Does BU publish merit scholarship dollar amounts by stat tier?

No. Unlike schools that publish a fixed ladder of automatic merit by GPA/test score, BU evaluates merit holistically and does not publish stat cutoffs. Of BU's named first-year merit awards, only the Methodist Clergy Scholarship (half tuition) has a publicly stated dollar amount; the Trustee Scholars Program is widely described as full-tuition but BU does not confirm a value on its public scholarship pages.

How much does Boston University actually cost?

BU's 2026-27 published cost of attendance is $98,419 — $73,024 tuition, $13,170 housing, $7,570 food, $1,570 fees, plus about $3,085 for books, personal, and transportation. That's near the top of the four-year US private-college sticker range.

BU· Renewal Rules

Keeping BU’s Merit Aid for Four Years

What the financial-aid office actually requires after freshman year: minimum GPA, credit-hour pace, and the cliffs that quietly downgrade families mid-degree.

Verified May 20268 days ago· CC-1

At a glance

Renewable tiers: 5 of 5
One-time tiers: 0
Tiers with published renewal terms: 3
Renewal risk profile: low

Renewal risk profile

BU's published renewal rules cluster around a 3.0 floor with no major-GPA gating, which is survivable for the typical freshman with steady study habits. The risk is non-renewal due to enrollment status (dropping below full-time), not GPA.

Trustee Scholars Program: See notes
Methodist Clergy Scholarship: See notes
College of Fine Arts Performance Scholarships: See notes

Renewal terms by tier

Trustee Scholars Program
Not published — confirm directly with BU Admissions
To keep it: Continued academic standing per BU's award terms; verify in the offer letter.
Source: https://www.bu.edu/admissions/tuition-aid/scholarships-financial-aid/first-year-merit/
Methodist Clergy Scholarship
Half-tuition
To keep it: Renewable per BU's award terms; verify in the offer letter.
Source: https://www.bu.edu/admissions/tuition-aid/scholarships-financial-aid/first-year-merit/additional-merit-scholarships/
College of Fine Arts Performance Scholarships
Varies by student
To keep it: Renewal terms not published on the public additional-merit page; verify with CFA.
Source: https://www.bu.edu/admissions/tuition-aid/scholarships-financial-aid/first-year-merit/additional-merit-scholarships/

Renewal questions families ask

Does BU publish merit scholarship dollar amounts by stat tier?: No. Unlike schools that publish a fixed ladder of automatic merit by GPA/test score, BU evaluates merit holistically and does not publish stat cutoffs. Of BU's named first-year merit awards, only the Methodist Clergy Scholarship (half tuition) has a publicly stated dollar amount; the Trustee Scholars Program is widely described as full-tuition but BU does not confirm a value on its public scholarship pages.
How much does Boston University actually cost?: BU's 2026-27 published cost of attendance is $98,419 — $73,024 tuition, $13,170 housing, $7,570 food, $1,570 fees, plus about $3,085 for books, personal, and transportation. That's near the top of the four-year US private-college sticker range.

How BU compares across our verified dataset

133 of 150 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
BU is one of them. The cohort minority (17 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 BU’s own published materials.