TL;DR: Notre Dame offers a limited number of merit scholarships to admitted first-year students, and every application for admission is considered: there is no separate application unless a student is notified of selection as a merit semi-finalist (University of Notre Dame Office of Financial Aid). The most generous package is the Notre Dame Stamps Scholarship, which covers tuition and fees plus the estimated cost of books, personal expenses, and transportation for up to four years, with a $12,000 enrichment fund. Stamps candidates are told of next steps in early December for Restrictive Early Action and early March for Regular Decision, and Notre Dame says REA applicants, with a November 1 deadline, receive priority consideration for merit scholarships. By our count of the published roster, 11 Stamps Scholars joined the Class of 2030. To build the candidacy, schedule a consultation with Oriel Admissions.
Does Notre Dame Give Merit Scholarships?
Yes, a limited number. The Office of Financial Aid says Notre Dame offers a limited number of merit scholarships to admitted first-year students, whose recipients demonstrate exceptional accomplishment, leadership, commitment to service, and intellectual promise, and that financial need is not a factor unless otherwise noted (Notre Dame Office of Financial Aid, Merit-Based Scholarships). The mechanism is the rule families most often misread: every application for admission is considered for merit scholarships, and there is no separate application to complete unless the student is notified of selection as a merit semi-finalist. There is no scholarship form to find and no nomination to secure. Because the awards are competitive and limited, Notre Dame encourages applicants to apply for need-based aid if the cost of a Notre Dame education would pose a financial hardship, and it combines merit scholarships and need-based aid up to the total cost of attendance, adjusting need-based aid if a package would exceed it.
What Is the Notre Dame Stamps Scholarship?
Notre Dame’s named merit programs, including the Stamps and Scott Scholars, sit within the Undergraduate Scholars Programs of the Center for Academic Transformation and Excellence, a set of cohort-based programs that provide community, academic mentoring, and in some cases holistic support (Notre Dame Undergraduate Scholars Programs). The crown is the Notre Dame Stamps Scholarship, established in 2013, which Notre Dame calls the most generous merit scholarship package at the university: an annual scholarship covering tuition and fees as well as the estimated cost of books, personal expenses, and transportation for up to four years, or five years for a student in the School of Architecture or an approved dual-degree program, plus a $12,000 enrichment fund for expenses such as Outward Bound, study abroad, unpaid internships and research, leadership training, conference fees, and travel (Notre Dame Stamps Scholars Program). Notre Dame Stamps Scholars are part of a Stamps network of more than 1,800 current and graduate scholars, and by an Oriel Admissions count of the published roster, 11 Stamps Scholars joined the Class of 2030. Notre Dame also partners with the Suzanne and Walter Scott Foundation to offer merit-based scholarships and enrichment funding to Scott Scholars, selected for academic achievement, a commitment to service, and leadership ability (Notre Dame Scott Scholars Program). One change matters for families reading older guides: the Hesburgh-Yusko Scholars Program, which began in 2010, will come to an end with the graduation of the Class of 2028, although Mark and Stacey Yusko continue to support one student annually with a Hesburgh-Yusko Scholarship (Notre Dame Hesburgh-Yusko Scholars Program). Notre Dame says the spirit of the program will live on in the Corde Scholars Program, which admits ten students each year (Notre Dame Corde Scholars Program).
How Does Notre Dame Merit Selection Work?
Selection runs on the admission calendar. The Office of Admissions manages Stamps selection by identifying students from among the highest-achieving applicants in the Restrictive Early Action and Regular Decision pools who demonstrate academic merit, strong leadership potential, and exceptional character; all applicants in both pools are considered, and no additional application is necessary (Notre Dame Stamps Scholars Program). Applicants being considered for the Stamps are notified of any required next steps in early December for the REA cycle and early March for the RD cycle. The admissions office adds the timing fact that matters most: students who apply by the Restrictive Early Action deadline of November 1 receive priority consideration for merit scholarships (Notre Dame Undergraduate Admissions, Decision Planning). REA is non-binding: an REA applicant may apply to other Early Action programs, may not apply to any college through its binding Early Decision I program, and may apply to Early Decision II programs, withdrawing from Notre Dame if admitted through one. REA decisions arrive in mid-December, Regular Decision applications are due January 4 with decisions by mid- to late March, and admitted students have until May 1 to confirm. Because the admission application is the entire merit candidacy, the leadership and service signal has to be fully built into the Notre Dame application itself, in essays, activities, and recommendations written months before anyone mentions money.
What Are the Key Notre Dame Merit Facts and Dates?
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Application | None beyond the Notre Dame application; a separate step exists only for students notified of selection as a merit semi-finalist |
| Flagship award | Notre Dame Stamps Scholarship: tuition and fees plus the estimated cost of books, personal expenses, and transportation, with a $12,000 enrichment fund |
| Scale | 11 Stamps Scholars in the Class of 2030 by our count of the published roster; a Stamps network of more than 1,800 current and graduate scholars |
| Notices | Stamps next steps in early December for REA and early March for RD; REA admission decisions in mid-December and RD decisions by mid- to late March |
| Early advantage | Restrictive Early Action applicants, with a November 1 deadline, receive priority consideration for merit scholarships |
| Duration | Stamps funding for up to four years, or five for the School of Architecture or approved dual-degree programs |
How Should Families Plan for Notre Dame Merit Scholarships?
For a merit-hunting family, Notre Dame rewards the strength of the file itself, with no scholarship-specific action available or needed before a semi-finalist notice. Oriel Admissions draws a clean planning consequence: if Notre Dame is a top choice, submit the strongest possible application by November 1, because Restrictive Early Action brings priority merit consideration without a binding commitment, and remember that it rules out binding Early Decision I applications elsewhere. Families comparing Notre Dame with programs that require deliberate applications or run on different timelines can read our guides to the AB Duke Scholarship, the Emory Scholars Program, and WashU merit scholarships. Ground the base rates in our Notre Dame acceptance rate analysis, build the file with our Notre Dame admissions guide, and price the whole portfolio with the merit aid finder.
Frequently Asked Questions About Notre Dame Merit Scholarships
Yes, a limited number to admitted first-year students. Every application for admission is considered, with no separate application unless the student is notified of selection as a merit semi-finalist, and financial need is not a factor unless otherwise noted.
The most generous merit package at Notre Dame: an annual scholarship covering tuition and fees plus the estimated cost of books, personal expenses, and transportation for up to four years, five for Architecture or approved dual-degree programs, with a $12,000 enrichment fund. The program was established in 2013.
Applicants under Stamps consideration are notified of any required next steps in early December for the Restrictive Early Action cycle and early March for the Regular Decision cycle. REA admission decisions arrive in mid-December and Regular Decision decisions by mid- to late March.
You apply to Notre Dame. Every Restrictive Early Action and Regular Decision applicant is considered, and a separate step exists only for students notified of semi-finalist selection, so the merit case must be built into the admission application itself.
Notre Dame describes its merit scholarships as limited and competitive. By an Oriel Admissions count of the published roster, 11 Notre Dame Stamps Scholars joined the Class of 2030, and other programs such as the Scott Scholars Program add further merit-based awards.
The Hesburgh-Yusko Scholars Program will come to an end with the graduation of the Class of 2028. Mark and Stacey Yusko continue to support one student annually with a Hesburgh-Yusko Scholarship, and Notre Dame says the spirit of the program will live on in the Corde Scholars Program.
Notre Dame says students who apply by the Restrictive Early Action deadline of November 1 receive priority consideration for merit scholarships. REA is non-binding, but it rules out binding Early Decision I applications elsewhere, so it fits students who have Notre Dame as a top choice and can submit their strongest application by November 1.
Yes. Notre Dame says merit scholarships and need-based aid are combined up to the total cost of attendance, and if a package exceeds that amount, need-based aid may be adjusted. Because merit awards are limited, Notre Dame encourages families who would face hardship to apply for need-based aid.
Sources: University of Notre Dame Office of Financial Aid, Merit-Based Scholarships, Notre Dame Stamps Scholars Program, Notre Dame Undergraduate Scholars Programs, Notre Dame Scott Scholars Program, Notre Dame Hesburgh-Yusko Scholars Program, Notre Dame Corde Scholars Program, University of Notre Dame Undergraduate Admissions, Decision Planning.
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