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Cedar Crest· Renewal Rules

Keeping Cedar Crest’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 20264 days ago· COWORK

At a glance

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

Renewal risk profile

Cedar Crest's renewal bar is achievable for steady students but isn't generous. Most awards require a cumulative GPA in the 3.0–3.4 band plus full-time enrollment. Audit the strictest tier on this school's list before assuming the four-year value is locked in.

  • Merit Scholarships (First-Year Grid: Presidential / Trustee / Founders / Dean's / Fellows): See notes
  • Cedar Crest Trailblazer Award: 3.0 GPA
  • STAR – State Tuition Access Rate: 2.5 GPA
  • 2026-2027 Transfer Student Merit Scholarships (Presidential / Trustee / Founders / Deans): 2.5 GPA

Renewal terms by tier

  • Merit Scholarships (First-Year Grid: Presidential / Trustee / Founders / Dean's / Fellows)

    $21,000-$25,000

    Entry requirements: Presidential 3.9+; Trustee 3.6-3.8; Founders 3.4-3.5; Dean's 3.1-3.3; Fellows below 3.0 GPA

    To keep it: They must also remain in good academic standing for renewal of any scholarships and awards received.

    Source: https://www.cedarcrest.edu/admissions-and-aid/scholarships/

  • Cedar Crest Trailblazer Award

    Full tuition

    To keep it: 3.0 GPA required for renewal

    Source: https://www.cedarcrest.edu/admissions-and-aid/scholarships/

  • STAR – State Tuition Access Rate

    Amount not published

    Entry requirements: 3.25 unweighted high school GPA (first-year) or 3.25 cumulative college GPA (transfer) GPA

    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.

    Source: https://www.cedarcrest.edu/admissions-and-aid/tuition-fees/state-tuition-access-rate/

  • 2026-2027 Transfer Student Merit Scholarships (Presidential / Trustee / Founders / Deans)

    $18,000-$24,000

    Entry requirements: 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) GPA

    To keep it: Automatically renewed each year provided the student maintains a 2.5 cumulative GPA and retains full-time student status.

    Source: https://www.cedarcrest.edu/admissions-and-aid/scholarships/

How families lose this aid

  • Expecting the STAR rate to track future flagship tuition or to combine with merit discounts.

    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.

Renewal questions families ask

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.

Rules that bite at Cedar Crest

The renewal trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook, derived from Cedar Crest's own tier rules and 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.

How Cedar Crest compares across our verified dataset

  • 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 renewal claim is checked against Cedar Crest’s own published materials.

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