Is the PLUS scholarship automatic if I meet the GPA and ACT requirements?

No. PLUS is competitive and application-based. Meeting the minimum 3.0 GPA and ACT 20 requirements makes you eligible to apply, but you must also submit a resume, essay, and three letters of recommendation, and be selected through an interview process. Only approximately 25 students receive the scholarship per cohort.

Does the PLUS tuition waiver cover my full bill at Cameron?

No. The PLUS scholarship covers tuition (up to 18 credit hours per semester) and the room charge for a double room in Shepler Center plus cash stipends, but it does NOT cover fees, food, books, transportation, or personal expenses. The 2025-2026 in-state COA for a full-time on-campus student is $27,098; tuition and fees account for $7,540 of that total.

What GPA must I maintain to keep the PLUS scholarship?

A 2.5 GPA each semester and overall in Year 1; a 3.0 GPA each semester and overall in Years 2, 3, and 4. Falling below these thresholds risks losing the scholarship.

Are there automatic merit awards for freshmen who do not apply for PLUS?

Yes. Once officially admitted, Cameron automatically matches students to any tuition waivers and scholarships they qualify for based on GPA, ACT/SAT scores, and class rank from their admissions application. Specific award names and amounts are listed in the AwardSpring portal (requires CU login).

Cameron· Renewal Rules

Keeping Cameron’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 Jun 20268 days ago· COWORK

At a glance

Renewable tiers: 4 of 4
One-time tiers: 0
Tiers with published renewal terms: 4
Renewal risk profile: low

Renewal risk profile

Cameron'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.

PLUS Scholarship (Presidential Leaders and University Scholars): 2.5 GPA
Institutional Tuition Waivers (Freshman — Automatic Match): See notes
Institutional Tuition Waivers (Transfer — Automatic Match): See notes
Institutional Scholarships (Competitive/Departmental — AwardSpring Portal): See notes

Renewal terms by tier

PLUS Scholarship (Presidential Leaders and University Scholars)
Full tuition waiver (up to 18 credit hours/semester) + room waiver (scholar's portion of a double room in Shepler Center) + $400/semester stipend in Year 1 + $250/semester stipend in Year 2
Entry requirements: Unweighted high school GPA of 3.0 or higher GPA · Not stated separately; ACT 20 minimum cited SAT · Minimum ACT composite score of 20 ACT
To keep it: Renewable for up to 4 years contingent on signing and fulfilling a contract. Academic requirements: Year 1 – 2.5 GPA each semester and overall + complete 30 credit hours by year end; Years 2-4 – 3.0 GPA each semester and overall + 60/90/degree credit hour milestones by year ends. Also requires 16 service hours/semester, full-time enrollment (12-18 hrs/semester), campus involvement, and mandatory leadership training. At the completion of each semester, PLUS advisors objectively measure and subjectively evaluate each student's contribution. Failure to meet any requirement may result in loss of scholarship.
Source: https://www.cameron.edu/plus/incoming-freshman-plus-scholarship
Institutional Tuition Waivers (Freshman — Automatic Match)
Amount not published (varies by waiver; applied against tuition charged)
Entry requirements: Based on high school GPA (unweighted GPAs used for freshman applicants per portal page) GPA · SAT scores used in matching SAT · ACT/SAT scores used in matching ACT
To keep it: Renewal terms not published on the pages retrieved. The portal (cameron.awardspring.com) could not be fully accessed. Contact aid office for specific waiver renewal GPA requirements.
Source: https://www.cameron.edu/financial_aid/understanding-your-financial-aid/types/scholarships-and-tuition-waivers
Institutional Tuition Waivers (Transfer — Automatic Match)
Amount not published (based on transfer retention GPA per types page)
Entry requirements: Transfer retention GPA used in matching (per types page: 'transfer retention grade point averages') GPA · Not stated as required for transfer waiver matching SAT · Not stated as required for transfer waiver matching ACT
To keep it: Renewal terms not published on the pages retrieved.
Source: https://www.cameron.edu/financial_aid/understanding-your-financial-aid/types
Institutional Scholarships (Competitive/Departmental — AwardSpring Portal)
Amount not published (varies by individual scholarship)
Entry requirements: Varies by scholarship GPA · Varies by scholarship SAT · Varies by scholarship ACT
To keep it: Individual renewal terms not published publicly; set by department/committee.
Source: https://www.cameron.edu/financial_aid/understanding-your-financial-aid/types/scholarships-and-tuition-waivers

How families lose this aid

Assuming a tuition waiver covers full Cost of Attendance
Tuition waivers at Cameron cover ONLY tuition charges — they cannot be applied to fees, housing, food, books, or other COA components. For example, the PLUS scholarship's 'full tuition waiver' only offsets tuition (up to 18 hrs/semester); students still owe all fees and non-room living expenses. The in-state full-time COA is $27,098 (2025-2026); tuition & fees alone are $7,540, so a tuition-only waiver leaves substantial unmet need.
Missing the PLUS application deadline
The PLUS application deadline is in early February (listed as February 9 extended deadline on the freshman page and February 3, 2026 on the PLUS landing page for the 2026 cycle). Missing this date forfeits eligibility. The AwardSpring portal opens January 5, 2026.
Assuming PLUS scholarship renewal is guaranteed
PLUS scholars must sign a contract and meet semester-by-semester GPA requirements (2.5 in Year 1; 3.0 in Years 2-4), credit-hour milestones (30/60/90/graduation), 16 service hours/semester, full-time enrollment, campus involvement, and leadership training attendance. Advisors evaluate each student each semester; failure to meet any requirement risks losing the scholarship.

Renewal questions families ask

Is the PLUS scholarship automatic if I meet the GPA and ACT requirements?: No. PLUS is competitive and application-based. Meeting the minimum 3.0 GPA and ACT 20 requirements makes you eligible to apply, but you must also submit a resume, essay, and three letters of recommendation, and be selected through an interview process. Only approximately 25 students receive the scholarship per cohort.
Does the PLUS tuition waiver cover my full bill at Cameron?: No. The PLUS scholarship covers tuition (up to 18 credit hours per semester) and the room charge for a double room in Shepler Center plus cash stipends, but it does NOT cover fees, food, books, transportation, or personal expenses. The 2025-2026 in-state COA for a full-time on-campus student is $27,098; tuition and fees account for $7,540 of that total.
What GPA must I maintain to keep the PLUS scholarship?: A 2.5 GPA each semester and overall in Year 1; a 3.0 GPA each semester and overall in Years 2, 3, and 4. Falling below these thresholds risks losing the scholarship.
Are there automatic merit awards for freshmen who do not apply for PLUS?: Yes. Once officially admitted, Cameron automatically matches students to any tuition waivers and scholarships they qualify for based on GPA, ACT/SAT scores, and class rank from their admissions application. Specific award names and amounts are listed in the AwardSpring portal (requires CU login).

Rules that bite at Cameron

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

renewalPLUS Scholarship (Presidential Leaders and University Scholars): renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Renewable for up to 4 years contingent on signing and fulfilling a contract. Academic requirements: Year 1 – 2.5 GPA each semester and overall + complete 30 credit hours by year end; Years 2-4 – 3.0 GPA each semester and overall + 60/90/degree credit hour milestones by year ends. Also requires 16 service hours/semester, full-time enrollment (12-18 hrs/semester), campus involvement, and mandatory leadership training. At the completion of each semester, PLUS advisors objectively measure and subjectively evaluate each student's contribution. Failure to meet any requirement may result in loss of scholarship. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

How Cameron compares across our verified dataset

669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Cameron 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 renewal claim is checked against Cameron’s own published materials.