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CSU Bakersfield scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$28,850per year · 2025-2026 · cost of attendance
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

CSU Bakersfield may be worth checking, but its awards do not follow a simple grades-and-scores chart. Start with the published scholarships below.

Where does your student land?

Verified Jun 2026
6 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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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. Fine Arts Merit Award Scholarship (FAMAS)$1000 each year (four-year scholarship)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Fine Arts Merit Award Scholarship (FAMAS)

    $1000 each year (four-year scholarship)

    Published award termsNot 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 Fine Arts Merit Award Scholarship (FAMAS)

    Who qualifies

    Incoming freshmen from Kern County; an audition or interview, a short essay, and a letter of recommendation are required. Apply for CSUB admission and complete the scholarship application at csub.scholarshipuniverse.com.

    How to keep it

    Described as a 'four-year scholarship'; awardees 'receive $1000 each year.' Specific renewal GPA/conditions are not published on the page.

    Worth knowing

    Competitive arts award, NOT automatic on stats. Restricted to incoming freshmen from Kern County who pursue Fine Arts (administered via the Theatre Program). The $1,000/yr figure is the only published fixed merit dollar amount found for an incoming freshman at CSUB.

  2. CSUB Academic Scholarships (Roadrunner Scholarship Universe)Typically $300 to $2,500 (usually disbursed over multiple terms)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    CSUB Academic Scholarships (Roadrunner Scholarship Universe)

    Typically $300 to $2,500 (usually disbursed over multiple terms)

    Published rangeNot 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 CSUB Academic Scholarships (Roadrunner Scholarship Universe)

    Who qualifies

    Competitive. One general application on csub.scholarshipuniverse.com matches the student to scholarships they meet criteria for; awards are based on academic achievement, financial need, and/or other donor-established criteria. Priority application period January 1 - March 2.

    How to keep it

    Not stated; awards are selected by donors and/or scholarship committees each cycle and 'are usually disbursed over multiple terms.' Renewal is donor/committee-dependent, not a published institutional rule.

    Worth knowing

    This is the umbrella pool for most CSUB institutional scholarships — NOT an automatic GPA/test merit grid. Amounts and criteria are set per-donor. There is no guaranteed award. The $300-$2,500 figure is the published typical range across all CSUB academic scholarships, not a single award.

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The fine print

Aid capHard $28,850 cost-of-attendance ceiling

Institutional aid at CSU Bakersfield cannot push the package past $28,850. Big outside wins can mathematically reduce institutional grant once the ceiling is reached.

What makes CSU Bakersfield different

CSUB is a low-cost, overwhelmingly need-based CSU campus with NO automatic GPA/test merit grid — institutional scholarships are competitive, donor-funded, and typically range $300-$2,500, applied for through one Roadrunner Scholarship Universe application.

Merit tiers2See who qualifies
Research checkedJun 2026By our research team

Selection beyond grades and scores

Start with the selection process.

These awards are not recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read each award's selection rules, application steps and dates. Meeting a minimum is not an award offer.

  1. Read the selection rules

    Look for the school's stated criteria and whether an additional application is needed.

  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 CSU Bakersfield'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. CSUB publishes NO automatic merit grid. The catalog states awards 'are selected by donors and/or scholarship committees' and 'typically range from $300 to $2,500.' Nothing is guaranteed on stats — you must submit the Roadrunner Scholarship Universe application and compete.

  2. The priority application period for CSUB academic scholarships on csub.scholarshipuniverse.com is January 1 through March 2 prior to the academic year. One general application matches you to scholarships you qualify for; miss it and you forfeit consideration for that cycle.

  3. The 2025-2026 CA-resident on-campus Cost of Attendance budget TOTAL is $28,850 (current official 2025-2026 CA-Resident PDF; the older HTML table's $28,980 included $130 in direct loan fees) — that includes mandatory campus fees ($2,046), housing, food, books, transportation, personal expenses, and loan fees on top of the $6,450 systemwide tuition fee. Budget to the COA total, not just tuition.

  4. CSUB states merit scholarships and fee waivers are 'not awarded based upon a student's Student Aid Index (SAI) or financial need.' But they ARE 'included when determining unmet need,' so winning a scholarship (or an outside award) can reduce other need-based aid in your package.

  5. CSUB requires you to disclose all private scholarships. Once reported, the award is added to your aid as an externally awarded scholarship and a revised award notification is issued; awards earmarked for fees can reduce or cancel your State University Grant.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Cost-conscious California (especially Kern County) families who want an affordable CSU (resident systemwide tuition ~$6,450/yr) and are willing to file the FAFSA/Dream Act for need-based aid and submit one competitive scholarship application — NOT families looking for a guaranteed, stats-based automatic merit award.

Published yearly cost: Approximately $28,850 for 2025-2026. Source

Cost and graduation facts

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

Average annual net price by family income at CSU Bakersfield, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$3,536
$30,001–$48,000$3,817
$48,001–$75,000$5,835
$75,001–$110,000$9,480
$110,001+$16,069
All income levels (average)$5,652

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$8,090
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$20,690
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$5,652

That works out to roughly a 71% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $19,522 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

CSU Bakersfield is a public school; Scorecard's net price figure covers in-state, Title-IV-aid-recipient payers only — there is no comparable federal figure for out-of-state students.

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
50%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
79%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$16,600 (~$176/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$59,009
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
68%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
15%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

CSUB requires all outside scholarships to be disclosed; they are treated as a resource and added to the financial aid package as an externally awarded scholarship, with a revised award notification issued. Total aid from all sources is coordinated against Cost of Attendance/unmet need. Merit scholarships and fee waivers are themselves 'included when determining unmet need,' so outside awards can reduce other need-based aid rather than the merit award. No grant-vs-loan displacement order is published, so the precise displacement order is unclear — confirm with the aid office.

The Scholarship Disclosure Form states outside scholarships are a resource the federal government requires students to report; once notified, the scholarship is included in financial aid awards as an externally awarded scholarship and a revised award notification is sent. The 'need' page states merit scholarships/fee waivers are not awarded on SAI/need but ARE included when determining unmet need. The CSU State University Grant rules note awards earmarked for fees (Cal Grant, fee waivers, etc.) will reduce or cancel SUG. No explicit loan-first vs grant-first order for outside scholarships is published.

Source

Other CSU Bakersfield scholarships worth checking

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

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityAn incoming first-year student who plans to participate in the jazz program.

Endowed donor scholarship; no published dollar amount. Merit/interest-based.

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityFirst-generation STEM students.

Endowed memorial scholarship; no published dollar amount.

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityMajor in the College of Social Sciences and Education with an interest in a career in social services and counseling; cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher; preference to first-generation or re-entry students. Recipient may or may not be a U.S. citizen.

Donor scholarship; no published dollar amount. GPA floor is low (2.0).

Source

AmountFunded by a $500,000 endowment (per-award amount not published)EligibilityUpper-division students who transfer from a California community college.

NOT for incoming freshmen — transfer-only, upper-division. The $500,000 figure is the endowment size, not an award amount.

Source

AmountTargeted at $2,000 each (e.g., fall 2025 goal: 30 scholarships at $2,000 each)EligibilityHigh school seniors / incoming CSUB freshmen, and community college transfers, who identify as being of Hispanic heritage; academically excellent and financially deserving (open to any student regardless of race or ethnicity per the program).

Separately-administered community fund (CSUB-HESF) with its own application and deadline (e.g., May 30, 2025). Need + merit. Amount is a stated goal, not a guaranteed automatic award.

Source

CSU Bakersfield merit aid FAQ

  • Does CSUB give automatic merit scholarships based on GPA or test scores?

    No. CSUB publishes no automatic stats-based merit grid. Institutional scholarships are competitive and selected by donors or scholarship committees; amounts typically range from $300 to $2,500. You apply through one general application on csub.scholarshipuniverse.com.

  • What is the scholarship deadline?

    The priority application period for CSUB academic scholarships is January 1 through March 2 prior to the start of each academic year, submitted on csub.scholarshipuniverse.com. The FAFSA/California Dream Act priority filing period is October 1 through March 2.

  • Is there any fixed-dollar merit award for incoming freshmen?

    The Fine Arts Merit Award Scholarship (FAMAS) is a four-year award of $1,000 each year for incoming freshmen from Kern County, requiring an audition/interview, a short essay, and a letter of recommendation. It is competitive, not automatic.

  • If I win an outside scholarship, does it reduce my CSUB aid?

    You must report all outside scholarships. CSUB adds them to your aid package as an externally awarded scholarship and issues a revised award notification; total aid is coordinated against your cost of attendance, so an outside award can reduce other need-based aid. The exact order in which aid is reduced is not published — ask the aid office.

See sources and other schools

How CSU Bakersfield compares

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

    CSU Bakersfield 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.

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

Compare with similar schools

  • UC Davis merit aid. California public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • UC Irvine merit aid. California public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • UCSB merit aid. California public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • UCLA merit aid. California public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.

Keep exploring CSU Bakersfield merit aid

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