The Diocese of Salt Lake City operates 16 Catholic schools in Utah, and twelve of them sit in Salt Lake and Tooele counties, from The Madeleine Choir School and J.E. Cosgriff in Salt Lake City to St. Marguerite in Tooele and Juan Diego in Draper. The diocese's own aid program is the Skaggs Tuition Assistance Program; in 2024-25 it made awards to 154 students, according to the Intermountain Catholic. Current-year Skaggs figures were not published when we checked, so ask the school office.
Utah Fits All has become a large part of how Catholic families pay. In 2024-25, Catholic-school students held 891 of the 10,000 Utah Fits All scholarships statewide. Most of the Salt Lake and Tooele diocese schools also appear on the 2026-27 Utah Fits All list in our directory, which lets a parish family combine the $8,000 award with Skaggs aid for the remaining balance.
Outside the diocese, Lutheran, Christian and independent schools in the valley run their own need-based aid, sibling discounts and congregation-member rates. None of that is reported to the state, so the only way to learn it is to ask. Ask whether the school applies its aid before or after the Utah Fits All award is counted, because that changes how much you owe.
Remember that refunds on scholarship-paid tuition go back to Odyssey, not to the parent. If a school offers a discount after you have paid with Utah Fits All, the money returns to the account.
Combining it with other sources
This source can sit alongside a school's own aid, parish or member rates and payment plans. The one hard rule in Utah is that a child holds only one of Utah Fits All, the original Carson Smith Scholarship or the Carson Smith Opportunity Scholarship at a time, so each child takes one path and a sibling may take the other.
Common questions
What is the Skaggs Tuition Assistance Program at Salt Lake Catholic schools?
The Skaggs Tuition Assistance Program is the tuition aid program named by the Diocese of Salt Lake City for its Catholic schools. In 2024-25 Skaggs made awards to 154 students, according to the Intermountain Catholic. Families apply through their parish school office, and the diocese's scholarship coordinator is Father Jeff Putthoff, S.J. Current-year award totals have not been published.
How many Utah Fits All scholarships go to Catholic school students?
In the 2024-25 school year, students at Utah Catholic schools held 891 of the 10,000 Utah Fits All scholarships awarded statewide, according to the Intermountain Catholic. A Salt Lake Catholic family applies to Utah Fits All through Odyssey like any other family and then selects the Catholic school, which must confirm enrollment before the $8,000 is released.
Should a Salt Lake family apply for school aid before or after Utah Fits All?
A Salt Lake family should apply for Utah Fits All first and school aid at the same time, then ask the school how it counts the award. Many schools calculate need-based aid on the balance left after Utah Fits All. Knowing the order prevents surprises, because refunds of scholarship-paid tuition go back to Odyssey rather than to the parent.