Status: Closed for 2025 entry. Seattle University’s scholarships for students starting in 2025 were linked to the 2025 admissions cycle, and that cycle has now closed. This page has been rewritten and verified against the university’s own financial aid pages, so that it describes only what Seattle University actually offers — and it keeps the 2025 record intact for readers who want to understand the awards before a later cycle. If you are applying now, check the current deadlines on the official Seattle University pages linked at the end of this article, because the dates for the next cycle are the ones that matter.
Seattle University is a private Jesuit Catholic university in Seattle, Washington, in the United States. It welcomes students from all over the world, and its undergraduate scholarships are designed to reduce the cost of study for students who are admitted on academic merit. The important point to understand first is that these are mostly partial awards, not a single fully funded scholarship. One named award does cover full tuition and more, but it goes to only two students a year and has its own strict eligibility rules. Everything else in this article is organised around that distinction, so that no reader mistakes a partial merit award for a full ride.
Summary
| University | Seattle University, Seattle, Washington, USA |
|---|---|
| Study level | Undergraduate (first-year and transfer); graduate scholarships are listed separately by the university |
| Main award | Merit (non-need-based) scholarships, awarded automatically on admission |
| Merit award value | At least $8,000 per year, according to Seattle University |
| Who is eligible | First-year, transfer, international and undocumented students |
| 2025 entry | Closed |
What Seattle University offers
Seattle University splits its undergraduate financial support into two groups: scholarships and grants that are based on merit and do not depend on financial need, and need-based aid that depends on a family’s financial circumstances. The distinction matters, especially for international students, because international students are not eligible for federal financial aid in the United States. That is stated on the university’s financial aid pages. So an international applicant should plan around the merit scholarships and the named awards described below, and should not count on need-based federal aid.
For an undergraduate applicant, the best-known route is the merit scholarship. Seattle University says these awards are calculated using the information in your admissions application, and that first-year, transfer, international and undocumented students are all eligible. The awards are worth at least $8,000 per year. There is no separate scholarship application for them: you are automatically considered when you apply for admission. That is a genuine advantage, because it means the scholarship decision follows the admission decision, without a second form, a second deadline or a separate essay. It also means that the quality of your admissions application — your school record and the other material the university asks for — is what the scholarship decision is based on.
Renewal is also set out by the university. Merit scholarships are renewable for up to four years for first-year students, and for two to three years for transfer students, depending on how many credits they bring with them. Specifically, the university says a transfer student who arrives with fewer than 45 quarter credits can be renewed for up to four years, while one who arrives with more than 45 quarter credits can be renewed for up to three years. Those renewal periods are a useful detail when you work out the total value of an award over a full degree, but remember that the yearly figure is a minimum: the university says awards are “at least” $8,000 a year, and it does not publish a single maximum for every student on the page this article was checked against. Earlier versions of this page gave upper figures of $25,000 for first-year students and $15,000 for transfer students. Those figures were not confirmed on the official undergraduate scholarships page at the time of this rewrite, on 13 November 2026, so they have been removed rather than repeated.
The Sullivan Leadership Award
The one award at Seattle University that does cover a student’s full cost of study is the Sullivan Leadership Award. It is a highly competitive, merit-based scholarship that covers full tuition, room and board, and mandatory fees. It is also the most restricted award in this article. Only two students receive it each year, and it is open only to seniors at Jesuit or Catholic high schools. It also has a leadership and service focus, and the university describes it as a leadership award, not simply an academic prize. Even inside that small group of eligible schools, an applicant would need an outstanding record to be one of two recipients.
That is why this article does not describe Seattle University’s scholarships as “fully funded” in general. For almost every student, the realistic award is a partial merit scholarship of at least $8,000 a year. The Sullivan award is the exception, and it is an exception with its own school and leadership conditions. If you are not a senior at a Jesuit or Catholic high school, it is not available to you, and your application should be planned around the merit awards instead.
Other awards worth knowing
Seattle University also lists a number of smaller, named undergraduate grants alongside the merit scholarships. The university’s scholarships page lists awards for students transferring from a community college, awards for students who graduated from Seattle University’s own Sullivan partner schools, and funds for students with specified circumstances. Most of these are described as additional help that sits alongside a merit award rather than a replacement for it.
Three of the need-based awards listed by the university are relevant to particular groups. The Fostering Scholars Program is for students who have experienced foster care. The Boundless Scholars Program is a full-tuition grant for students who graduated from Seattle Central College through the Seattle Promise programme. The Seattle U Grant is the university’s own need-based grant, and it includes undocumented students as well as students who file the FAFSA or its Washington State equivalent. International students should check each of these separately, because several of them are aimed at specific categories of student and are not general international awards.
Graduate students are a separate case. Seattle University says it offers scholarships at the graduate level too, and it keeps a separate list of graduate scholarships, some of which are applied for automatically and some of which need a separate application. This article does not give graduate amounts, because graduate awards vary by programme and are listed on the university’s graduate scholarships page. If you are applying for a master’s degree, read that page and the page of your specific programme before you assume any undergraduate figure applies to you.
Who can apply
You can be considered for the undergraduate merit scholarships if you apply to Seattle University as a first-year or transfer undergraduate student. The university explicitly says international students and undocumented students are eligible for these merit awards, which is an important confirmation for readers outside the United States. There is no separate scholarship form for the merit awards. Your admissions application is the basis for the award.
That does not mean admission is simple. As an international applicant, you still have to meet the university’s admission requirements, including the academic and English-language requirements for your programme, and you will need the documents the university asks for — typically your school transcripts and proof of English proficiency, such as a recognised test. The exact list depends on your programme and your country, so confirm it on the official admissions pages for your level of study rather than relying on a general list in an article.
Deadlines: 2025 entry is closed
The 2025 entry cycle has closed. On its financial aid pages, Seattle University gives priority deadlines of 1 December for Early Action and 1 February for Regular Decision. Those are the deadlines the university publishes for its admissions cycle — apply by them to be fully considered, and check the official admissions pages for the current cycle’s dates before you plan your application, because the cycle that is open now is not the 2025 cycle. Meeting a priority deadline matters for merit awards as well as admissions, because the merit scholarship is awarded on the basis of your admissions application. If you apply after the relevant deadline, you may still be admitted, but you should not assume the same scholarship consideration applies.
How to apply
The application follows the university’s admissions route, not a separate scholarship route. First, choose an undergraduate programme at Seattle University and read its own requirements — subject requirements, English-language requirements and any extra material it asks for. Then submit your admissions application, together with the transcripts, test results and other documents the university asks for, through its official application system. You will automatically be considered for a merit scholarship on the basis of that application, and the university says an admitted student will be notified about eligibility for its grants and scholarships. We have therefore removed the old step-by-step list that appeared in an earlier version of this page, which named documents as if they applied to every programme, because the correct list is programme-specific.
Do not pay anyone to apply for you, and do not apply through a site that offers to guarantee a scholarship at Seattle University. Your application goes through the university’s own admissions system, and the merit award is decided by the university itself on the basis of your application.
What this means in practice
A realistic expectation is the right way to approach Seattle University’s scholarships. A merit award of at least $8,000 a year will reduce your costs, but the full cost of studying in the United States at a private university — tuition, housing, food, health insurance and travel — is higher than that. Before you accept an offer, work out what remains after the award, and how your family would cover it over four years, bearing in mind that the award is renewable for up to four years for a first-year student if the conditions are met. That is a more useful calculation than treating the award as if it covered everything.
If the total cost is beyond what you can cover, look also at the wider list of awards on the university’s own scholarships page. Read each one for its conditions. Do not assume that stacking several named awards is possible unless the university says so. And if you are eligible for the Sullivan Leadership Award — a senior at a Jesuit or Catholic high school with an outstanding leadership record — it is worth applying, because it is the one award that covers tuition, room, board and mandatory fees. For everyone else, the merit award is the main route.
Frequently asked questions
Are Seattle University scholarships fully funded?
No, not in general. The undergraduate merit scholarships are at least $8,000 a year and are partial awards. The Sullivan Leadership Award is the exception: it covers full tuition, room and board and mandatory fees, but it is limited to two students a year from Jesuit or Catholic high schools.
Do international students need a separate scholarship application?
No, for the merit scholarships. Seattle University says first-year, transfer, international and undocumented students are automatically considered on the basis of their admissions application.
How much is the merit scholarship?
Seattle University says at least $8,000 a year. No single maximum is confirmed on the official undergraduate scholarships page, so this article does not give one.
Can I still apply for 2025 entry?
No. The 2025 cycle is closed. Check the official Seattle University admissions and financial aid pages for the current cycle’s deadlines.
Can international students get federal aid?
No. Seattle University states that international students are not eligible for federal financial aid.
Official source
All award values, eligibility and deadline information in this article was checked against Seattle University’s own financial aid pages on 13 November 2026.
Official page: Undergraduate Scholarships & Grants — Seattle University
Official page: Financial Aid & Scholarships — Seattle University
Last checked: 13 November 2026. Award values and deadlines can change; the official Seattle University pages are the authority.