Admissions & Aid

Types of Financial Assistance


 

Making the Priceless Affordable

Scholarships

At the undergraduate level, Christendom College offers four-year Academic Scholarships based on academic merit to first-time freshmen and first-time transfers. Dollar amounts awarded can range from partial to full tuition scholarships.

Once awarded an Academic Scholarship, students can keep this scholarship for four years if they maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA at the College. Students are automatically awarded these scholarships upon acceptance as a full-time enrolled student at the College.

Scholarship awards are based on qualifying scores from at least one of the following three standardized tests:

  • SAT: Achievement of a score of 1190 or higher.
  • ACT: Achievement of a score of 24 or higher.
  • CLT: Achievement of a score of 77 or higher.

Please note: Christendom superscores the SAT, ACT, and CLT, and students may continue to improve their scores even after being accepted. The College recommends selecting one of these tests and taking it multiple times to try and achieve the highest score possible. April is the last month an accepted student can sit for a test and still submit scores in consideration of higher scholarship. Log into your SAT, ACT, or CLT website and request your scores be sent to the Director of Admissions. Christendom requires official score reports sent directly from the standardized testing center to satisfy our score requirements.

The college also requires the submission of high-school transcripts that show substantial achievement and willingness to work and succeed in an academic curriculum.

Please note that the numbers below are for the 2026-27 academic year.

Types of Scholarships

Padre Pio Full-Tuition Scholarship - (100% tuition scholarship)
The next competition will be held on Saturday, March 20, 2027, and 4 full-tuition scholarships will be awarded. To apply to compete, a student must meet the below requirements, have applied to and been accepted at Christendom as part of the Early Action Deadline (i.e. no later than December 1), and be available to participate in the March 20th competition on campus in which the student will write an essay and interview with a scholarship panel. For those who qualify, the application to complete typically opens in February.

SAT/ACT/CLT Requirements to participate in Padre Pio Competition:

  • SAT: Minimum score of 1280
  • ACT: Minimum score of 27
  • CLT: Minimum score of 84

Full-Tuition Scholarship for CLT National Award Recipients and National Merit Finalists – (100% tuition scholarship)

Christendom offers up to five full-tuition scholarships to students who are either CLT National Award Recipients or National Merit Finalists. These scholarships are renewable for four years.

To be considered for one of these five full-tuition scholarships, CLT10 National Award Recipients and National Merit Finalists must apply to Christendom by the December 1 Early Action Deadline and be offered admission. These students will then be required to provide verification of their status as a CLT National Award Recipients or National Merit Finalist and submit a scholarship application by March 1. The scholarship committee will select the 5 recipients from the applications submitted.

Founder’s Scholarship - $16,000/year
Students who have a high school GPA of 3.0 or higher, and meet the below requirements are awarded the Founder's Scholarship. This is a four-year renewable scholarship.

Requirements:

  • SAT: Between 1520-1600
  • ACT: Between 34-36
  • CLT: Between 107-120

President’s Scholarship - $13,000/year
Students who have a high school GPA of 3.0 or higher and meet the below requirements are awarded the President's Scholarship. This is a four-year renewable scholarship.

Requirements:

  • SAT: Between 1360-1519
  • ACT: Between 30-33
  • CLT: Between 91-106

Dean’s Scholarship - $10,000/year
Students who have a high school GPA of 3.0 or higher and meet the below requirements are awarded the Dean's Scholarship. This is a four-year renewable scholarship.

Requirements:

  • SAT: Between 1280-1359
  • ACT: Between 27-29
  • CLT: Between 84-90

Director's Scholarship - $7,000/year
Students who have a high school GPA of 3.0 or higher and meet the below requirements are awarded the Director's Scholarship. This is a four-year renewable scholarship.

Requirements:

  • SAT: Between 1190-1279
  • ACT: Between 24-26
  • CLT: Between 77-83

Crusader Scholarship - $1,000/year
Students whose parents are alumni (one parent needs to have attended the undergraduate college for at least one semester or graduated from the Notre Dame Graduate School) are granted a yearly scholarship. This is a four-year renewable scholarship.

Thomas S. Vander Woude Memorial Scholarship - $5,000/year
Two four-year renewable scholar-athlete scholarships are awarded each fall semester to two incoming students. Students must meet certain criteria and apply for the scholarship. Click on the link above for more information.

Liturgical Music Scholarships

  • Pope Benedict XVI Organ Scholarships--$2,000-$6,000 per year
  • St. Cecilia Vocal Scholarship--$4,500 per year

For more information on applying for these liturgical music scholarships, please go here.

Military Service Scholarships

Students enrolled at Christendom College are able to file for their VA education benefits. Christendom also offers a donor-funded Military Service Scholarship to supplement the aid that military students receive. For more information, please go here.

Outside Scholarship Opportunities

In addition to Christendom College’s own academic scholarships, there are many outside organizations (such as the Knights of Columbus) that offer scholarships and financial assistance.

We honor these outside scholarships and encourage families to research and pursue them. Here are a few resources for identifying outside scholarship opportunities.

Types of Other Discounts and Aid

Sibling Discount - $5,000/year 
Students with an older sibling (or siblings) concurrently attending Christendom with them will receive a discount of $5,000 off tuition per year. This annual sibling discount will automatically be offered for all four years of attendance (totaling $20,000) and will continue after the older sibling graduates or withdraws.

Please note that all scholarships are integrated with any need-based financial aid awarded by the College. This means scholarships assist in meeting calculated need. Total scholarships awarded by the College may not exceed 100% of Tuition. The amounts listed above are for the 2026-27 academic year.

Loan Program:

    • Christendom College Loans: Christendom has an institutional loan program. The amount of a loan offered to a student is based on the student’s calculated need established with the College. Loan payments of interest and principal are deferred until one year (the grace year) after the student leaves the College. Interest also does not accrue until the deferment period is over. Students who pay their loan off during the grace year (which for most students is the year after the student graduates) effectively can get an interest-free loan.
      • Debt Forgiveness for Religious Vocations and Deferments:
        • Students who are ordained to the priesthood or profess the perpetual vows of their order are eligible for loan forgiveness from the College. Students who pursue missionary or other lay apostolate work also qualify for some deferments
        • Deferments are available for students who are enrolled full-time at an institution of higher education or who enter formation for the priesthood or religious life. For more information about Christendom’s loan program, click here.
    • Private Loans: Private loan sources are also available to all creditworthy, enrolled Christendom students. These loans help bridge the gap between the actual cost of education and the limited amount of institutional financial aid offered by Christendom. Christendom certifies private loans through the following preferred lenders:
    • Statement of Loan Policy: Due to our independence from government assistance, federal loans are not made available to Christendom students. Some students may qualify for institutional loans. Students are permitted to pursue any privately funded student loan as long as the loan amount is less than or equal to the cost of attendance not covered by other scholarships, discounts, and institutional loans. However, since many lenders will not process student loans for students attending an institution without a federal school code, we provide information on quality alternative lenders with whom we have an established relationship. Christendom students are not limited to these lenders when seeking an outside loan.
  • The college recognizes that borrowing to pay for educational expenses is a personal decision that must be made by each student and his or her family, albeit a necessity more often than not at some level. Financial aid requests from families with strong convictions against debt will be assessed on the same basis as families without similar convictions, but institutional loans from the College are not required and may be turned down.

  • On-Campus Jobs

    For undergraduate students, the College maintains a Student Employment Opportunity Website which instructs the student on the hiring process here at the College. A student employee can expect to make approximately $3,000 for the academic year and can gain valuable work experience through the College's student employment program.

    While the College cannot guarantee any student a job, most students wanting a job do eventually get hired within their first two semesters at the College.