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Lafayette takes pride in partnering with families to invest in the future of its students.
That partnership is growing.
The College is increasing the size of merit-based awards, transforming the Marquis Fellowship into a full-tuition award ($54,500) and the Marquis Scholarship into a half-tuition award ($27,250). It expects to enroll 10 students as Fellows and another 50 as Scholars among the first-year students arriving this fall.
“The College stands out for its commitment to meeting 100 percent of its families’ demonstrated need,” says Forrest M. Stuart, assistant vice president for financial aid. “We are one of a select group of institutions, fewer than 50 nationally, who are dedicated to lowering and/or eliminating the loan burden for their students.”
In fact, 56% of students receive some form of financial assistance from a $55 million financial aid budget. The average federal student loan debt of members of the 2018 graduating class was $19,760. In 2018 the College was ranked #16 in the country for best financial aid package by Princeton Review.
“The number of outstanding applicants continues to rise,” says Greg MacDonald, vice president for enrollment management. “This additional commitment to recognizing excellence will only improve the quality of the student body and diversify it at the same time.”
The additional awards correspond with the College’s strategic direction of affordability and distinction through growth.
“It is in the College’s nature to appreciate the wise but also to inspire the bold,” says Matt Hyde, dean of admissions. “We seek candidates, much like our namesake, who lean in to life and learning with positive energy, intellectual verve, and a care for others.”
Marquis Award recipients are selected based on merit. Academic merit as demonstrated by high school engagement and success is important in the selection, but so are co-curricular, extra-curricular, and personal merits of each candidate.
There is no separate application for Marquis Awards consideration—all first-year applicants are eligible.
Interviews are not required, but they can play an important role in shaping the cohort of Marquis Award winners.
The application deadline is Jan. 15, but the admissions team strongly encourages those seeking merit-based scholarships to submit their applications a few weeks earlier.