Financial Aid
Denver Merit Scholarships and Financial Aid
Denver gave merit aid averaging $28,815 to 559 first-year students who had no financial need, about 90% of the freshmen without need.
Merit aid
Scholarships Denver gave to first-year students who had no financial need.
Average merit award
$28,815
Freshmen who got one
559
of 1,147 in the class
Share of those without need
90%
who received merit aid
Need-based aid
For first-year students the college found to have financial need.
Average need-based grant
$48,039
Average percent of need met
88.1%
Freshmen with need
46%
523 students
The average total aid package, which can include loans and work-study, was $58,975.
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.
Frequently asked questions
Does Denver give merit scholarships?
Denver gave merit aid averaging $28,815 to 559 first-year students who had no financial need, about 90% of the freshmen without need.
How much is the average merit scholarship at Denver?
$28,815 for first-year students without financial need, according to Denver's 2025-26 Common Data Set. That is an average across everyone who got an award, so individual offers run higher and lower.
Does Denver meet full financial need?
Denver reports meeting 88.1% 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 Denver freshmen have financial need?
523 of 1,147 first-time, full-time freshmen, or 46%, were found to have financial need.
Source: Denver’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.