Financial Aid

Swarthmore Merit Scholarships and Financial Aid

Swarthmore reports almost no merit aid: 1 first-year student without financial need received it.

Merit aid

Scholarships Swarthmore gave to first-year students who had no financial need.

Average merit award

Not reported

Freshmen who got one

of 426 in the class

Share of those without need

who received merit aid

Need-based aid

For first-year students the college found to have financial need.

Average need-based grant

$74,043

Average percent of need met

100%

Freshmen with need

56%

240 students

The average total aid package, which can include loans and work-study, was $75,926.

How to read these numbers

Merit aid is awarded for grades, scores, or talent. Need-based aid is awarded for family finances. A student can receive both.
The merit figures count only students with no financial need, so they show what a family that will not qualify for need-based aid can expect.
A grant does not have to be repaid. A package can include loans, which do.

Email me Swarthmore's aid numbers

A link to this page, plus the merit aid comparison for every college we track.

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Frequently asked questions

Does Swarthmore give merit scholarships?

Swarthmore reports almost no merit aid: 1 first-year student without financial need received it.

Does Swarthmore meet full financial need?

Swarthmore reports meeting 100% of need on average for first-year students who were awarded need-based aid.

What share of Swarthmore freshmen have financial need?

240 of 426 first-time, full-time freshmen, or 56%, were found to have financial need.

Source: Swarthmore’s own Common Data Set 2025-26, Section H, for first-time, full-time freshmen. Last checked 2026-10-08. These are averages for one entering class, and some colleges report the prior year’s class in this section. Your own offer depends on your family’s finances and your application.