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Anderson scholarships and merit aid

The short answer

Anderson is worth checking if your student has strong grades or scores. We found 8 published awards, and 2 are based on those numbers.

Where does your student land?

Verified Jul 2026
1 school source to explore

Published rules, with the school sources close at hand. Confirm the details before you count on an award.

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Checking merit aid at Anderson

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The award collection

Published scholarships

These amounts and requirements come from the school’s own published pages. Open an award to see who qualifies and how to keep it.

Where does your student land?

  1. AU Merit-Based Scholarships (President's / Founder's / Provost's / Dean's / AU Grant)$12,000-$18,000AutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    AU Merit-Based Scholarships (President's / Founder's / Provost's / Dean's / AU Grant)

    $12,000-$18,000

    Published rangeAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3.0-3.5 depending on tier (see grid)
    SAT
    1020-1300 depending on tier
    ACT
    20-28 depending on tier
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for AU Merit-Based Scholarships (President's / Founder's / Provost's / Dean's / AU Grant)

    Who qualifies

    CLT 66-88 or class rank also accepted at most tiers; all requirements must be met by March 1; AU Grant requires no stats and goes to any first-time freshman not receiving a named award.

    How to keep it

    Scholarships for first-time freshmen are renewable for up to 8 consecutive semesters of full-time undergraduate AU enrollment (12 or more credits each semester). Student must meet SAP to renew these awards.

    Worth knowing

    FAQ confirms: 'Each incoming freshman is automatically awarded the highest level of our merit-based scholarships that he or she qualifies for' and 'you do not need to apply for these.' Only ONE of the five awards may be received.

  2. Transfer Scholarship$12,000-$14,000AutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Transfer Scholarship

    $12,000-$14,000

    Published rangeAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    2.5-4.0 cumulative college GPA (see grid)
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Transfer Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    First-time transfer students only.

    How to keep it

    Renewal terms specific to transfers not stated beyond the general merit renewal language on the page.

    Worth knowing

    Stat-based grid on cumulative college GPA; FAQ says transfer scholarship 'is awarded to first-time transfers based on cumulative college GPA' with no application mentioned.

  3. Fellows Scholarships (Presidential Fellows / Academic Fellows / AU Fellows)Full tuition-Full tuition, housing, foodNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Fellows Scholarships (Presidential Fellows / Academic Fellows / AU Fellows)

    Full tuition-Full tuition, housing, food

    Published coverage or packageNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3.5 high school GPA
    SAT
    1250
    ACT
    27
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Fellows Scholarships (Presidential Fellows / Academic Fellows / AU Fellows)

    Who qualifies

    CLT 82 accepted; competitive — for first-time freshmen with exceptional academic achievement, leadership, and mission-fit; test scores required for consideration.

    How to keep it

    The annual award renewal amount is capped at the monetary amount noted in the contract.

    Worth knowing

    Three levels: Presidential Fellows = Full Tuition, Housing, Food; Academic Fellows = Full Tuition + Housing Stipend; AU Fellows = Full Tuition. Outside scholarships and federal grants/loans may be applied to cover housing and food.

  4. One Anderson ScholarshipUp to Full tuition, housing, foodNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    One Anderson Scholarship

    Up to Full tuition, housing, food

    Variable or qualified amountNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    First-time freshmen: 3.0 high school GPA; Transfers: 2.5
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for One Anderson Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Competition run by the Center for Community, Dignity & Inclusive Campus Family; application then interview; interviewees chosen based on applications.

    How to keep it

    Renewal terms not stated on the page.

    Worth knowing

    Highest award is full tuition/housing/food; 'there are other scholarships of varying amounts that are generously awarded each year.'

  5. Hometown Fellows ScholarshipUp to Full tuition, housing, foodNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Hometown Fellows Scholarship

    Up to Full tuition, housing, food

    Variable or qualified amountNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3.0 high school GPA
    SAT
    1100
    ACT
    22
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Hometown Fellows Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    CLT 74 or top 30% of class accepted; reserved for first-time freshmen residing in Anderson County; application is BY INVITATION ONLY, sent to eligible students in January of senior year; FAFSA may be required.

    How to keep it

    Renewal terms not stated on the page.

    Worth knowing

    Residency-specific competitive award.

  6. Sinclair & Betty Lewis Presidential Boys State Scolarship$40,000 ($10,000 per year)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Sinclair & Betty Lewis Presidential Boys State Scolarship

    $40,000 ($10,000 per year)

    Published award termsNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Sinclair & Betty Lewis Presidential Boys State Scolarship

    Who qualifies

    Must be named a Palmetto Boys State Citizen, submit an application, and participate in the scholarship interview event. One award per year. Deadline to apply is January 15.

    How to keep it

    Recipient must live on campus from freshman year through senior year.

    Worth knowing

    Scholarship name spelled 'Scolarship' on the page (typo preserved).

  7. Palmetto Fellows Scholarship (PFS) — SC state award$6,700 (Freshmen); $7,500 (Sophomore/Junior/Senior)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Palmetto Fellows Scholarship (PFS) — SC state award

    $6,700 (Freshmen); $7,500 (Sophomore/Junior/Senior)

    Published award termsNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    With class rank: 3.5 (SCUGP) + top 6% of class in grade 10, 11, or 12; without class rank: 4.0 (SCUGP) at end of senior year
    SAT
    1200 (with rank) / 1400 (without rank)
    ACT
    25 (with rank) / 31 (without rank)
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Palmetto Fellows Scholarship (PFS) — SC state award

    Who qualifies

    SC residents; recipients selected by the SC Commission on Higher Education; contingent upon approved state funding. HOPE & LIFE recipients may not receive this award.

    How to keep it

    Renewal requires a 3.0 GPA at AU and 30 credits each academic year at AU or a PFS-eligible institution. Dual enrollment credits, transfer credits, and credits earned before college (AP, CLEP, IB) may not be used to meet the 30-credit requirement.

    Worth knowing

    State-funded award hosted on AU's aid page; cannot be combined with LIFE or HOPE.

  8. SC LIFE Scholarship — SC state award$5,000Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    SC LIFE Scholarship — SC state award

    $5,000

    Published amountNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3.0 (SCUGP)
    SAT
    1100
    ACT
    22
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for SC LIFE Scholarship — SC state award

    Who qualifies

    SC residents at eligible in-state college full-time; must meet 2 of 3 criteria (GPA, test score, top 30% of class); PFS & HOPE recipients may not receive this award.

    How to keep it

    Renewal requires a 3.0 GPA at AU and 30 credits each academic year at AU or another institution. Dual enrollment credits, transfer credits, and credits earned before college (AP, CLEP, IB) may be used to meet the 30-credit requirement.

    Worth knowing

    Mutually exclusive with PFS and HOPE. A $2,500 PFS/LIFE Enhancement is available in eligible majors (Accounting, STEM, Education) from sophomore year.

Lights up against Anderson's published cutoffs. Not an award offer; confirm with the financial aid office. Award terms and residency rules change; some awards differ for in-state and out-of-state students. Always confirm at the school’s source page.

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  • “it told me what to ask and what the renewal GPA looked like, which I was not going to find on my own”Melissa

The fine print

Renewal ruleAU Merit-Based Scholarships (President's / Founder's / Provost's / Dean's / AU Grant): renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

Scholarships for first-time freshmen are renewable for up to 8 consecutive semesters of full-time undergraduate AU enrollment (12 or more credits each semester). Student must meet SAP to renew these awards. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

Outside awardsNo published displacement order

Anderson's policy doesn't specify whether outside scholarships hit loans, grants, or only the COA ceiling. Get a written aid-office answer before chasing private awards.

What makes Anderson different

Anderson awards an automatic, published merit grid of $12,000-$18,000 to every first-time freshman (even the lowest tier, the $12,000 AU Grant, goes to anyone not earning a named scholarship), topped by competitive Fellows awards up to full tuition, housing, and food.

Merit tiers82 based on grades or scores
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team

More than one award path

Separate the two paths.

Some awards use published academic thresholds. Others have different selection criteria. A score chart does not describe every award at this school.

  1. Match the published criteria

    Use all requirements together, including residency and the entering class.

  2. Check the application dates

    Confirm the current admission and scholarship deadlines directly with the school.

  3. Know what happens next year

    Check renewal, credit requirements and how other aid affects the award.

The fine print / Three questions to carry forward

Before you count on it.

Does it apply to us? Confirm the entering year, residency and every eligibility condition.

Can we keep it? Check renewal GPA, credits and how long the award lasts.

Can we combine it? Ask how outside scholarships and other school awards change the offer.

Take Anderson's decision sheet

A printable research summary, source links and room for your questions.

See what could change an award

What families often miss

  1. The page is explicit: 'Students can only receive 1 of the 5 asterisked (*) merit-based scholarships.' A student qualifying for the President's Scholarship gets $18,000 — not $18,000 plus lower tiers.

  2. All merit requirements 'must be met by March 1.' The FAQ confirms March 1 (spring before entry) is the deadline to submit GPA/test/rank documents that could move you to a higher tier.

  3. The page states 'The annual award renewal amount is capped at the monetary amount noted in the contract' — if tuition rises, the award does not, so the family's out-of-pocket share can grow each year.

  4. Only Presidential Fellows covers Full Tuition, Housing, AND Food. AU Fellows is full tuition only and Academic Fellows adds only a housing stipend — food and remaining housing costs are on the family.

  5. The FAQ requires reporting outside awards because the office 'must calculate all sources of aid to determine your overall financial assistance.' The page also warns Pell eligibility can be lost if non-federal aid equals or exceeds your COA. How outside awards affect AU merit aid specifically is not published — ask before accepting.

  6. Merit scholarships renew only for 'up to 8 consecutive semesters of full-time undergraduate AU enrollment (12 or more credits each semester)' and 'Student must meet SAP to renew these awards.'

  7. Palmetto Fellows, LIFE, and HOPE are mutually exclusive — 'HOPE & LIFE recipients may not receive this award' (PFS), and 'PFS & HOPE recipients may not receive this award' (LIFE).

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Strong fit for SC residents who can stack state awards (Palmetto Fellows, LIFE, SC Tuition Grant) on top of AU's automatic merit grid, and for 3.5/1250+ students willing to compete for the Fellows full-tuition awards.

Cost and graduation facts

Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Anderson, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.

Average annual net price by family income at Anderson, academic year 2021-22
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$17,188
$30,001–$48,000$18,724
$48,001–$75,000$19,647
$75,001–$110,000$24,926
$110,001+$27,080
All income levels (average)$23,544

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Total cost of attendance (sticker), AY 2021-22
$50,192
Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$34,970
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$23,544

That works out to an average 53% discount off the sticker price above — both figures come from the same federal AY 2021-22 Scorecard report, not a number the school itself published.

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
66%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
82%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$26,700 (~$283/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$42,101
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
23%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
49%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

AU's five core merit awards do not stack with each other (one only). SC state awards (PFS/LIFE/HOPE) are mutually exclusive with each other. Outside scholarships must be reported, and the aid office recalculates overall assistance; for Fellows winners, outside scholarships and federal aid may be applied to housing and food. Whether outside awards displace AU merit aid is not stated.

Page: 'Students can only receive 1 of the 5 asterisked (*) merit-based scholarships.' FAQ: outside scholarships must be reported so the office can 'calculate all sources of aid to determine your overall financial assistance.' Fellows: 'Outside scholarships and Federal grants and loans may be applied to cover housing and food.' Pell note: Pell eligibility can be lost if non-federal aid equals or exceeds COA.

Source

Other Anderson scholarships worth checking

These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.

AmountUp to $3,000EligibilityFirst-time freshmen; 3.0+ HS GPA; 1100+ SAT or 22+ ACT or 74+ CLT; by invitation only; FAFSA may be required.

Competitive annual scholarship.

Source

Amount$4,000EligibilityAU students who come from outside SC.

Helps offset the loss of SC-resident state awards.

Source

Amount$300EligibilityFirst-time entering freshmen or transfers in good standing with a Baptist church.

Source

Amount$1,000 eachEligibilityAttend a Summit Student Conference or Worldview Academy Camp before HS graduation, or participate in NCFCA Nationals in high school; provide certificate of attendance to admission counselor.

Self-reported — easy to miss if you don't tell your counselor.

Source

Amount$1,000EligibilityTransfer students who send PTK member information to the Office of Undergraduate Admission.

Source

Amount$8,500EligibilityInternational students who do not qualify for an AU Merit-Based Scholarship.

Source

Amount$2,800EligibilitySC residents with 3.0 HS GPA (SCUGP) who do not meet LIFE criteria.

Freshman year only; can move up to LIFE in year 2 with a 3.0 LIFE GPA and 30 credits.

Source

AmountUp to $5,000EligibilityArt+Design portfolio review (recommended); Music audition (required for majors); Theatre & Dance audition (required for majors).

Source

Amount$500EligibilityStudents accepted into the College of Christian Studies.

Source

Anderson merit aid FAQ

  • What is the merit scholarship deadline?

    All AU merit-scholarship requirements must be met by March 1 (the spring before your entry term, per the FAQ — i.e., March 1, 2026 for fall 2026 entry). The Sinclair & Betty Lewis Presidential Boys State Scholarship application deadline is January 15.

  • Do I need to apply for AU merit scholarships?

    No. Per the FAQ: 'Each incoming freshman is automatically awarded the highest level of our merit-based scholarships that he or she qualifies for' — 'you do not need to apply for these.' Competitive scholarships (Fellows, One Anderson, Hometown Fellows, Denmark) do require applications, some by invitation only.

  • Is the FAFSA required for merit aid?

    The page does not state FAFSA is required for the automatic merit grid. FAFSA is required for the need-based Gold Grant and SC Tuition Grant (FAFSA by August 1), 'may be required' for Denmark and Hometown Fellows, and must be filed by the March 1 priority deadline to be considered for endowed scholarships.

  • How much is tuition for 2026-2027?

    Total full-time undergraduate tuition and fees are $37,790/year ($36,800 tuition + $620 technology fee + $250 health & wellness fee + $120 student government fee). Housing runs $6,260-$9,490 and meal plans $4,400-$6,600 depending on selection; AU does not publish a single all-in cost-of-attendance figure on this page.

  • How long is my merit scholarship good for?

    Up to 8 consecutive semesters of full-time enrollment (12+ credits per semester), with SAP required for renewal.

See sources and other schools

How Anderson compares

  • 133 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use unclear or unpublished displacement.

    Anderson is in a recognizable cluster (133 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

  • 133 of 749 verified schools publish no clear displacement order.

    Anderson is one of them. The right move is the aid-office email script below, not a guess.

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

    Anderson 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.

Sources used on this page

Every claim is checked against Anderson’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

  • Wofford merit aid. South Carolina private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • BJU merit aid. South Carolina private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • Claflin merit aid. South Carolina private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • Morris merit aid. South Carolina private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.

Keep exploring Anderson merit aid

The next chapter

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