Marquis Fellowship

About the Scholarship

The Marquis Fellowship is Lafayette College's most generous merit award, covering full tuition for up to eight semesters. Tuition for 2026-27 is $70,486, and the fellowship is pegged to the published tuition rate, so its value rises each year with the college's increase.

Lafayette answers the question most international applicants care about directly. Its international student FAQ states that international students are eligible to receive merit scholarships, and all merit decisions are made by the Admissions Office with no separate application.

Recipients are the applicants at the very top of the pool: top of the class, the hardest curriculum their school offers, and where test scores are submitted, scores above the admitted-student mean. The college also weighs community engagement and evidence that you have made a difference somewhere outside the classroom.

Two practical notes. Lafayette is need aware, so a request for need-based aid forms part of the admission decision, and applicants whose demonstrated need exceeds the fellowship can receive additional need-based aid up to that level. And if a merit award is the thing that makes Lafayette affordable for you, the college advises applying regular decision, because early decision is binding before you see the number.

What It Covers

Tuition

Full tuition, granted annually for up to eight semesters of full-time study. The value is appended to a set tuition amount and grows with each annual tuition increase, so it tracks the published rate ($70,486 for 2026-27). Housing, food and the student activity fee remain the family's responsibility, although need-based aid can be layered on top.

Eligibility

Offers typically go to students at the top of their graduating class in the most demanding curriculum available to them, with standardised test scores above the mean for admitted students where those are submitted. Lafayette also looks for intellectual curiosity and significant accomplishment in school and community life. International students are eligible: the international student FAQ states that international students are eligible to receive merit scholarships. Only first-time applicants are considered, at the point of their admission application. The award renews each year with a cumulative grade average of 3.00 and full-time enrolment.

Eligible Countries

All countries

How to Apply

Automatic. Every applicant, early decision and regular decision alike, is considered, and no additional materials are required. The admissions committee makes the nominations and recipients learn of the award with their admission decision on the Lafayette portal. An admissions interview is encouraged. If the scholarship is decisive for whether you could enrol, Lafayette advises applying regular decision rather than early decision.