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ACU award rules

Will the scholarship last four years at ACU?

We pulled the school’s grade, credit, and time limits into one place so you can see what it takes to keep the award.

Verified Jul 20262 months ago

The short answer

7 of 8 published awards are listed as renewable.

The exact rule can change by award. Check the award your student may receive before you count on the same amount every year.

What to do

Find the award name in the full research below. Save its grade, credit, and deadline rules with your college plan.

See every award rule, common mistake, and source

At a glance

Renewable tiers
7 of 8
One-time tiers
1
Tiers with published renewal terms
3
Renewal risk profile
moderate

Renewal risk profile

ACU's renewal bar is achievable for steady students but isn't generous. Most awards require a cumulative GPA in the 3.0–3.4 band plus full-time enrollment. Audit the strictest tier on this school's list before assuming the four-year value is locked in.

  • Merit-Based Scholarships (ACU Academic Scholarships grid): 3.0 GPA
  • College Board National Recognition Programs scholarship: See notes
  • Transfer Merit-Based Awards (2026-2027 grid): See notes

Renewal terms by tier

  • Merit-Based Scholarships (ACU Academic Scholarships grid)

    $10,000-$22,000

    Entry requirements: Core GPA considered (no published cutoffs per tier) GPA · SAT/CLT superscore considered (no published cutoffs per tier) SAT · ACT superscore considered (no published cutoffs per tier) ACT

    To keep it: Renewal GPA published per award: 3.0 GPA for the Royce L. Money Chancellor's Award and John C. Stevens Award; 2.5 GPA for the A.B. Barret Award, Dean's Award and University Award.

    Source: https://acu.edu/admissions-aid/scholarships/first-year

  • College Board National Recognition Programs scholarship

    Up to $6,000

    To keep it: Up to $6,000 per year for four years.

    Source: https://acu.edu/admissions-aid/scholarships/first-year

  • Transfer Merit-Based Awards (2026-2027 grid)

    $10,000-$19,000

    Entry requirements: Cumulative GPA from all previous colleges: 2.3-2.84 = $10,000; 2.85-3.29 = $13,000; 3.3-3.59 = $16,000; 3.6-3.79 = $17,000; 3.8-4.0 = $19,000 GPA

    To keep it: Renewal GPA 2.5 for awards earned with a 2.3-3.59 transfer GPA; renewal GPA 3.0 for awards earned with a 3.6-4.0 transfer GPA.

    Source: https://acu.edu/admissions-aid/scholarships/transfer/

How families lose this aid

  • Overlooking the renewal-GPA cliff on the top two merit awards.

    The Royce L. Money Chancellor's Award ($22,000) and John C. Stevens Award ($20,000) require a 3.0 GPA to renew, while the lower three tiers require only 2.5. A 2.7 GPA freshman year keeps a Dean's Award but loses a Chancellor's Award.

  • Dropping below full-time and expecting full scholarship value.

    ACU prorates scholarships per credit hour for less-than-full-time enrollment: 'if you are in 6 hours, you will only receive 6 hours (50%) worth of your scholarships.' Transfer awards (Phi Theta Kappa, Transfer Partner) are also restricted to annual block tuition hours.

Renewal questions families ask

Do I have to apply separately for ACU's merit scholarships?
No. 'All students admitted to ACU are considered for scholarships based on your application for admission,' with awards up to $22,000 per year determined by ACT/SAT/CLT superscore, core GPA and class rank.
What GPA do I need to keep my scholarship?
Published renewal GPAs: 3.0 for the Chancellor's ($22,000) and Stevens ($20,000) awards; 2.5 for the Barret ($19,500), Dean's ($17,000) and University ($10,000) awards. Transfer awards renew at 2.5 (lower three tiers) or 3.0 (top two tiers). The catalog's Satisfactory Academic Progress standard must also be sustained to maintain any financial aid.

Rules that bite at ACU

The renewal trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook, derived from ACU's own tier rules and not generic advice.

  • Renewal ruleTransfer Merit-Based Awards (2026-2027 grid): renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

    Renewal GPA 2.5 for awards earned with a 2.3-3.59 transfer GPA; renewal GPA 3.0 for awards earned with a 3.6-4.0 transfer GPA. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

How ACU compares across our verified dataset

  • 69 of 749 verified schools publish a top renewal tier requiring 3.5+ GPA or major-GPA gating.

    ACU is one of them. Calibrate year-one academic load against the renewal floor, not just freshman survival.

  • 665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

    ACU is one of them. The cohort minority (84 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.

  • 132 of 749 verified schools publish a dedicated National Merit Finalist package.

    ACU is one of them. NMF packages typically carry their own stacking and renewal carve-outs separate from the standard automatic merit ladder; confirm those before assuming the headline NMF value is final.

Sources used on this page

Every renewal claim is checked against ACU’s own published materials.

More on ACU merit aid