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 Jul 20262 months ago
The short answer
Is Cedar Crest worth a closer look?
Cedar Crest may be worth checking, but its awards do not follow a simple grades-and-scores chart. Start with the published scholarships below.
Merit tiers4See who qualifies
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team
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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.
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
How to keep it
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
How to keep it
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)
See who qualifies and how to keep it+
Who qualifies
First-year: never attended college as degree-seeking; full-time traditional student beginning Fall 2026. Transfer: full-time traditional transfer beginning Fall 2026.
How to keep it
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)
See who qualifies and how to keep it+
Who qualifies
Full-time transfer students; rates effective beginning Fall 2026
How to keep it
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.
These are the rules we would flag for your family. Each comes from Cedar Crest's published information.
Renewal ruleSTAR – 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.
What families often miss
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.'
See costs and school data+
Who this school may work 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.
Cost and graduation facts
Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Cedar Crest, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.
Average annual net price by family income at Cedar Crest, academic year 2021-22
Family income
Average net price paid
$0–$30,000
$21,044
$30,001–$48,000
$24,250
$48,001–$75,000
$21,490
$75,001–$110,000
$19,909
$110,001+
$11,008
All income levels (average)
$18,659
Sticker price vs. what students actually pay
Total cost of attendance (sticker), AY 2021-22
$57,206
Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$46,314
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$18,659
That works out to an average 67% discount off the sticker price above — both figures come from the same federal AY 2021-22 Scorecard report, not a number the school itself published.
Outcomes for students who enrolled here
Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
60%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
71%
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)
$59,460
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
55%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
78%
See other scholarships and cost examples+
If your student brings another scholarship
Outside scholarships reduce loans and/or work-study first; institutional grants are only reduced if required to prevent an over-award.
Verified policy language (2026-07-02): Students are required to notify Student Financial Services and provide written documentation if they receive any outside scholarships, as federal regulations required these to be considered a resource in determining aid eligibility. If adjustments to the aid package are necessary due to outside scholarships, Cedar Crest reduces self-help aid first (student loans) and adjusts grants only if necessary to prevent an over-award. Separately, the school's own award-stacking rules: Students may hold one merit scholarship plus at most two additional Cedar Crest scholarships. (per https://www.cedarcrest.edu/admissions-and-aid/scholarships/)
These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own 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.
See sources and other schools+
How Cedar Crest compares
145 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.
Cedar Crest is in a recognizable cluster (145 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.
Cedar Crest 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 Cedar Crest’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
