How does merit aid at Notre Dame compare to WashU for undergraduate students?

The biggest practical tradeoff is that Notre Dame does offer a few very prominent merit scholarships, but they are extremely limited, while WashU is usually the place students look to more seriously if they need merit money to help make attendance workable. At Notre Dame, most aid is need-based and merit awards go to a very small share of students through highly competitive named scholarships. WashU also has selective merit programs, but it has a longer-standing reputation for using merit scholarships more actively in undergraduate admissions.

So if merit aid is a major part of your affordability plan, WashU is usually the more realistic school to hope for, even though neither school is a place where merit money should be assumed. Notre Dame is generous with need-based aid for admitted students who qualify, but merit there is not something most applicants can count on. In practice, many students should think of Notre Dame as a school where affordability depends much more on the family’s financial profile than on winning a scholarship.

WashU has several well-known merit scholarship programs, including some that can be substantial or even full tuition, and the university has historically put more emphasis on these awards in recruiting strong applicants. That still does not mean they are common or easy to get. They remain very competitive, and many admitted students will receive no merit aid at all.

If your question is purely which school is more likely to help through merit, the edge goes to WashU. If your family would qualify for strong need-based aid, then Notre Dame can still end up affordable, but if you specifically need merit to close the gap, Notre Dame is usually the tougher bet.