summers rather than tuition, so they sit outside the packaging math. |
This is the single most misunderstood thing about meets-full-need schools, so here is exactly how Notre Dame says it works. Your student wins a $1,000 outside scholarship. Notre Dame publishes this example: University scholarship stays at $17,000, work-study drops from $3,000 to $2,000, the outside award adds $1,000, and the total lands at $20,000. Exactly where it started.
In a second published example, a $2,000 outside award knocks $1,000 off work-study and $1,000 off the University scholarship. Total stays at $81,000.
This is not Notre Dame being stingy. It is the arithmetic of already covering 100% of your need. The upside is real but indirect: displaced work-study means your student works fewer hours. You are buying time, not cash. Notre Dame requires you to report every outside award to the Office of Financial Aid as soon as it is announced.
❓ Flagship / Competitive Scholarship FAQs
What is the deadline for these scholarships?
The same as the admission deadline, because the admission application is the scholarship application. November 1 for Restrictive Early Action, January 4 for Regular Decision. There is nothing separate to submit.
Which award is the biggest?
The Notre Dame Stamps Scholarship. It covers tuition and fees plus the estimated cost of books, personal expenses and transportation for up to four years, five for architecture students and approved dual-degree programs, and adds a $12,000 enrichment fund for things like study abroad, unpaid internships, research, leadership training and conference travel. Roughly ten students a year receive it.
Is Stamps a full ride?
No, and this trips families up constantly. Stamps covers tuition, fees and the indirect costs. It does not cover housing and food, which run $18,992 for 2026-2027. It is a full tuition award, not a full ride.
What happened to the Hesburgh-Yusko Scholars Program?
It is being retired. Notre Dame states the program comes to an end with the graduation of the Class of 2028, so it is not available to anyone applying now. The Scott Scholars Program, funded by the Suzanne and Walter Scott Foundation, carries essentially the same structure forward: $25,000 per year for four years, a funded Outward Bound wilderness leadership expedition in the Boundary Waters, and a $12,000 enrichment fund.
How will we know if our student is in the running?
Semi-finalists are notified by the admissions office and may be asked for additional essays or an interview. Early Action candidates hear in early December, Regular Decision candidates in early March. If no notification comes, no merit award is coming.
Do you have to be Latino to get the Latino Studies Scholars Program award?
No. Notre Dame states that students of both Latino and non-Latino origin are eligible, and that candidates are not required to major or minor in Latino Studies. What it takes is a demonstrated commitment to the future of Latino communities, plus one step most applicants skip: emailing NDforms@nd.edu after submitting your application to express that commitment.
Are international students eligible?
Yes. Notre Dame offers merit scholarships to admitted first-year domestic and international students. There is also a dedicated Greater China Scholars Program for citizens and residents of China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, again with no separate application.
What should our student prepare?
Strong essays and a clear activity record, because that is all the committee sees. Our Essay Toolkit and Brag Sheet Builder can help organize it before the November deadline.
https://financialaid.nd.edu/aid-types/merit-based-scholarships/
https://stampsscholars.nd.edu/
https://undergraduateeducation.nd.edu/center-for-academic-transformation-and-excellence/undergraduate-scholars-programs/
https://cuse.nd.edu/about/scholars-honors-and-fellows-programs/
https://financialaid.nd.edu/aid-types/scholarships-grants/
Honors Programs at the University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame does not have a single university-wide Honors College. What it has instead is a flagship honors program run out of Arts and Letters and Science, called the Glynn Family Honors Program, plus separate honors tracks inside individual colleges and departments. Knowing which one applies to your student matters more than it sounds.
Glynn candidates must intend to major in the College of Arts and Letters, the College of Science, the Keough School of Global Affairs, or Architecture. Business and engineering students are not eligible for Glynn. If your student is headed for Mendoza or the College of Engineering, the honors path runs through the Business Honors Program, the Mendoza Research Honors Program, or the Grand Challenges Scholars Program instead. Those have their own timelines and are applied for after enrollment.
- How you get in: by invitation only. Apply to Notre Dame first, and the program invites selected admitted students to apply.
- What the application is: a short sequence of questions answered by video, including one about your research interests.
- Size: roughly 100 students per year.
- Second chance: first-year students already on campus may apply for midyear admission. Applications are invited in October with decisions around November 1.
Honors Programs & Funding
Glynn is an academic program rather than a tuition scholarship. Its financial value comes through research funding, not a discount on your bill.
- Summer research grants. The program aims to fund every Glynn Scholar who submits a meaningful research proposal. Many use it to build out their senior thesis.
- Conference travel and research materials. Applied for separately during the year.
- Immersive language study. Limited funds for a summer of it.
- The curriculum itself. Small seminars that satisfy Core requirements, reserved seats in popular electives, and a research course sequence leading to a year-long senior thesis.
Honors — FAQs (University of Notre Dame)
Is there a Notre Dame Honors College?
Not under that name. Glynn Family Honors is the closest equivalent and is the one most families mean. Beyond it, roughly thirty majors offer departmental honors tracks, which typically require a senior thesis and are applied for late sophomore or junior year.
Can we apply to Glynn directly?
No. Admission is by invitation after you are admitted to Notre Dame. There is nothing to submit as a high school senior beyond your strongest possible application.
Does Glynn come with a scholarship?
Not a tuition award. The money arrives as research and travel funding across four years, which is real but works differently from a discount on the bill. Glynn can be combined with a merit scholarship if your student happens to receive both.
Does honors add time to the degree?
No. Glynn seminars fulfill University Core requirements your student would be taking anyway. The senior thesis is additional work, not additional semesters.
Are honors courses harder?
They are smaller and more discussion-driven rather than heavier. The trade is more contact with faculty and more writing, in exchange for fewer large lecture halls.
What if our student is in engineering or business?
Look at the Grand Challenges Scholars Program in Engineering, which carries a National Academy of Engineering designation and a transcript notation, or the Business Honors Program in Mendoza, a three-year course of study applied for in the spring of first year. Notre Dame also runs FUSE, which admits ten to twelve first-year students who are not already in an honors or scholars program and gives them priority funding consideration.
https://glynnhonors.nd.edu/
https://cuse.nd.edu/about/scholars-honors-and-fellows-programs/
https://businesshonorsprogram.nd.edu/
https://engineering.nd.edu/departments-programs/grand-challenge-scholars-program/
⭐ College Specialty
Most people know Notre Dame for football and for being Catholic, and both are true. What gets missed is that it is a genuine research university with a handful of programs that are not just good but structurally unusual. Here is where the academic reputation actually comes from.
School of Architecture — Notre Dame runs a five-year professional Bachelor of Architecture, which means graduates can sit for licensure without a master’s degree. The curriculum is built around classical and traditional architecture and urbanism, taught partly through hand drafting. And every single undergraduate spends the entire third year in Rome. Notre Dame’s Rome Studies Program is the only foreign studies program among American architecture schools that requires a full year of study from all students. If your student is drawn to traditional design, there is no real substitute for this program in the country.
- Mendoza College of Business: the single largest draw for incoming students, with 24% of the enrolled class arriving with a business interest. Strong pipelines into finance, accounting and consulting, plus a Business Honors Program and a research honors track for students eyeing a PhD.
- Engineering: 22% of the enrolled class. Aerospace and mechanical have particular depth, backed by the Notre Dame Turbomachinery Laboratory, and the Grand Challenges Scholars Program plugs undergraduates into National Academy of Engineering problem sets.
- Theology and the Catholic intellectual tradition: this is where Notre Dame is genuinely first in the country, not merely competitive. It shapes the Core curriculum every undergraduate takes, regardless of major.
- Economics and political science: reinforced by unusually well-funded research institutes. The Kellogg Institute sends undergraduates abroad on research grants, the Kroc Institute anchors peace studies, and the Poverty Initiative runs a research fellows pipeline into policy work.
- Keough School of Global Affairs: Notre Dame’s newest school and a fast-growing undergraduate path, with 3% of the enrolled class heading there directly.
- Research funding for undergraduates: worth calling out as a specialty in itself. Roughly 300 undergraduates do funded summer research on campus each year, with stipends commonly in the $6,000 range plus housing.
One practical note for families comparing schools. Notre Dame is small for a research university, with about 8,900 undergraduates and an 8 to 1 student-faculty ratio, and it graduates 89% of students in four years. That combination is the real product. The four-year graduation rate is a financial fact as much as an academic one, because a fifth year anywhere costs real money.
🔗 Official University of Notre Dame Links
Use Notre Dame’s own pages below to confirm deadlines, aid policies and costs. Scholarship terms and dates change, and these are the pages that change first.
-
Apply, Deadlines & Class Profile:
https://admissions.nd.edu/apply/ -
Costs, Affordability & Income Bands:
https://financialaid.nd.edu/costs-and-affordability/ -
Tuition & Fee Rates (Student Accounts):
https://studentaccounts.nd.edu/rates/undergraduate-programs/ -
Merit-Based Scholarships:
https://financialaid.nd.edu/aid-types/merit-based-scholarships/ -
Scholarships & Grants (including outside award policy):
https://financialaid.nd.edu/aid-types/scholarships-grants/ -
First-Year Financial Aid Deadlines & Forms:
https://financialaid.nd.edu/apply-or-renew/first-year-applicants/ -
Undergraduate Scholars Programs (Stamps, Scott, AnBryce):
https://undergraduateeducation.nd.edu/center-for-academic-transformation-and-excellence/undergraduate-scholars-programs/ -
Common Data Set (Institutional Data):
https://iris.nd.edu/institutional-research/common-data-set-cds/common-data-set/
✅ Wrapping It Up
Notre Dame asks you to think about paying for college backwards from how most schools train you. There is no automatic merit award to aim your student’s test scores at, and the competitive awards go to fewer than 100 first-years a year out of 36,000 applicants. Planning around merit here is planning around a lottery ticket.
The real offer is the need-based side, and it is one of the strongest in the country. Need-blind admission, 100% of demonstrated need met, grants and scholarships instead of loans, and a published commitment that a family earning up to $150,000 sees at least full tuition covered. That is not a discount program. That is a different financial product than what most schools sell.
So the plan is short. File the FAFSA and CSS Profile by November 15 or January 15, depending on when you apply. Remember Regular Decision is January 4, not January 1. Run the MyinTuition estimator before you talk yourself out of applying because of the sticker price. If your student is a current sophomore, start testing, because the requirement returns for the 2027-2028 cycle. And once they are on campus, point them at the department money, because that is where the rest of it hides.
For the right student, especially one drawn to architecture, to business, or to a small research university that still takes the whole person seriously, Notre Dame can end up costing dramatically less than the number on the front page.
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. After the series, about once a month, sometimes twice during application season. No drip funnels, no affiliate pitches, and we never sell your information. Unsubscribe anytime.Your kid did everything right. That does not mean the money follows.
