DRAFT: Defiance publishes four flat-dollar academic scholarship tiers ($6,000-$13,000) determined from GPA/test scores, a transfer GPA grid, and a new 1850 Promise debt-free program for OCOG-eligible commuters from eleven northwest-Ohio counties.
Verified Jun 20264 days ago· COWORK
Merit tiers71 automatic on stats
Last verifiedJun 2026Analyst COWORK
Rules that bite at Defiance
The trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook. Each is derived from Defiance's own published policy, not generic advice.
displacementNo published displacement order
Defiance's policy doesn't specify whether outside scholarships hit loans, grants, or only the COA ceiling. Get a written aid-office answer before chasing private awards.
Common merit-aid mistakes at Defiance
The scholarships page repeatedly footnotes these awards: 'May not be combined with athletic or music scholarships.' Recruited athletes and music-scholarship students cannot add them.
The page states final scholarships 'are coordinated with other federal, state, and Defiance College sponsored awards and may be influenced by the student's on-campus or commuter status' — moving off campus or commuting can change the package.
The test-optional GPA-only calculation is available only to students who are NOT in nursing, biology, or education majors — those majors must submit ACT/SAT for scholarship calculation.
Applications for the $5,000 Presidential Service Leadership Award are due May 1; later applications are placed on a waiting list rather than considered outright.
It is gated three ways: students must qualify for the need-based Ohio College Opportunity Grant via FAFSA (an income test), maintain commuter status (no campus housing), and hold permanent residence in one of eleven listed northwest-Ohio counties.
If the four-year teaching service obligation in a high-need field is not completed, the TEACH Grant converts to a loan that must be repaid with interest.
Who this school is for
DRAFT: Solid students seeking predictable flat-dollar merit at a small Ohio college — and especially lower-income commuter students from the eleven eligible counties, who can target a debt-free degree via the 1850 Promise.
Tuition / cost of attendance: Approximately $42,643 for 2026-2027. Source
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.
$13,000
Dean's Scholarship
ApplicationRenewable
GPA
Calculated individually from GPA and ACT/SAT combination (no published cutoff)
SAT
Used in combined calculation; no published cutoff
ACT
Used in combined calculation; no published cutoff
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
Test-optional calculation (GPA only) available except for nursing, biology, or education majors
Renewal terms
Scholarships are offered to eligible students and are renewed each year according to established requirements (specific renewal GPA not published on this page).
Notes
For students entering Fall 2026. Eligibility is determined individually; the page does not publish a stat grid or state the award is automatic, so automaticOnStats is set false.
Must qualify for the Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG) via FAFSA; maintain commuter status; permanent residence in Allen, Defiance, Hancock, Henry, Fulton, Lucas, Putnam, Paulding, Van Wert, Williams, or Wood county
Renewal terms
Program requirements include maintaining commuter status; other renewal specifics not published.
Notes
Promise program 'designed for eligible area high school students to earn a debt-free bachelor's degree,' starting with the 2026-27 academic year. No dollar amount published — framed as debt-free outcome, not a stated award value.
Final scholarships are coordinated with other federal, state, and Defiance College awards and can be influenced by on-campus vs. commuter status; several specific awards (Presidential Service Leadership, Alumni Legacy Grant, UCC Grant, Defiance College Grant) may not be combined with athletic or music scholarships. Treatment of private outside scholarships is not addressed on the pages opened.
The scholarships page states awards are 'coordinated' and housing status can change amounts, but publishes no formula. The repeated asterisk rule bars combining the listed awards with athletic or music scholarships. No policy on outside/private scholarship displacement was found.
Amount$3,772 (grants first disbursed on or after Oct. 1, 2021)EligibilityUndergraduates agreeing to teach full-time for at least four years in a high-need field at a low-income-serving school.
Converts to a loan with interest if the service obligation is not completed.
The academic scholarships have no published deadline — eligibility is calculated from GPA and ACT/SAT at admission. The Presidential Service Leadership Award application is due May 1; applications after that date are placed on a waiting list.
How much are the freshman academic scholarships for Fall 2026?
Dean's Scholarship $13,000; Pilgrim Scholarship $12,000; Trustee Scholarship $9,000; Achievement Scholarship $6,000 — annual amounts based on full-time enrollment, determined individually from GPA and ACT/SAT (test-optional GPA-only calculation available outside nursing, biology, and education).
How much is the transfer scholarship?
By transfer GPA: 3.75-4.0+ gets $13,000; 3.5-3.74 gets $12,000; 3.0-3.49 gets $9,000; 2.6-2.99 gets $6,000.
What does Defiance College cost for 2026-27?
Full-time tuition is $14,250 per semester ($28,500/year), the all-inclusive fee is $550 per semester ($1,100/year), and housing & food are $6,521.50 per semester ($13,043/year), plus a $90/year parking fee — about $42,643 in published charges before books and personal expenses.
What is the 1850 Promise?
A debt-free bachelor's degree program starting in 2026-27 for commuter students with a 3.0+ high school GPA who qualify for the Ohio College Opportunity Grant via FAFSA and permanently reside in Allen, Defiance, Hancock, Henry, Fulton, Lucas, Putnam, Paulding, Van Wert, Williams, or Wood county.
How Defiance compares across our verified dataset
199 of 751 verified schools in our dataset use unclear or unpublished displacement.
Defiance is in a recognizable cluster (199 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
199 of 751 verified schools publish no clear displacement order.
Defiance is one of them. The right move is the aid-office email script below, not a guess.
669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Defiance 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 Defiance’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
