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Brenau scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$49,768per year · 2026-2027 · cost of attendance
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

Brenau awards automatic merit on admission. Brenau does not publish a GPA or test chart, so you cannot self-calculate the dollars.

Where does your student land?

Verified Jun 2026
4 school sources 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 Brenau

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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. Academic Scholarships (Residential)$8,000-$17,500AutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Academic Scholarships (Residential)

    $8,000-$17,500

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

    GPA
    Determined based on GPA; specific GPA cutoffs per tier are not published
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Academic Scholarships (Residential)

    Who qualifies

    Must be an undergraduate taking classes on-ground; automatic consideration upon applying — 'you don't need to do anything other than apply to Brenau to qualify.' Online students are not eligible.

    How to keep it

    Renewal terms not published on the pages opened.

    Worth knowing

    The undergraduate-aid page lists residential merit at $8,000–$17,500/annually; the scholarships page gives an overall academic range of $6,400–$17,000 — top-end figures disagree slightly (see Section C).

  2. Academic Scholarships (Commuter)$6,400-$14,000AutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Academic Scholarships (Commuter)

    $6,400-$14,000

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

    GPA
    Determined based on GPA; specific GPA cutoffs per tier are not published
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Academic Scholarships (Commuter)

    Who qualifies

    On-ground commuter undergraduates; automatic consideration upon applying

    How to keep it

    Renewal terms not published on the pages opened.

    Worth knowing

    Commuter awards run lower than residential awards — housing status changes the merit amount.

  3. Brenau Presidential AwardFull tuitionNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Brenau Presidential Award

    Full tuition

    Published coverage or packageNot 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 Brenau Presidential Award

    Who qualifies

    Competitive program for outstanding undergraduate school and Women's College applicants with demonstrated strength in leadership and academics

    How to keep it

    Renewal terms not published on the pages opened.

    Worth knowing

    Covers full tuition 'in conjunction with applicable state grants' — i.e., state grants are counted toward the full-tuition total rather than stacking on top.

  4. Brenau Promise for HOPE and Pell RecipientsAmount not publishedNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Brenau Promise for HOPE and Pell Recipients

    Amount not published

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

    GPA
    HOPE/Zell eligibility (HOPE requires 3.0 cumulative GPA to maintain)
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Brenau Promise for HOPE and Pell Recipients

    Who qualifies

    First-time, full-time freshman on-ground; Georgia residency per state aid rules; confirmed Zell Miller or HOPE eligibility by Georgia Student Finance Commission; FAFSA filed (school code 001556) with any amount of Pell Grant qualification

    How to keep it

    Renewal requires: full-time on-ground enrollment on the Gainesville campus; continued Georgia residency requirements; maintained Zell Miller or HOPE eligibility (minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA); annual FAFSA with any amount of Pell qualification.

    Worth knowing

    Last-dollar program: the Promise amount is whatever gap remains between total gift aid and tuition + I&I development fee (example on page: $7,783). It does NOT cover transportation, supplies, books, housing, meals, or additional fees. Began 2024-25; applies only to students enrolling after that point.

  5. Baxter-Bryan ScholarshipFull tuition, room and board (senior year)Not automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Baxter-Bryan Scholarship

    Full tuition, room and board (senior year)

    Published coverage or packageNot 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.

    Open award details for Baxter-Bryan Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Brenau's highest academic recognition for a Women's College student

    Renewal terms

    Single-year award covering the recipient's senior year.

    Worth knowing

    Covers full tuition, room and board for the senior year 'in combination with the recipient's state and other institutional scholarships and grants' — a capstone honor, not a four-year entering award.

Lights up against Brenau'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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The fine print

Renewal ruleBrenau Promise for HOPE and Pell Recipients: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

Renewal requires: full-time on-ground enrollment on the Gainesville campus; continued Georgia residency requirements; maintained Zell Miller or HOPE eligibility (minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA); annual FAFSA with any amount of Pell qualification. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

Aid capHard $49,768 cost-of-attendance ceiling

Institutional aid at Brenau cannot push the package past $49,768. Big outside wins can mathematically reduce institutional grant once the ceiling is reached.

What makes Brenau different

DRAFT: Brenau awards GPA-based merit automatically to nearly all on-ground undergrads (95% received merit aid in 2024-25), splits amounts by residential vs. commuter status, and backstops Georgia HOPE+Pell students with a last-dollar 'Brenau Promise' covering full tuition and the I&I fee.

Merit tiers52 based on grades or scores
Research checkedJun 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 Brenau'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 Promise covers ONLY tuition and the I&I development fee. The page states it 'does not cover the cost of transportation, supplies, books, housing, meals or additional fees' — a residential student still owes roughly $13,300/year for food & housing plus other fees.

  2. The Promise is last-dollar: every additional dollar of institutional, state, or federal gift aid reduces the Promise dollar-for-dollar until it hits $0 (private scholarships and loans are the exceptions — they're excluded from the calculation).

  3. Brenau publishes separate merit ranges: residential $8,000–$17,500 vs. commuter $6,400–$14,000. Commuting can mean thousands less in merit aid per year. For Promise students, full-time on-ground enrollment is also a renewal condition.

  4. Promise renewal requires maintaining Zell Miller or HOPE eligibility, which carries a minimum 3.0 cumulative GPA. Losing HOPE means losing the Promise — a double cliff.

  5. Promise eligibility and renewal require filing the FAFSA annually (school code 001556) and qualifying for any amount of Pell. No FAFSA = no Promise.

  6. The Presidential Award covers full tuition 'in conjunction with applicable state grants' — state grants are folded into the full-tuition total, not added on top.

  7. The scholarships page states plainly: 'Online students are not eligible for academic scholarships.' Brenau aid requires on-ground enrollment on the Gainesville campus.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

DRAFT: Georgia students who qualify for HOPE/Zell plus any Pell can target $0 tuition via the Brenau Promise; out-of-state and non-Pell students rely on the automatic GPA-based merit tiers and competitive Presidential Award.

Published yearly cost: Approximately $49,768 for 2026-2027. Source

Cost and graduation facts

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

Average annual net price by family income at Brenau, academic year 2021-22
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$19,481
$30,001–$48,000$17,379
$48,001–$75,000$18,420
$75,001–$110,000$18,279
$110,001+$20,426
All income levels (average)$18,924

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$34,027
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$18,924

That works out to roughly a 59% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $46,010 (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
33%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
65%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$27,000 (~$286/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$54,003
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
58%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
91%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Brenau's flagship awards are gap-fillers rather than stackers: the Brenau Promise pays only the remainder after ALL institutional, state, and federal gift aid is applied to tuition + I&I fee, and the Presidential Award covers full tuition 'in conjunction with' state grants. Federal loans, work-study, Parent PLUS, and private scholarships are excluded from the Promise calculation and can be kept for other costs.

Promise page: 'The Brenau Promise amount is determined and applied to a student's account after all other institutional, state and federal scholarships and grants are calculated and applied.' Gift aid exceeding tuition+I&I simply eliminates the Promise (example student Lucile receives $0 Promise but keeps $3,717 excess toward housing/meals). Outside/private scholarships are explicitly NOT counted in the Promise calculation — for Promise students they do not displace the Promise; no displacement policy is published for non-Promise students.

Source

Other Brenau scholarships worth checking

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

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityAudition required for theatre/dance/music; portfolio submission for art & design/interior design.

Contact the department chair of your major for offerings.

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityFemale student-athletes in cross country, soccer, volleyball, basketball, competitive cheer, track & field, swimming & diving, beach volleyball, golf, softball, tennis.

Amounts determined by the Athletics Department with the Financial Aid Office.

Source

AmountVaries (example on Promise page: HOPE $4,992; GTEG $1,000)EligibilityGeorgia residents; apply at gafutures.org (application valid 10 years).

These are state programs Brenau packages with institutional aid; they count toward the Promise calculation.

Source

Brenau merit aid FAQ

  • What is the scholarship deadline?

    No scholarship application deadline is published on the pages opened — merit scholarships are automatic upon applying to Brenau for on-ground students. The FAFSA opens October 1 each year and Brenau processes aid files in the order received.

  • How much merit aid can I get?

    Academic scholarships are GPA-based and automatic: $8,000–$17,500/year for residential students and $6,400–$14,000/year for commuters (the scholarships page cites an overall $6,400–$17,000 range). Specific GPA cutoffs per tier are not published.

  • What is the Brenau Promise?

    A last-dollar program ensuring full tuition and the I&I development fee are covered for first-time, full-time, on-ground freshmen who are Georgia residents confirmed eligible for HOPE or Zell Miller AND qualify for any amount of Pell via FAFSA. It pays the gap after all other gift aid; it does not cover housing, meals, books, or other fees.

  • What does Brenau cost for 2026-27?

    Residential undergraduates pay a total base of $24,884 per semester (about $49,768/year), which includes tuition ($16,936/sem), food & housing ($6,650/sem), the Women's College Comprehensive Fee if applicable, the University Services Fee, and the I&I Development Fee. Commuter day students pay $16,936/semester flat-rate tuition (12-18 hrs) plus fees.

  • Do transfer students get merit scholarships?

    Yes — the scholarships page says academic scholarship tiers are offered to incoming first-year, transfer, and international students in full-time day programs. Amounts follow the same GPA-based ranges; specific transfer cutoffs are not published.

See sources and other schools

How Brenau compares

  • 235 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use cost-of-attendance cap displacement.

    Brenau is in a recognizable cluster (235 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

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

    Brenau 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 Brenau’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

Keep exploring Brenau merit aid

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