Every figure is for a student starting in fall 2027. We work each one out again whenever we update the site.

Paying for college in Vermont

What the state and its colleges give families, who gets it, and how to apply.

From the state

Vermont Grant: Vermont residents with financial need
Freedom & Unity: Vermonters with a household income of $85,000 or less, at Vermont State University

From the colleges

Merit scholarships. No college here publishes a scholarship by grades that a student is sure to get. The terms of each are in the table below.

Promises on aid at Middlebury and Saint Michael's.

Every college's scholarships, promises and price ↓

What would each college cost your family?

See all 7 Vermont colleges priced for your income, and the aid your student could get.

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From the state

Vermont's programs. Most come through the FAFSA or the state's own aid application; a few have their own.

Vermont Grant

For Vermont residents with financial need, at a college in Vermont or in another state. Eligible students received $1,000 to $15,350 for the 2025–2026 academic year. The amount depends on your finances, the college's cost and how early you apply, since funding is first come, first served.

Source: Vermont Student Assistance Corporation

“VSAC administers financial situation-based Vermont grants on behalf of the State of Vermont whether attending an in-state or out-of-state institution.”

“Eligible students have received from $1,000 to $15,350 in Vermont grants for the 2025–2026 academic year.”

“Timing (applications are considered on a first-come, first-served basis as long as funding is available)”

— Vermont Student Assistance Corporation, checked 2026-10

Freedom & Unity

Free tuition at Vermont State University for Vermonters with a household income of $85,000 or less who do not have a bachelor’s degree.

Source: Vermont State University

“Freedom & Unity, a program managed by the Vermont Student Assistance Corp (VSAC) in partnership with Vermont State, provides free tuition to Vermonters with a household income of $85,000 or less, who do not have a bachelor’s degree and are enrolled in eligible undergraduate degree programs at Vermont State.”

— Vermont State University, checked 2026-10

From the colleges

What each college gives for grades, what it promises on aid, and its full price.

College	Merit scholarships	Promise on aid	Full price a year
Bennington College private	Merit scholarships of $5,000 to $30,000 a year, set by the strength of the application. No separate application, and no need test. Awards last for the whole enrollment	—	$98,970
Champlain College private	In state: the Flagship Award, for the class entering in fall 2027: tuition and fees after grants and scholarships are capped at the University of Vermont's Vermont rate. The FAFSA is required First-year merit scholarships by high school GPA, estimated at $19,000 to $34,000 a year by major. They renew at the same level for four years with a 2.5 GPA Out of state: the Access Award, for the class entering in fall 2027: tuition and fees after grants and scholarships are capped at $30,000. The FAFSA is required	—	$73,535
Middlebury College private	Middlebury gives no merit aid. All of its aid is based on financial need	Says it covers 100% of what a family cannot pay	$99,202
Norwich University private	A guaranteed academic award by high school GPA, up to $30,000 a year from 3.60 and up to $25,000 from 2.55, for four years	—	$72,810
Saint Michael's College private	Merit scholarships, in various amounts toward tuition, renewed over four years, for first-year students with a high school GPA of at least 3.6 The Book Award for Community Engagement: full tuition for two students nominated by their school counselor, with early action by November 1 and a 3.2 GPA The Flagship Match, from fall 2026: tuition equal to in-state tuition and fees at the flagship public university in your home state, after the college's scholarships	Free Tuition Vermont — full tuition for Vermont residents with an adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less who live on campus	$76,388
University of Vermont public	The Visit Award, $1,000 a year for up to four years, for an official campus visit by November 1 of senior year. It needs no GPA to keep Out of state: regional Tuition Break: from fall 2027, students from Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island in 31 select majors pay an estimated $30,240 in tuition Out of state: the Presidential Scholarship, $20,000 to $30,000 a year for four years, for the highest academic performance. No separate application. It needs a 3.0 GPA to keep Out of state: the Trustees Scholarship, $10,000 to $15,000 a year for four years, for outstanding academic performance. No separate application. It needs a 3.0 GPA to keep Out of state: students in the Regional Tuition Break are considered automatically for merit scholarships of up to $20,000 a year	—	$37,081
Vermont State University public	In state: the Trailblazer Scholarship, $1,000 to $2,000 a year by academic performance, renewable while the student makes satisfactory progress Out of state: the Trailblazer Scholarship, $7,000 to $10,000 a year by academic performance, renewable while the student makes satisfactory progress Out of state: the Good Neighbor Program lowers tuition to match Vermont State's in-state tuition for new students who live in a county next to Vermont	—	$29,804

Each college's page has a promise's conditions, in the college's own words. “Worth asking about” marks a program the college describes in words that stop short of a promise.

Full price: tuition and fees, housing and food, and books; in state at a public university. What your family would pay after grants depends on your income: the finder shows it.

4 more Vermont colleges have no page here. For 1 of them, the federal data has no cost or no price by income. The rest mainly teach graduate students or run online programs. Show them

Sterling College
SIT Graduate Institute
Vermont Law and Graduate School
Vermont College of Fine Arts

Paying the rest

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How we worked these out

Costs: each college's own published price where it has one, otherwise the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, carried forward to fall 2027. Grants: each program’s own page. Scholarships: each college's own page, read by us and checked against it. SmartTuition.ai is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any institution named here.