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Bethune-Cookman award rules

Will the scholarship last four years at Bethune-Cookman?

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

4 of 4 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
4 of 4
One-time tiers
0
Tiers with published renewal terms
4
Renewal risk profile
moderate

Renewal risk profile

Bethune-Cookman'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.

  • Presidential Scholarship: 3.50 GPA
  • Excelsior Scholarship 1: 3.30 GPA
  • Excelsior Scholarship 2: 3.0 GPA
  • Academic Merit Award: 3.25 GPA

Renewal terms by tier

  • Presidential Scholarship

    Amount not published (last-dollar: covers full-time tuition, room, board, and books not covered by federal/state aid and other non-institutional scholarships)

    Entry requirements: Not published as a fixed cutoff; awarded to first-time-in-college high school graduates by holistic review. Renewal requires 3.50 cumulative GPA. GPA · Test scores must be submitted to be considered for Academic Scholarships SAT · Test scores must be submitted to be considered for Academic Scholarships ACT

    To keep it: Register for at least 12 semester hours and maintain a 3.50 cumulative GPA to renew.

    Source: https://catalog.cookman.edu/content.php?catoid=44&navoid=3034

  • Excelsior Scholarship 1

    Amount not published (last-dollar tuition: covers full-time tuition after federal/state aid and other non-institutional scholarships; does NOT cover room, board, or books)

    Entry requirements: Not published as an entry cutoff; first-time-in-college high school graduates. Renewal requires 3.30 cumulative GPA. GPA · Test scores must be submitted to be considered for Academic Scholarships SAT · Test scores must be submitted to be considered for Academic Scholarships ACT

    To keep it: Register for at least 12 semester hours and maintain a 3.30 cumulative GPA to renew. Under special circumstances, renewable for a maximum of 4 academic years.

    Source: https://catalog.cookman.edu/content.php?catoid=44&navoid=3034

  • Excelsior Scholarship 2

    Amount not published (last-dollar tuition: covers full-time tuition after federal/state aid and other non-institutional scholarships; does NOT cover room, board, or books)

    Entry requirements: Not published as an entry cutoff; first-time-in-college high school graduates. Renewal requires 3.0 cumulative GPA. GPA · Test scores must be submitted to be considered for Academic Scholarships SAT · Test scores must be submitted to be considered for Academic Scholarships ACT

    To keep it: Register for at least 12 semester hours and maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA to renew. Under special circumstances, renewable for a maximum of 4 academic years.

    Source: https://catalog.cookman.edu/content.php?catoid=44&navoid=3034

  • Academic Merit Award

    Amount not published

    Entry requirements: Not published as an entry cutoff. Renewal requires 3.25 cumulative GPA. GPA · Test scores must be submitted to be considered for Academic Scholarships SAT · Test scores must be submitted to be considered for Academic Scholarships ACT

    To keep it: Register for at least 12 semester hours and maintain a 3.25 cumulative GPA to renew. Granted on an annual basis — students must reapply each year.

    Source: https://catalog.cookman.edu/content.php?catoid=44&navoid=3034

How families lose this aid

  • Counting on the scholarship for the summer term or for the full cost of attendance.

    'Your merit scholarship does not apply to the summer semesters at B-CU.' Excelsior covers tuition only — not room, board, or books. The published 2026-27 cost of attendance is $35,208, of which $27,604 is direct (tuition/room/board/fees/Book Smart) and $7,604 is estimated indirect costs.

  • Assuming renewal is automatic once you have the award.

    Renewal GPAs differ by award and are strict: Presidential 3.50, Excelsior 1 3.30, Excelsior 2 3.0, Academic Merit 3.25 — all requiring at least 12 semester hours. The Academic Merit Award also must be reapplied for every year.

Renewal questions families ask

What GPA do I need to keep my scholarship?
Renewal requires at least 12 semester hours each term and a cumulative GPA of 3.50 (Presidential), 3.30 (Excelsior 1), 3.0 (Excelsior 2), or 3.25 (Academic Merit Award). The merit scholarship does not apply to summer semesters.

Rules that bite at Bethune-Cookman

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

  • Renewal rulePresidential Scholarship: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

    Register for at least 12 semester hours and maintain a 3.50 cumulative GPA to renew. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

How Bethune-Cookman compares across our verified dataset

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

    Bethune-Cookman 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.

    Bethune-Cookman 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 renewal claim is checked against Bethune-Cookman’s own published materials.

More on Bethune-Cookman merit aid