What GPA keeps my scholarship?

Merit scholarships are awarded for eight semesters and maintained with continued full-time enrollment and good academic standing (a 2.0 GPA).

Dickinson award rules

Will the scholarship last four years at Dickinson?

We pulled the school’s grade, credit, and time limits into one place so you can see what it takes to keep the award.

Verified Jul 20262 months ago

The short answer

8 of 8 published awards are listed as renewable.

The exact rule can change by award. Check the award your student may receive before you count on the same amount every year.

What to do

Find the award name in the full research below. Save its grade, credit, and deadline rules with your college plan.

See every award rule, common mistake, and source

At a glance

Renewable tiers: 8 of 8
One-time tiers: 0
Tiers with published renewal terms: 8
Renewal risk profile: low

Renewal risk profile

Dickinson's published renewal rules cluster around a 3.0 floor with no major-GPA gating, which is survivable for the typical freshman with steady study habits. The risk is non-renewal due to enrollment status (dropping below full-time), not GPA.

Academic Merit Scholarships: 2.0 GPA
Reynolds Leadership Scholar Program: Full-time enrollment
Dickinson-Cumberland County Scholarship: See notes
Dickinson-Sandia Scholarship: See notes
Sheehy Scholarship: Full-time enrollment
Curley Scholarship: See notes
Inge Paul and John R. Stafford Scholarship for Bioinformatics: See notes
Tuition Exchange (TE): See notes

Renewal terms by tier

Academic Merit Scholarships
$15,000-$35,000
To keep it: Awarded for eight semesters (in residence or in a Dickinson study-abroad program); maintained through continued full-time enrollment and good academic standing (2.0 GPA).
Source: https://www.dickinson.edu/homepage/511/grants_and_scholarships
Reynolds Leadership Scholar Program
$50,000
To keep it: $200,000 toward tuition over eight semesters of full-time study (including off-campus study in a Dickinson program or partner program).
Source: https://www.dickinson.edu/homepage/511/grants_and_scholarships
Dickinson-Cumberland County Scholarship
Full tuition
To keep it: Four-year, full-tuition award.
Source: https://www.dickinson.edu/homepage/511/grants_and_scholarships
Dickinson-Sandia Scholarship
Full tuition
To keep it: Two full-tuition scholarships.
Source: https://www.dickinson.edu/homepage/511/grants_and_scholarships
Sheehy Scholarship
Full tuition
To keep it: Full-tuition for eight semesters of full-time study (including off-campus study in a Dickinson program or partner program).
Source: https://www.dickinson.edu/homepage/511/grants_and_scholarships
Curley Scholarship
Half tuition
To keep it: Two half-tuition scholarships awarded annually.
Source: https://www.dickinson.edu/homepage/511/grants_and_scholarships
Inge Paul and John R. Stafford Scholarship for Bioinformatics
$35,000
To keep it: Academic merit scholarship ($35,000/year) meeting merit-scholarship requirements, plus $3,000 total research support over four years.
Source: https://www.dickinson.edu/homepage/511/grants_and_scholarships
Tuition Exchange (TE)
$43,000 (2025-26)
To keep it: Amount changes annually; for 2025-26 set at $43,000/year. Awarded on a rolling basis starting with Early Decision I/II then Regular Decision.
Source: https://www.dickinson.edu/homepage/511/grants_and_scholarships

How families lose this aid

Worrying about a high renewal-GPA cliff
Merit scholarships renew through eight semesters on full-time enrollment and a relatively lenient 2.0 GPA (good academic standing).

Renewal questions families ask

What GPA keeps my scholarship?: Merit scholarships are awarded for eight semesters and maintained with continued full-time enrollment and good academic standing (a 2.0 GPA).

Rules that bite at Dickinson

The renewal trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook, derived from Dickinson's own tier rules and not generic advice.

Renewal ruleAcademic Merit Scholarships: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Awarded for eight semesters (in residence or in a Dickinson study-abroad program); maintained through continued full-time enrollment and good academic standing (2.0 GPA). A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

How Dickinson compares across our verified dataset

665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Dickinson 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 renewal claim is checked against Dickinson’s own published materials.

Policy pageDickinson stacking policy
Cost of attendanceDickinson cost-of-attendance worksheet