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The merit-aid verdict at Biola
Every admitted freshman at Biola lands automatically in a five-tier academic merit grid worth $14,500-$24,500 per year (no separate application), and the top applicants can compete for the full-tuition Trustee Scholarship awarded to 10 students.
Common merit-aid mistakes at Biola
The Trustee Scholarship REPLACES the recipient's academic scholarship and Biola University award — it is not additive. Winning it converts your award to full tuition rather than adding full tuition to your existing merit.
The freshman Academic Scholarship ($14,500-$24,500) is automatic upon acceptance with no separate application; the Trustee Scholarship is the one that requires a separate application by January 15, 2026.
Updated GPA and SAT/ACT scores are due by May 1; an improved transcript or score submitted by then can move you into a higher academic tier.
2026-27 full-time tuition & fees are $52,944, but the total cost of attendance for a student living on campus is $73,628 once housing ($7,380), food ($7,050), personal, transportation and books are included. A 'full tuition' award is not a full ride.
Transfers are placed on the separate Transfer Heritage grid ($14,000-$23,500) based on college GPA and need 15+ transferred credits; the five named freshman tiers (President's through Founder's Grant) do not apply to them.
Who this school is for
Faith-driven students seeking an interdenominational evangelical Christian university with a predictable, automatic merit floor; high-stat applicants (3.8+ GPA, 1500+ SAT/34+ ACT) who want a shot at full tuition through the competitive Trustee Scholarship.
Tuition / cost of attendance: Approximately $73,628 for 2026-2027. Source
Federal cost and outcome data
Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Biola, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.
Average annual net price by family income at Biola, academic year 2021-22
Family income
Average net price paid
$0–$30,000
$27,144
$30,001–$48,000
$25,410
$48,001–$75,000
$26,825
$75,001–$110,000
$29,846
$110,001+
$37,314
All income levels (average)
$31,495
Sticker price vs. what students actually pay
Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$48,984
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$31,495
That works out to roughly a 50% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $62,757 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).
Outcomes for students who enrolled here
Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
68%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
84%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$23,875 (~$253/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$56,778
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
23%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
46%
Institutional merit aid tiers
Every tier below is sourced to the school’s own published financial aid pages. Renewal terms apply only if the student maintains the stated GPA.
$24,500 per year
Freshman Academic Scholarship (President's tier)
AutomaticRenewable
GPA
Calculated via Biola's GPA calculator; top tier
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
Automatic award upon acceptance for first-time full-time freshmen; SAT/ACT optional. Updated GPA and SAT/ACT scores due May 1.
Renewal terms
Page states the scholarship is 'renewable annually (when a minimum GPA is maintained).' The specific renewal GPA is governed by the Academic Scholarship Renewal Policy PDF, which did not parse; the exact minimum GPA number is not confirmed from an official page (see Section C).
Notes
Automatic, no separate application. President's is the highest of the five published academic tiers. Tier placement is determined by Biola's GPA calculation; exact GPA/test cutoffs per tier are not published as a public grid (calculator-driven).
Freshman Academic Scholarship (Founder's Grant tier)
AutomaticRenewable
GPA
Calculated via Biola's GPA calculator; entry tier
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
Automatic award upon acceptance; SAT/ACT optional.
Renewal terms
Renewable annually when a minimum GPA is maintained (specific GPA not confirmed from an official page).
Notes
Automatic, no separate application. Lowest of the five named freshman tiers at $14,500/yr. Note: the page's summary range sentence says academic scholarships 'range from $14,000 to $24,500'; the $14,000 floor matches the Transfer Heritage 'Margaret Hart Transfer Grant' bottom tier, while the lowest named FRESHMAN tier listed is the Founder's Grant at $14,500. Flagged in Section C.
3.8 cumulative unweighted on a 4.0 scale (minimum)
SAT
1500+
ACT
34+
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
CLT 110+; demonstrated leadership; two letters of recommendation; first-time full-time freshmen only; separate application required. Awarded to 10 students.
Renewal terms
Renewable for the normal length of the academic program. A specific renewal GPA was not present in the official Trustee page content fetched (see Section C).
Notes
Competitive full-tuition award for 10 incoming undergraduates. Application deadline January 15, 2026. This award REPLACES the recipient's academic scholarship and Biola University award (does not stack on top of the academic grid) — flagged in commonMistakes.
Automatic award upon acceptance for students transferring 15 or more credits (based on a college transcript). Fall transcript deadline July 1; Spring December 15.
Renewal terms
Renewable annually when a minimum GPA is maintained (specific GPA not confirmed from an official page).
Notes
Automatic for transfer students with 15+ credits, placed on a named college-GPA grid. Not for freshmen.
Yes. Biola's Freshman Academic Scholarship is an automatic merit award upon acceptance with no separate application, placing students in one of five tiers from $14,500 (Founder's Grant) up to $24,500 (President's) per year. Update your GPA/test scores by May 1 for best placement.
What does the Trustee Scholarship cover and how do I get it?
It covers full tuition for the normal length of your program and is awarded to 10 first-time full-time incoming undergraduates. It requires a separate application (deadline January 15, 2026), a minimum 3.8 unweighted GPA, and SAT 1500 / ACT 34 / CLT 110. Note it replaces your academic scholarship rather than stacking on it.
Can I keep my scholarship every year?
Yes — the academic scholarship is renewable annually as long as you maintain the minimum GPA and meet eligibility in Biola's Academic Scholarship Renewal Policy. The exact renewal GPA should be confirmed with the Office of Financial Aid (it was not available verbatim on the public pages we reviewed).
Do outside scholarships reduce my Biola award?
Biola's public scholarship pages do not publish a specific outside-scholarship displacement policy. Federal rules cap total aid at the cost of attendance, so a large outside award could affect part of your package. Confirm the specific treatment with the Office of Financial Aid (finaid@biola.edu, 562-903-4742).
How Biola compares across our verified dataset
668 of 750 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Biola is one of them. The cohort minority (82 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 Biola’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
