Unlocking Opportunities: A Guide to Merit Scholarships at the University of Denver

For many prospective students, the cost of higher education can be a significant barrier. The University of Denver (DU) recognizes this and offers a variety of financial aid options, including merit-based scholarships, to help students achieve their academic goals. This article provides a detailed overview of merit scholarships at the University of Denver, including eligibility requirements, award amounts, and how they interact with other forms of financial aid.

Understanding Financial Aid at the University of Denver

The University of Denver is committed to helping families navigate the complexities of financing a college education. DU provides aid distributed among a wide range of income levels. The financial aid options available to students generally fall into three categories: grants/scholarships (gift aid that doesn't need to be repaid), loans (which must be repaid), and student work opportunities.

When applying to the University of Denver, you and your family might have a lot of questions about how you’ll cover the costs of tuition, housing and other expenses. Our office is dedicated to helping each family create a strategy that works for them. Once scholarships and other financial aid options are factored in, many students find their cost to attend DU is comparable to other institutions they may be considering. Use our interactive calculators for an estimate of how much financial aid you may be eligible to receive and what your overall cost to attend the University of Denver might be. There are three main types of financial aid available.

Merit-Based Scholarships: Recognizing Academic Excellence

Merit scholarships are the most commonly awarded scholarship at DU. These scholarships are awarded based on academic achievement and other outstanding qualities demonstrated in a student's application for admission. You are automatically considered for merit scholarships when you apply for admission to DU. This means your FAFSA and CSS Profile are not used to determine your eligibility, and you will be notified in your admission letter if you are awarded a merit scholarship. The amount you receive is determined by your admission application.

Eligibility for Merit Scholarships

All students are considered for merit-based scholarships when they apply for admission to DU. There is no separate application required. The university holistically evaluates each applicant's academic record, extracurricular activities, essays, and letters of recommendation to determine merit scholarship eligibility.

Award Amounts

Merit scholarship amounts range from $13,000 to $23,000. The specific amount awarded depends on the strength of the student's application.

Residence Hall Grant

Students who are awarded a merit scholarship and live on campus will also receive the Residence Hall Grant. This grant helps offset the cost of on-campus housing.

Need-Based Aid: Supporting Students with Financial Need

In addition to merit-based scholarships, the University of Denver also offers need-based financial aid to students who demonstrate financial need. To be considered for need-based institutional grants and scholarships, a FAFSA and CSS Profile must be submitted.

Determining Financial Need

So how exactly is financial need calculated? Your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is a measure of your family's financial strength and an estimate of how much of your family's financial resources should be available to help pay for your education. It is not intended to represent a minimum or maximum dollar amount that you and your family are required to pay DU. Your EFC is determined from the data you provide on your financial aid application. Family income is only one of several factors involved. Other important factors include the number of members in your household, the number of other siblings attending college, and financial assets.

DU uses two different methodologies to determine your EFC:

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Federal Methodology (FM)

This formula is used to determine eligibility for all federal aid, including Pell Grants, Direct loans, work-study, and Colorado state aid. Your FM EFC is determined using the data provided on your FAFSA. This EFC calculation excludes some forms of income and expenses and eliminates some assets from consideration.

Institutional Methodology (IM)

Many colleges and universities that offer institutional scholarship funds use some variation of Institutional Methodology as established by the College Board. DU uses it to determine your eligibility for institutional aid, such as the DU Educational Grant. Your IM EFC is calculated using the data provided on your CSS Profile. This EFC calculation excludes certain losses and includes several income and asset factors not considered through the FM formula (such as tax-deferred income and equity in the home).

Once we know your financial need, we can determine your eligibility for need-based aid. The University of Denver is not able to meet the full demonstrated need of all students who apply for financial aid. However, we do meet a portion of financial need with institutional need-based aid-namely, the DU Educational Grant (DUEG). The amount of DUEG funding you may be eligible to receive is tied to your merit scholarship.

The DU Educational Grant (DUEG)

The DU Educational Grant is a need-based grant awarded to eligible students. The amount of DUEG funding you may be eligible to receive is tied to your merit scholarship.

Other Scholarship Opportunities at DU

Besides merit-based scholarships and need-based grants, DU also offers other scholarship opportunities:

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Talent Scholarships

Some students may be eligible for Talent Scholarships based on achievements in athletics, music, theater, art, etc.

Endowed Scholarships

Once students have taken a few classes in their major, they may be eligible for Endowed Scholarships in their 2nd, 3rd or 4th year at DU.

Lamont School of Music Scholarships

Important note for music majors: Students applying to the Lamont School of Music are holistically considered for a comprehensive scholarship (ranging from $1,000 to full tuition) that takes talent, academic merit, and financial need into consideration.

External Scholarship Opportunities

Scholarship opportunities are available through various entities not affiliated with DU, and can come from a variety of sources, including community organizations and women's, ethnic, or religious organizations. Generally, these opportunities are called private scholarships.

Unaffiliated Programs

Institutional financial aid is not available for students attending an unaffiliated program. Only federal and state aid (excluding work-study) may be awarded. Complete a Consortium Agreement to request financial aid for your unaffiliated program. Various entities not affiliated with DU offer an array of scholarship opportunities. Many of these opportunities are not broadly advertised, so be sure to speak with any such organizations near you, particularly those you're already affiliated with, to see if they offer scholarship funding.

Since these entities are not affiliated with DU, you are encouraged to evaluate each scholarship opportunity. If you have a scholarship payment, please forward to the address below. If the external organization requires a billing statement or other verification from the University, please send a copy of the organization’s request to the address below:

Financial AidUniversity of Denver2197 S. University Blvd.Denver, CO 80208

How Private Scholarships May Affect Your Aid

Your financial aid eligibility is limited by your cost of attendance and/or your financial need. If you receive additional aid, such as a grant, scholarship or tuition benefit from outside of DU, we will first apply these funds to any unmet financial need, if applicable. However, if you have not applied for need-based aid, then these awards are applied to your account and are limited by your cost of attendance. If the private scholarship(s) causes you to go over your demonstrated financial need and/or cost of attendance, we may have to adjust your aid offer. We will reduce student loans first, then work-study, before reducing any DU scholarships or grants.

Federal and State Grants

The Department of Education and the state of Colorado also offer grant opportunities to eligible students.

Federal Grants

The two most common types of federal grants are the Pell Grant and the Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG). The amount students may receive through the Pell Grant will change annually. For the 2018-19 academic year, eligible students were awarded up to $6,095. Students with exceptional financial need may receive SEOG for between $100 and $4,000 annually.

State Grants

Colorado residents may be eligible for state-funded grants. Eligibility requirements vary.

Student Loans

As you might expect, all student loans must be repaid. Department of Education (which means a FAFSA must be submitted to be eligible), or a private lending institution such as a bank or credit union. Students who apply for aid will have at least one federal loan included in their financial aid package. Federal Direct loans have a 5.05% fixed interest rate, and first-year students are awarded up to $5,500. Some students will have both Subsidized and Unsubsidized Direct loans on their award letter. Subsidized loans are need-based, and the government pays the interest while the student is in school. The Federal Direct Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (commonly known as "Parent PLUS" loans), are available to credit-worthy parents of dependent undergraduate students. It has a 7.60% fixed interest rate, and parents can borrow up to the student's full cost of attendance, less all other financial aid. Private education loans are available from a variety of lending institutions. While no FAFSA is required for these loans, eligibility varies among lenders, and usually a credit check and/or debt-to-income ratio is required.

Work-Study Programs

Some students will see work-study listed on their award letter. This is a need-based award that allows students to work on campus to earn money to help pay for college expenses. It's not a grant (because you must work to earn it), and it's not a loan (because you don't have to repay it). Work-study funding is limited, so not all students who would otherwise be eligible will receive it. While there is no maximum EFC to be considered for work-study, you must still have financial need after other need-based aid has been added to your financial aid offer (remember that the total amount of need-based aid cannot exceed your financial need). However, since funding is so limited, work-study is offered through a lottery system.

Parent PLUS Loans

Although it will not be automatically included in your financial aid offer, the Parent PLUS Loan is a credit-based loan that does not require financial need.

Study Abroad and Financial Aid

The billing and financial aid disbursement occurs as if you were on campus, regardless of your program start date. If you're participating in a spring semester DU Partner Program (that overlaps winter and spring quarters), you will be charged program costs for winter quarter and your aid will disburse as if you were attending DU winter quarter. Spring semester study abroad students may also receive a disbursement of the spring term aid (federal and state only) as if they are attending DU. Please contact our office to discuss your specific aid package.

Important note about departmental scholarships: Some departmental scholarships cannot be used to pay for study abroad charges. Be sure to check with our office and/or department directly to see if your scholarship can be used for your study abroad program.

Use the Cost Planning Worksheet to help you calculate what you will be billed for study abroad and how that might be different from what you usually pay at DU.

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