For U.S. citizens who become Davis Scholars, an automatic merit award of $25,000 per year is applied toward the cost of attendance regardless of which UWC you attend. These scholarships are limited and competitive; 25 places are reserved for students to attend UWC-USA, and usually two scholarship places are reserved for US students at each of the other campuses.

The cost of attendance at each school varies considerably, ranging from just under $25,000 to a little over $50,000 per year, depending on economies, exchange rates, and government policies related to funding in different countries.  

For U.S. Davis Scholars, those costs are reduced by $25,000 per year, and to cover any balance, students are eligible to apply for need-based aid via School and Student Services, an organization that calculates family contributions by examining personal assets, incomes, and tax histories. All UWCs work collaboratively with U.S. families to award as much need-based aid as possible. At UWC we believe every family should pay what they can, but no family should pay what they cannot. 

Thanks to our donors as well as our advancement efforts, the cost of attendance at UWC-USA has been greatly subsidized. For the cohort of students that entered UWC-USA in the fall of 2023, the fee was $44,400 per year, and includes tuition, room and board, snacks, activities fees, IB exams, textbooks, most transportation and most wilderness and other field trips. We do not have fees for entry 2024 yet. Additional costs would be personal health insurance, personal spending money, laptops, a small carbon offset fee, a PO box fee, transportation to New Mexico, and a refundable damage deposit.