1. Admission & Aid
  2. International Applicants
  3. International Student Financial Aid

International Student Financial Aid

Need-based financial aid grants and merit scholarships are available to highly qualified students.

Scholarships for International Students

International applicants are automatically considered for merit scholarships ranging from $15,000 to $30,000 per academic year. Separate scholarship applications are required for Centre’s competitive Lincoln Scholars Program and for the Special Interest Scholarships listed below. 

General Merit ScholarshipAmount
General Merit$15,000 - $30,000
Premier ScholarshipAmount
Lincoln Scholars ProgramFull tuition, fees, room and board, plus wraparound funds
Special InterestAmount
Performing ArtsUp to $5,000
Studio ArtsUp to $5,000
LanguageUp to $5,000

International applicants are encouraged to apply for any of the scholarships listed above. which are the available options for which international students are eligible. The opportunities listed above are the only options for which international applicants are eligible. You are welcome to apply for more than one Special Interest Scholarship. If selected, you will be awarded the one that best aligns with your strengths and interests. 

Learn more about our scholarships

International students should be prepared to contribute approximately $25,000 per year toward the cost of attendance. If that is not possible, applying for the Lincoln Scholars Program is your best path forward. 

We recommend that international applicants who need significant financial aid should apply through our Early Action or Regular Decision application plans to allow appropriate time to apply separately for scholarship programs.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below is a list of questions we have answered for international applicants in the past. If you still have additional questions after reading through this list, please contact intladmission@centre.edu.

International students who will be studying in the US on an F-1 student visa do not qualify for the Centre Promise as they are ineligible for federal financial aid. International applicants who are unable to self-fund their education at the rate of approximately $25,000 per year should apply for our competitive Lincoln Scholars Program.

All international students must submit our online Certificate of Finance, which states your ability to afford college fees. 

Certificate of Finance Form

Please know that if a student later intends to enroll at Centre College that they will need to show proof of financial support at the US consulate in order to obtain a student visa.

We do NOT require a separate financial aid application, copies of bank statements, or the CSS Profile for international applicants. All international applicants MUST submit the Certificate of Finance form on our website to complete their admission application.

Need-based financial aid grants are available to highly qualified students, and can be combined with merit scholarships. Over the last three years, these grants ranged from $3,000-$21,000, with the average grant of $11,000 awarded to highly qualified admitted students who required additional financial support.

The financial aid that Centre College can provide to international students is limited. International students receiving financial aid should still expect to self-fund their education at the rate of approximately $25,000 per year. If you are an international applicant who is unable to afford this approximate amount, you should apply for our competitive premier scholarship.

Lincoln Scholars Program

Centre has one scholarship program that offers full funding for international students. The Lincoln Scholars Program requires a separate online application.

Centre does not offer full need-based funding for international students, and students who require a full scholarship should make plans to apply for the Lincoln program as the best and only way to secure full funding at Centre.

Centre sets its cost each year as a comprehensive fee. The total cost of attendance for international students for the 2025-26 academic year is $75,680. $70,340 of this cost covers the base comprehensive fee of tuition, all academic fees, student housing, board (meals), and most cultural and athletic events on campus. Centre College estimates that international students will also be responsible for approximately $5,340 of additional personal costs covering the required health insurance, books, transportation to campus, and personal expenses.

When Centre reviews an international applicant for admission, we need some reassurance that, if admitted, the student will be able to afford to attend our institution. We ask for you to fill out our Certificate of Finance form. This form will state your family’s ability to pay for education. In some cases, a student’s credentials would make them a very qualified applicant, but we are not be able to offer admission due to a lack of finances. We do sometimes place students on a financial aid waitlist, which indicates that while we would like to offer admission, we are unable to do so unless the student: a) the student receives a premier scholarship from Centre, or b) the family amends the Certificate of Finance form to show a greater capacity to pay educational expenses.

If a student needs a significant amount of financial assistance to attend Centre College (beyond our general international student merit scholarships), they should apply separately for the Lincoln Scholars Program, which provides full financial support. The Program is open to international applicants and requires a separate online application. The deadline to apply for this program is December 1; finalists are named in February and recipients are named in April.

Financial Aid

Need-based financial aid grants are available to highly qualified students and can be combined with merit scholarships. Over the last three years, these grants ranged from $3,000-$21,000, with the average grant of $11,000 awarded to highly qualified admitted students who required additional financial support.

The financial aid that Centre College can provide to international students is limited. International students receiving financial aid should still expect to self-fund their education at the rate of approximately $25,000 per year.

If a student wants/needs full funding to attend Centre, they can apply separately for the Lincoln Scholars Program, which is Centre’s only option for covering the full cost of attendance.

Contact Information