Purdue University Scholarship 2026 in USA (Funded)

About the scholarships

Purdue's university-wide merit scholarships are awarded through holistic review of the admission application — academic information, essay, recommendations and additional personal experience information all count, and no single GPA or test-score cutoff is published. Notification comes with the admission decision, typically from mid-January. Roughly 15% of applicants receive a merit award in a typical year, so these are competitive awards for the top tier of admitted students, not automatic entitlements. The awards are stackable with other aid, but Purdue adjusts the total if your overall package exceeds the published cost of attendance.

The four university-wide awards covered here are the core of the scheme. Beyond them, Purdue's colleges run their own scholarships, and there are smaller named awards (for example a National Recognition Programs Scholarship of $1,000 a year and a National Merit Scholarship of $500 a year), but the November 1 deadline and the no-separate-application rule are what matter for the main awards.

Benefits

• Trustees Scholarship: $16,000 a year for nonresidents, $10,000 a year for Indiana residents — Purdue's largest university-wide merit award, worth up to $64,000 over four years for a nonresident who renews it.
• Presidential Scholarship: $10,000 a year for nonresidents, $4,000 a year for Indiana residents, recognising high academic achievement plus leadership and service.
• Indy Scholars: $10,000 a year minimum; to receive it you must accept your offer and enrol as a full-time student in Indianapolis.
• Lilly Scholars at Purdue Program: full tuition, aimed at students from under-resourced urban and rural populations who have overcome socioeconomic or educational disadvantages or who are among the first generation in their family to attend college, with an opt-in process.
• Renewal: up to four years (eight semesters) while pursuing your first undergraduate degree, based on continuous full-time enrolment and meeting Purdue's GPA requirement — 3.00 or higher for the main awards.

Who can apply

• Who: incoming first-year undergraduates applying to Purdue. Awards are made by holistic review; Purdue publishes no GPA or test cutoff for the Trustees award, and strong academics alongside a compelling essay, leadership and service are what winning profiles typically show.
• Nationality caveat: two secondary sources state that these university-wide merit scholarships are for domestic students only (US citizens, nationals and permanent residents) and that international students on F, J or similar visas are not eligible. Purdue's official scholarships page section checked for this article does not state that restriction in the excerpt available, so treat the domestic-only point as reported, not confirmed — and confirm it on the official page before you apply.
• No appeal: Purdue does not match offers from other institutions and does not consider appeals for merit aid; awards rest on the credentials presented with the application and are non-negotiable.

Documents required

• No separate scholarship application and no separate scholarship document set: consideration is based solely on the admission application.
• That means your admission application itself must be complete by the deadline — academic records, essay, recommendations and any additional personal experience information Purdue asks for.
• Check Purdue's admissions pages for the current first-year application requirements for your applicant type, since those are the materials your scholarship decision will be based on.

How to apply

1. Apply for admission to Purdue as a first-year undergraduate and make sure the application is complete by 1 November — Purdue marks this deadline "firm" for the Trustees, Presidential, Indy Scholars and Lilly Scholars awards.
2. There is nothing else to submit for these awards: no separate scholarship form, no extra essay beyond what the admission application asks for.
3. Wait for the admission decision, which includes notification of any merit award, typically from mid-January.
4. If you are an international applicant, confirm your eligibility for university-wide merit awards on Purdue's official scholarships page first — see the caveat above.

FAQs

Verified 29 Oct 2026 against Purdue's official first-year scholarships page (admissions.purdue.edu/cost-financial-aid/scholarships: university-wide scholarships; value varies by residency; admission application must be complete to meet a scholarship deadline; holistic review; up to four years/eight semesters for a first undergraduate degree on continuous full-time enrolment and GPA requirements; Trustees $16,000/year nonresidents / $10,000/year residents, deadline Nov. 1 (firm), renewable at 3.00+; Presidential $10,000/year nonresidents / $4,000/year residents, Nov. 1 (firm), renewable at 3.00+; Indy Scholars $10,000/year minimum, Nov. 1 (firm), Indianapolis enrolment required; Lilly Scholars full tuition, Nov. 1 (firm)) plus Coursmooc (international students on F/J visas not eligible for the university-wide awards; ~15% of applicants receive an award; no separate application; awards non-negotiable) and CollegeReadyParent (Trustees $16,000/year nonresident, $64,000 over four years if renewed; results with the admission decision, typically after mid-January; stackable subject to cost of attendance). CONFLICTS: (1) The domestic-only restriction comes from secondary sources only — it is not stated in the official-page excerpt checked, so the article flags it as reported and tells international applicants to confirm it officially. (2) Aggregator pages disagree on minor awards (for example National Merit $500/year vs $2,000–$4,000 total across sources); the article uses only the four main university-wide awards' figures, which the official page confirms.