Money & Cost

Scholarship ROI Analyzer

Don't just compare dollar amounts — weight scholarships by how likely you are to actually win or keep them.

Try it

All calculations happen in your browser. Nothing leaves this page.

Annual award (USD)

Years covered

Probability you get it (0-1) Be honest: 0.05 if you'll apply to many, 0.6 if it's offered.

GPA renewal requirement

Your likely GPA in the program

Probability you meet renewal each year

Award is taxable income? Most scholarships for tuition are not. Living stipends usually are.

Application effort (hours)

Expected first-year salary (USD)

Idle

How to use this calculator well

Pull the actual award amount from the offer letter, not a rounded-up version.
Set the probability honestly. For offers already extended, it's near 1.0. For open national competitions, often 0.05 - 0.20.
For multi-year awards, set the renewal probability — most scholarships require 3.0+ GPA, full-time enrollment, or specific major.
Compute your opportunity cost: scholarship apps take 8-30 hours each. We value a student hour at $35.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to pay taxes on scholarships?

Generally no — scholarship funds used for qualified tuition, fees, and required books are tax-free (US). Funds used for room & board, travel, or optional supplies are taxable. Stipends almost always count as taxable income.

What about need-based aid for international students?

Fewer than 50 US schools offer need-aware or need-blind international admissions with aid. Most merit awards require documented academic or extracurricular merit.

Why does my acceptance probability matter so much?

Because your real expected return is the dollar amount times the probability. A 50,000 USD scholarship with 5% odds has a lower expected return than a 10,000 USD scholarship with 80% odds.

Where this estimate falls short

We treat application effort as a uniform $35/hour. Your time may be more or less valuable.
Tax calculations assume federal treatment only — state tax (where applicable) may further reduce net value by 0-5%.
Expected salary inputs are volatile and depend heavily on major, school ranking, and visa status.

Scholarship ROI Analyzer

Try it

How to use this calculator well

Frequently asked questions

Where this estimate falls short

Related tools