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Admissions & Aid

 

AFFORDABILITY AT WESTMINSTER

Nobody pays full sticker price at

Westminster.

Every single Westminster student receives aid — and no one pays the published sticker price. Thanks to the generosity of our alumni and friends, every student accepted to Westminster receives at least $22,000 in merit scholarships.

 

 

Published cost, 2026-27
Tuition, housing, and food

$56,210

$21,500

Average cost after aid


100% of undergraduates receive scholarships or grants.

 

 

100%

of undergrads receive aid

 

$22K

guaranteed merit scholarship

 

$34K

average aid awarded

 

96%

of demonstrated need met

 

 

FAMILIES JUST LIKE YOURS

Westminster students come from every economic background.

Meet the students joining us in Fall 2026 — a community built from every income level. At Westminster, what your family earns doesn't decide whether you belong here. Students from every background find their place, and a way to afford it. The numbers below show just how wide that range runs.

Estimated family income of entering students
Share of the Fall 2026 entering class, by estimated family income
Under $50,000
36%
$50,000–$100,000
18%
$100,000–$150,000
14%
$150,000–$250,000
14%
Over $250,000
14%
Not reported
4%
More than a third of incoming students come from families earning under $50,000 — and you'll find Titans at every income level. (Income estimated from financial-aid data.)
 
Who joins us
Fall 2026 entering class
40%

Pell-eligible

Federal grant support for lower-income students

31%

First-generation

First in their family to attend college

84%

Live on campus

A close-knit residential community

 

STICKER PRICE, ITEMIZED

So what does Westminster actually cost?

Let's start with the full price, no fine print. This is what a year at Westminster costs in 2026–27 — tuition, fees, housing, and meals, before a single scholarship is applied. It's only the starting point, though. Almost no one pays full sticker price — scholarships, grants, and other aid bring out-of-pocket costs well below it.

 

Tuition
$41,340
Activity fee
$800
Housing
Standard double room
$7,570
Food
Traditional meal plan
$6,500

Published total

$56,210

Why it Costs Less Than it Looks

Generations of Titans pay it forward.

Because our alumni and friends know the value of a Westminster degree, they give back — so the next generation of students can benefit the way they did. Their generosity funds the scholarships and grants that bring your cost down.


So while the published price may look daunting, know that every student receives at least $22,000 in aid.

 

HOW AID WORKS

Watch the price come down.

Aid isn't a single discount — it's a stack of smaller pieces working together. It comes in three forms: money you never repay, money you can borrow, and money you earn. Stacked up, they turn that published price into something far more manageable.

 

START HERE - THE FOUNDATION

Free money

SCHOLARSHIPS & GRANTS

This is the foundation — and where your cost drops the most, because none of it is ever repaid. Every accepted student earns a merit scholarship, awarded automatically and renewable all four years. Many add need-based grants, endowed scholarships, and community scholarships on top.

 

IF YOU NEED IT

Borrowed Money

LOANS

After the free money, some families borrow to cover part of what's left — through federal or, if needed, private loans. Loans are repaid over time, but they lower your out-of-pocket cost now, spreading the investment across the years your degree pays you back.

 

AS YOU GO

Earned money

WORK-STUDY & JOBS

Students can earn as they go, too. Federal Work-Study and jobs on and off campus let you earn a paycheck during the year to put toward your bill — often while building a résumé at the same time. Every dollar you earn is a dollar you don't borrow.

 

 

Hunting for outside scholarships? Start a free search at fastweb.com — any awards you receive brings your cost down even further, beyond what the example below shows.

The example below uses only free money — scholarships and grants — to show how far your cost drops before you borrow a single dollar.

 

Westminster College

Example Aid Offer | First Year | 2026-27

Published cost (tuition, fees, housing, food)
$56,210

Merit Scholarship
Renewable all 4 years

- $26,000

Early Application Grant
First Year

- $2,000

Visit Grant
First Year

- $1,000

Jerb Miller Scholarship
Alumni educator-nominated renewable

- $2,000

Federal Pell Grant
Based on FAFSA

- $4,000

PA State Grant
Through PHEAA

- $4,000

Estimated first-year cost

$17,210

 

This is only one example of how a financial aid offer comes together. Every family's circumstances are different,so every award is too.

 

THE WESTMINSTER ADVANTAGE

For eligible Pennsylvania families, the Advantage can bring tuition to $0.

 

The Advantage is applied last — after your scholarships and your federal and state grants — to cover whatever tuition is left. There's no separate application and no essay.

The Westminster Advantage scholarship is a program for students who meet eligibility criterion, so not everyone will qualify — but for those who do, it's one more way a Westminster education becomes genuinely affordable.

 

To Be Automatically Considered

 

  Be a Pennsylvania resident.


  High school GPA of 3.0 or higher


  Total family income of $75,000 or less


  File the FAFSA and apply for a PA State Grant

 

 

STACKABLE AID

More ways the price comes down.

Beyond your merit scholarship, Westminster layers on even more ways to bring your cost down. Some are one-time grants you earn during the admission process by hitting key steps — each with its own deadline, applied to your first-year bill. Others renew year after year, so the savings follow you all the way to graduation. And some aren't Westminster's money at all — they're federal and state grants, like Pell and the PA State Grant, that you become eligible for by filing the FAFSA. Filing the FAFSA is the single most important step to unlocking the federal and state aid you're eligible for. Here's how it all stacks up.

 

First-year application grants

One Time During Admission

Early Application Grant
Apply ahead of the deadline

$1,500

Transcript Grant
Send your official transcript

$500

FAFSA Filing Grant
File the FAFSA with our code 003392

$1,000

Visit Grant
Come see campus

$1,000

Deposit Match Grant
We match your enrollment deposit

$200

 

Renewable all four years

Annual With Eligibility

Out-of-State Grant
For students from beyond PA

$2,000

Music Ensemble Grant
Perform in a Westminster ensemble

$1,000

Jerb Miller Scholarship
Alumni educator–nominated

$2,000

Young Presbyterian Scholarship
For active Presbyterian students

$2,000

 

Scholarships & need-based aid

The Foundation of Your Award

Merit Scholarship
Guaranteed minimum, renewable 4 years

$22,000+

Federal Pell Grant
Based on your FAFSA

Up to $7,395

PA State Grant
Through PHEAA

Up to $6,000

Westminster Advantage
Eligible PA families applied last

Tuition

 

 

 

 

MERIT, GUARANTEED

Strong students earn strong scholarships — automatically.

Nearly every student earns a merit scholarship, guaranteed on admission and renewable all four years, starting at a minimum of $22,000. And this is an academically strong class: about a third of the entering class arrived with a weighted high school GPA above 4.0.

 

11%
$22K
19%
$24K
19%
$26K
16%
$28K
34%
$30K

The most common award is the biggest one

Share of scholarship recipients at each award level Fall 2026 entering class.

More students earn the top $30,000 scholarship than any other amount. Because it's guaranteed on admission and renews each year, it's real money you can count on for four years — not a one-time discount.

 

THE RETURN ON INVESTMENT

An education that pays you back.

Affordable going in — and worth it coming out. Westminster students finish with manageable debt and a degree that's nationally recognized for value.

 

96%

Of demonstrated financial need met

Among the highest of PA peers

 

4.2

Average years to a degree

Finish on time, spend less

 

$26K

Median student debt at graduation

Below the national average

 

America's Best Colleges, 2026

Money — for educational quality, affordability, and outcomes.

 

Best Bang for the Buck — Northeast

Washington Monthly — helping students of every background earn marketable degrees affordably.

 

Best Bang for Your Tuition (& Tax) Dollars

Washington Monthly — national recognition for value.

 

 

See your number in a few minutes.

The Net Price Calculator gives you a personalized estimate — merit and grants included. Then take the next step.