SALT LAKE CITY — Parents who wish to send their child to one of the 16 Utah Catholic Schools but worry about financing this education may qualify for aid through a Utah Fits All scholarship. This state-funded program, which began last year, provides up to $8,000 to qualifying students.  
Bishop Oscar A. Solis and Utah Catholic Schools officials are encouraging parishioners to apply for the Utah Fits All scholarship; the portal for applications closes on May 1.
Last year Catholic students received 891 of the 10,000 available scholarships. Most of those went to students who were already in the system. However, 237 new students were added across the 16 Catholic schools in Utah.
This year the state Legislature allotted an extra $20 million for the scholarship, for a total of $100 million. In addition, it lowered the amounts received by homeschooled students, who made up 80 percent of recipients last year. Now, homeschooled students aged 5–11 may receive $4,000; those age 12–18 may receive $6,000. Qualifying students at private schools, including Utah Catholic Schools, will receive $8,000 per student for the school year.
These changes should ensure that more private school students qualify for the scholarship than in previous years, said Nikki Ward, associate superintendent of Utah Catholic Schools.
All new applicants, including siblings, are required to have their family income verified through the Utah Tax Commission. Renewals, applicants at 300 percent (up from 200 percent last year) of the federal poverty threshold (which is $32,150 for a family of four) and siblings of approved renewal applicants are prioritized in that order. All remaining applicants above 300 percent of the poverty level are then considered for eligibility.
Those who do not qualify may be put on a wait list. Families may apply at https://ufascholarship.com/apply.
If a family received the scholarship last year, they must register for the scholarship again this year through the UFA portal, https://shorturl.at/mNe6i. They must prove the eligibility ages of their returning students and demonstrate continued residency in Utah but do not need to verify family income.
For help with applying and for information, Utah Catholic families are encouraged to contact the school(s) where their students are enrolled or where they are interested in having the student attend.
Families whose children do not receive a scholarship this year are still encouraged to apply to the school of their choosing; they may be eligible for other types of financial aid, Ward said.
“Not receiving the Utah Fits All scholarship does not inhibit a family from attending a Utah Catholic school,” she said. “We have a financial assistance process, and every school in our diocese is willing to work with Catholic families who desire a Catholic education for their children.”
Ward, a former St. John the Baptist Elementary principal and Catholic schools parent, has had experience with Catholic education from both perspectives.
Sometimes parents may have a mistaken belief that to apply to attend Catholic schools students must be academically superior, she said, but “Catholic schools are for everybody. My experience at St. John the Baptist Elementary was our school is able to provide more support for students than maybe the public school was. Sometimes people don’t think that schools have the academic support that is needed for their children, but we strive to meet the students wherever they are and to help them grow.”
“In the 2025-26 school year we’re hopeful that we see both a continued increase in enrollment, and an increase in the number of families who received the Utah Fits All scholarships,” she added.

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