Financial Aid

UC Davis Merit Scholarships and Financial Aid

UC Davis gave merit aid averaging $7,912 to 319 first-year students who had no financial need, about 11% of the freshmen without need.

Merit aid

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

Average merit award

$7,912

Freshmen who got one

319

of 6,650 in the class

Share of those without need

11%

who received merit aid

Need-based aid

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

Average need-based grant

$29,937

Average percent of need met

81.7%

Freshmen with need

55%

3,634 students

The average total aid package, which can include loans and work-study, was $32,557.

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 UC Davis'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 UC Davis give merit scholarships?

UC Davis gave merit aid averaging $7,912 to 319 first-year students who had no financial need, about 11% of the freshmen without need.

How much is the average merit scholarship at UC Davis?

$7,912 for first-year students without financial need, according to UC Davis's 2025-26 Common Data Set. That is an average across everyone who got an award, so individual offers run higher and lower.

Does UC Davis meet full financial need?

UC Davis reports meeting 81.7% of need on average for first-year students who were awarded need-based aid. A figure under 100% means the average student was left with a gap to cover.

What share of UC Davis freshmen have financial need?

3,634 of 6,650 first-time, full-time freshmen, or 55%, were found to have financial need.

Source: UC Davis’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.