Financial Aid

UC Irvine Merit Scholarships and Financial Aid

UC Irvine gave merit aid averaging $10,513 to 212 first-year students who had no financial need, about 6% of the freshmen without need.

Merit aid

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

Average merit award

$10,513

Freshmen who got one

212

of 6,404 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

$26,853

Average percent of need met

85.9%

Freshmen with need

45%

2,902 students

The average total aid package, which can include loans and work-study, was $30,774.

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 Irvine'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 Irvine give merit scholarships?

UC Irvine gave merit aid averaging $10,513 to 212 first-year students who had no financial need, about 6% of the freshmen without need.

How much is the average merit scholarship at UC Irvine?

$10,513 for first-year students without financial need, according to UC Irvine'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 Irvine meet full financial need?

UC Irvine reports meeting 85.9% 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 Irvine freshmen have financial need?

2,902 of 6,404 first-time, full-time freshmen, or 45%, were found to have financial need.

Source: UC Irvine’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.