Incoming WWC students are awarded one of the following merit-based scholarships, Trustee, Presidential, Dean's, and Opportunity. Based exclusively on academic performance, including research projects and rigor of curriculum, our academic scholarships celebrate the academic accomplishments of our students. As a test-optional institution, test scores are never used to determine scholarship offers.  

Merit Scholarships range from $3,000 to $13,000 per academic year. Students must be enrolled full-time (12 or more credit hours) and maintain continuous enrollment and Satisfactory academic progress toward a degree. Merit scholarships are renewed for up 8 consecutive semesters for new students and 4 semesters for transfers. Please be aware not all students are eligible for merit-based aid.  

For questions about Merit Scholarships, contact the Financial Aid Office for more information. 

Like all residential students, you'll earn your WORK GRANT by participating in your Work Program, which provides part-time employment on campus in one of our many work crews. You'll earn these funds throughout the year by completing your work hours, and all earned pay is applied toward your tuition charges. The amount listed is the maximum you are eligible to earn during each semester. Successful participation in the Work Program is also a critical part of your graduation requirements. All residential students are required to work, and Day Student Contracts are awarded on a case-by-case basis by the Work Program Office. 

For more information about the Warren Wilson College Work Program, click here.

Want to know more about the unique WWC Work Program, Click this link for more details. 

Created by the 2011 North Carolina General Assembly, this is a need-based scholarship program for North Carolina residents attending private institutions of higher education.  Students must complete a FAFSA and the North Carolina Residency Determination to be eligible.  This is a scholarship that does not have to be repaid. 

Click here for more information about NCNBS.   

Eligibility requirements include but are not limited to the following:

• Complete a FAFSA
• Complete the NC Residency Determination
• Enrolled as an undergraduate (WWC defines a full-time student as being enrolled for 12 or more credit hours)

The North Carolina Need-Based Scholarship is awarded based on a student being registered for 15 credit hours per semester.  If a student is not registered for 15 credit hours in the semester, the amount of the North Carolina Need-Based Scholarship will be reduced.  The student will be responsible for the difference.

Residency determination is not assessed by Warren Wilson College but instead will be determined by the state of North Carolina through its Residency Determination Service (RDS).  All new students must complete Residency Determination on the RDS website.

The Golden LEAF Scholarship is designed to assist current North Carolina high school seniors and North Carolina community college transfer students. Recipients must be from certain rural counties, plan to attend a participating North Carolina college or university, demonstrate financial need, and express an intent to return to a rural North Carolina community upon college graduation. The scholarship is funded by the Golden LEAF Foundation through a grant to the North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority.

Click here for more information about Golden Leaf. 

WWC Need-Based Grants are institutional grants used to help students with demonstrated financial need. Renewal is based on maintaining Satisfactory Academic Progress and completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid annually. Warren Wilson's need-based grants vary in amount from year to year. 

Important to Note: During the academic year, Warren Wilson College uses endowed scholarship funds to replace Warren Wilson College Grants for some eligible students. This process is called reallocation. These changes do not result in additional funds to the students existing financial aid unless otherwise specified by the donor. 

Click to learn more about the Mile Post One Tuition Scholarship 

Warren Wilson will award up to 25 full-tuition Milepost One scholarships to students with total family income levels equal to or below $150,000 per year. This means that even families who may not be eligible for federal or state need-based grants still have an opportunity to earn a full tuition scholarship – this includes eligibility for international and DACA students.

All Milepost One winners will be awarded our unique work grant, which will be applied towards tuition per federal guidelines. Milepost One winners who qualify for a federal or state need-based grant will receive the remainder of their tuition free through the Warren Wilson College Milepost One scholarship. Milepost One winners who do not qualify for a federal or state need-based grant will receive the remainder of their tuition free through the Milepost One scholarship. Student loans will not be applied towards the cost of tuition but may be applied towards food and housing.

Click to learn more about the WWC NC Free Tuition Scholarship Plan. 

With the North Carolina Free Tuition Plan, we seek to serve our community in a different way: by making a Warren Wilson education possible for more North Carolina students.

Every new NC undergraduate student who is eligible for federal and/or state need-based aid can attend Warren Wilson tuition-free. 

All North Carolina residents who qualify for a federal or state need-based grant will receive the remainder of their tuition-free through Warren Wilson College scholarships, Warren Wilson College need-based grants and our unique work-grant. Student loans will not be applied towards the cost of tuition but may be applied towards food and housing.

If you receive any outside scholarships, please let the Financial Aid Office know as soon as possible! All outside scholarship checks should be mailed to directly to the Financial Aid Office:

WWC Financial Aid Office
PO Box 9000, CPO 6342
Asheville, NC 28815 

In most cases the WWC outside scholarship policy allows students to have funds in addition to any financial aid which is awarded by the institution. In situations where a student with an outside scholarship could receive a financial aid package that takes their funding over their total cost of attendance, then WWC would reduce loan eligibility/balances first in order to keep total aid at or under the cost of attendance.  Reductions in WWC institutional funds would only result if all loan eligibility was exhausted. Outside scholarships are earned, and we treat them as a complement to any institutional funding we offer a student. As such, we strongly encourage students to apply for as many outside scholarships as possible! 

Federal Direct Student Loans are borrowed directly from the federal government, and eligibility is determined by the Free Application for Federal Student aid (FAFSA). There is not a separate application for Federal student loans. Federal Direct Loans are offered to help pay educational expenses so please, only borrow what you need. Student loan eligibility options will show on a student's financial aid offer. Student loans must be accepted or declined in our financial aid portal call Net Partner each year.  For more information about Federal Student Loans visit our Loan Options page.  

Federal Direct Parent PLUS and Grad PLUS loans are credit-based loans that a credit application must be completed on www.studentaid.gov.  Once an application is completed WWC will be notified.

Federal Student Loans are borrowed directly from the federal government, and students must complete a yearly Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to determine eligibility.  Direct Loans are for undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree students who are enrolled at least half-time (6 credit hours) and who meet general requirements to receive federal aid.  For more information about Federal Direct Loans Click Here 

The Federal Direct PLUS Loan is available to parents of dependent students. Parents must complete a credit application on www.studentaid.gov.  Parents may borrow up to the students cost of attendance.  If you need assistance determining your PLUS loan amount please contact the financial aid office.  Please be aware interest rates and origination fees apply to the PLUS Loan. 

To learn more about Federal Direct Parent PLUS on student aid Click HERE. 

If you have already applied for a Federal Direct Parent PLUS Loan and need to know the next steps please use the Loan Options page for more details, or you may contact the Financial Aid Office Directly at [email protected] or text/call 828-771-2082. 

The Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loan is available to graduate students only. Students can apply for a Grad PLUS Loan on www.studentaid.gov.  Students are subject to a credit check process.  Graduate students can borrow up to the cost of attendance. If you need assistance determining the amount you wish to borrow please contact the Financial Aid Office. 

If you have completed the Grad PLUS Loan application online and need to know your next steps please visit see our Loan Options for Graduate Students. 

Private student loans are consumer loans that are designed to supplement financial aid and cannot, when combined with other aid, exceed the cost of attendance established by the college. A student must apply with a bank or lending entity of their choice and have their application credit-approved before they are eligible to borrow this type of loan. In most cases, a student will be awarded a better interest rate if they have a co-signer for their loan. These loans are NOT backed by the Federal Government and should only be utilized as a last resource to fund your education.

Currently All Tuition Exchange applications are now closed for the 2025-2026 academic year. 

• Please be aware we select a limited amount of Tuition Exchange applications for approval each year. If you are not selected there will be a waiting list.

Tuition Exchange Application Procedure: Priority Application Deadline, March 15th, 2025 for the 2025-2026 Academic Year

1.  The student must apply and be accepted by the college admission department. Tuition Exchange candidates will be held to the same admission requirements and process as all other applicants. 

2.  Students are required to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at www.studentaid.gov each year.

3.  Students are required to live on campus and participate fully in the WWC work program.

4.  North Carolina residents only must complete NC Residency Determination at www.ncresidency.org.

5.  Students are notified of approved/denied decisions from the WWC Financial Aid Office by email. 

6.  Once a student's financial aid offer is finalized by the Financial Aid Office, the student will be notified by email their offer is available. Students will need to accept/decline their student loan offer only.  All other grants, scholarships, tuition exchange funds, and the work program offer will already be accepted on the student's behalf.  

Note: Tuition Exchange will replace any Merit Aid the student was previously offered. 

7.  Students will need to watch for their billing statement around June 1st.  Payment for the Fall semester is due each year by July 1st for New and Incoming Students and July 15th for all returning students.  Payment for the Spring semester is due each year by December 15th.  Spring bills are available online around November 1st.  
Payment is full is required each semester for all students to attend WWC.  

Terms and Conditions of Tuition Exchange 

The College's Tuition Exchange Scholarship will be the amount of comprehensive tuition up to 18 credits per semester, minus the College Work Program grant and any Federal Pell Grant or North Carolina State Grant the student is eligible to receive.  Students who are approved for Tuition Exchange will not be eligible for merit scholarships or need-based funding. Federal Student Loans may be applied to food, housing and fees. Tuition Exchange does not cover course fees, music fees, overload charges, day student fees, or any study-away courses.  Any financial aid or outside source applied toward tuition or in excess of direct charges will also reduce the amount of the Tuition Exchange award.

Tuition Exchange eligibility will last up to eight consecutive semesters or until a Bachelor’s Degree is received, whichever comes first.  Should a student leave Warren Wilson, the student will need to contact the financial aid office to determine eligibility for renewal.  

To continue at Warren Wilson under Tuition Exchange, a student must be a full-time degree-seeking student at all times. Be making satisfactory academic progress (SAP)  toward a Warren Wilson degree.  The College’s Satisfactory Academic Progress policy can be found in the College’s Catalog. Be in good standing with the College, including Student Accounts, Student Life, Work Program Office, and Financial Aid. 

To apply for Tuition Exchange, follow the instructions on Tuitionexchange.org

Tuition Remission Guidelines

Tuition remission is a benefit made available to regular full-time and part-time staff and faculty. This benefit, which is a form of financial aid, allows employees, their spouses, domestic partners or dependents to enroll in credit-bearing, undergraduate courses tuition-free, provided there is space and funding available. Employees may be awarded on a part-time basis, with the permission of their supervisor, whereas an employee’s spouse, domestic partner and/or dependents may be awarded on a part-time or full-time basis.

If you have questions regarding the Tuition Remission please contact the following offices:

Eligibility: Human Resources Office [email protected]

Financial Aid and FAFSA: Financial Aid Office [email protected]

A Tuition Benefit that a student receives from a parent's employer is meant for educational costs and is considered an outside benefit. Outside benefits are factored into a student's financial aid offer and are applied toward college expenses. We will consider your outside benefit as a part of your overall financial aid funding.  Warren Wilson considers merit aid, need-based aid, federal, and state funding as undesignated aid for benefits purposes. Warren Wilson because of its unique participation in the Federal Work Colleges Consortium will designate the Work Scholarship and the Work Grant towards tuition only. All financial aid offerings including outside tuition benefits may not exceed the direct cost of attendance for the student. When an overage occurs, financial aid will be reduced in the following order: Federal Parent PLUS Loan, Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loans, Federal Direct Subsidized Loans, WWC need-based aid, and Merit Scholarships. 

In some cases, students may not be eligible for need-based aid dependent upon the amount of the tuition benefit given by the parent's employer.  We encourage you to contact the Financial Aid Office at [email protected] if you are going to be receiving any outside benefit. If a student qualifies for a WWC tuition program such as NC Free or Milepost One and utilizes an outside benefit the student is no longer eligible for the WWC tuition program.  Depending on the outside benefit amount WWC will continue to cover up to tuition only if the student is eligible for a WWC tuition program.