Financial Aid

Wake Forest Merit Scholarships and Financial Aid

Wake Forest gave merit aid averaging $23,168 to 54 first-year students who had no financial need, about 5% of the freshmen without need.

Merit aid

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

Average merit award

$23,168

Freshmen who got one

of 1,472 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

$71,567

Average percent of need met

99.9%

Freshmen with need

22%

320 students

The average total aid package, which can include loans and work-study, was $79,381.

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 Wake Forest'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 Wake Forest give merit scholarships?

Wake Forest gave merit aid averaging $23,168 to 54 first-year students who had no financial need, about 5% of the freshmen without need.

How much is the average merit scholarship at Wake Forest?

$23,168 for first-year students without financial need, according to Wake Forest's 2025-26 Common Data Set. That is an average across everyone who got an award, so individual offers run higher and lower.

Does Wake Forest meet full financial need?

Wake Forest reports meeting 99.9% 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 Wake Forest freshmen have financial need?

320 of 1,472 first-time, full-time freshmen, or 22%, were found to have financial need.

Source: Wake Forest’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.