Cedar Crest publishes a clean five-band GPA merit grid ($21,000-$25,000) plus a STAR program that matches your state flagship's in-state tuition rate for students with a 3.25+ GPA.
Verified Jun 20264 days ago· COWORK
Merit tiers4See requirements
Last verifiedJun 2026Analyst COWORK
Rules that bite at Cedar Crest
The trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook. Each is derived from Cedar Crest's own published policy, not generic advice.
renewalSTAR – State Tuition Access Rate: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Fixed at the 2025-2026 rate for four years (8 fall and spring semesters) provided the recipient remains enrolled full-time and maintains a 2.5 GPA; must also maintain academic and judicial standing. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.
displacementDifferent aid types are displaced differently
Cedar Crest treats loans, work-study, and institutional grant under different rules. The same $5,000 outside award can land against any of them depending on category.
Common merit-aid mistakes at Cedar Crest
The scholarships page caps stacking: 'Students are eligible to receive a merit scholarship and two additional scholarships only.' A third add-on award will not pay.
The page states the Trailblazer 'covers full-time tuition minus any additional grants or outside scholarships and supersedes any other Cedar Crest money' — outside scholarships and other grants reduce it dollar-for-dollar, and it replaces all other Cedar Crest aid. Full tuition is also not a full ride: room, board and fees are not covered.
STAR is 'fixed at the 2025-2026 rate for four years' and is a tuition rate, not a scholarship; federal/state aid and outside scholarships are 'applied to the remaining balance of student bills.' Renewal requires full-time enrollment and a 2.5 GPA — falling below loses the rate.
The page states students 'must notify the Admissions Office prior to their acceptance in order to receive these awards' — asking after you've accepted is too late.
Scout Scholarships 'cannot be combined with other community service scholarships offered by Cedar Crest College,' and 'Student can receive only one Department Scholarship.'
The SAGE Transfer Scholarship, SAGE Phi Theta Kappa award, and ABSN ADVANTAGE Scholarship each state 'This scholarship may not be combined with any other CCC scholarship.'
Who this school is for
Strong-GPA students (especially 3.25+) who want a private women's-college experience at a public-flagship price via STAR, and Lehigh Valley locals who can compete for the full-tuition Trailblazer Award.
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.
Traditional, full-time first-year students; based on academic criteria including but not limited to high school GPA, SAT or ACT scores and class rank
Renewal terms
They must also remain in good academic standing for renewal of any scholarships and awards received.
Notes
Page does not state the word 'automatic' for first-year awards (transfer awards are described as automatically renewed), so automaticOnStats is conservatively false. Students may hold a merit scholarship plus only two additional scholarships.
One first-year traditional student from Pennsylvania's Lehigh or Northampton County; nominated by a counselor or teacher; must be invited, admitted, and already hold a Presidential, Trustee or Founder's Scholarship; must attend and win the Trailblazer Scholarship Competition
Renewal terms
3.0 GPA required for renewal
Notes
Listed as $45,664 per year based on annual full-time tuition. Covers tuition MINUS any additional grants or outside scholarships and supersedes any other Cedar Crest money. Additional scholarship money awarded to finalists.
3.25 unweighted high school GPA (first-year) or 3.25 cumulative college GPA (transfer)
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
First-year: never attended college as degree-seeking; full-time traditional student beginning Fall 2026. Transfer: full-time traditional transfer beginning Fall 2026.
Renewal terms
Fixed at the 2025-2026 rate for four years (8 fall and spring semesters) provided the recipient remains enrolled full-time and maintains a 2.5 GPA; must also maintain academic and judicial standing.
Notes
Tuition is matched to the in-state tuition+fees of the student's state flagship (per College Board, as published for 2025-2026); per-state amounts shown in an embedded chart not readable as text. Effectively a tuition-rate program rather than a fixed scholarship.
Presidential 3.75+; Trustee 3.5-3.74; Founders 3.0-3.49; Deans 2.5-2.99 (cumulative transfer GPA from all transfer institutions)
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
Full-time transfer students; rates effective beginning Fall 2026
Renewal terms
Automatically renewed each year provided the student maintains a 2.5 cumulative GPA and retains full-time student status.
Notes
Page states renewal is automatic but does not state the initial award is automatic with no application. Students are eligible to receive a merit scholarship and two additional scholarships only.
Students may hold one merit scholarship plus at most two additional Cedar Crest scholarships. The full-tuition Trailblazer Award is reduced by any additional grants or outside scholarships and replaces all other Cedar Crest aid. Under STAR, federal/state aid and outside scholarships apply only to the remaining balance of the bill.
Scholarships page: 'Students are eligible to receive a merit scholarship and two additional scholarships only.' Trailblazer: 'Scholarship covers full-time tuition minus any additional grants or outside scholarships and supersedes any other Cedar Crest money.' STAR page: 'Federal aid, state aid, and outside scholarships are applied to the remaining balance of student bills.' Several adult/transfer awards state 'This scholarship may not be combined with any other CCC scholarship.' No general outside-scholarship displacement policy was found for the standard merit grid.
Named awards that don’t always surface on the main financial aid page. Each one has its own eligibility rules.
Amount$5,000 per year for up to four yearsEligibilityOne student who received the Scout Gold Award in the previous four years with a 3.5+ high school or college GPA; documentation required
Cannot be combined with other community service scholarships offered by Cedar Crest. Application deadline December 9, 2025.
Amount$1,000 per year for up to four yearsEligibilityUp to five students who were active Scouts at least two years in grades 9-12; 250-word essay and proof of membership required
Cannot be combined with other community service scholarships offered by Cedar Crest. Application deadline December 9, 2025.
Amount$2,000 per year for up to four yearsEligibilityTraditional full-time first-year or full-time transfer student recommended by a Cedar Crest alumnae/i
Students must notify the Admissions Office PRIOR to their acceptance in order to receive this award.
Amount$1,500 per year for up to four yearsEligibilityFirst-year, full-time traditional students; interviews/auditions held during Explore Your Future Day (page lists January 18, 2025 — seniors only)
Student can receive only one Department Scholarship; must follow department's criteria for renewal. Offered in all academic disciplines.
Amount$2,000 per yearEligibilityFull-time transfers who graduated from Lehigh Carbon CC or Northampton CC with qualifying associate degrees; 2.0 minimum cumulative GPA
Renewable with 2.5 cumulative GPA and full-time status.
The page states: 'Deadline to apply is December 9, 2025' (for the application posted for the current admissions cycle).
When are Departmental Scholarship interviews and auditions held?
During Explore Your Future Day; the page currently lists 'January 18, 2025 (seniors only)' — this date appears stale, so confirm the current cycle's date with Admissions.
Is there a separate application for the first-year merit grid?
The page says eligibility 'is reviewed based on the information you provide through your admissions application'; it does not describe a separate scholarship application, but it also does not use the word 'automatic.' Confirm with Admissions.
What GPA keeps my scholarship?
First-year merit awards require remaining 'in good academic standing.' Trailblazer requires a 3.0 GPA. STAR and transfer merit awards require a 2.5 cumulative GPA and full-time status.
How Cedar Crest compares across our verified dataset
86 of 751 verified schools in our dataset use mixed displacement.
Cedar Crest is in the modest minority (86 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Cedar Crest 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 Cedar Crest’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
