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FIU· Renewal Rules

Keeping FIU’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 Jul 20266 days ago· CC-1

At a glance

Renewable tiers
2 of 2
One-time tiers
0
Tiers with published renewal terms
2
Renewal risk profile
moderate

Renewal risk profile

FIU'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.

  • FIU's Golden Promise: See notes
  • FIU Institutional Merit Scholarships: See notes

Renewal terms by tier

  • FIU's Golden Promise

    100% of tuition and fees

    Entry requirements: 2.0+ cumulative GPA each semester for renewal GPA

    To keep it: Covers up to 30 credits per year, 120 credits (4 years), provided the student completes 30 credit hours each year and maintains a 2.0+ cumulative GPA each semester.

    Source: https://onestop.fiu.edu/finances/types-of-aid/fius-golden-promise/index.html

  • FIU Institutional Merit Scholarships

    Amount varies; named tiers and dollar values not published on the public scholarship page

    To keep it: Renewal terms vary by individual scholarship; verify in the offer letter.

    Source: https://scholarships.fiu.edu/

How families lose this aid

  • Assuming FIU's Golden Promise is a stats-based merit award.

    Golden Promise is gated by Student Aid Index (SAI) of 0 or less, not by GPA or test scores. A high-stats student whose family doesn't qualify on SAI cannot tap Golden Promise — they have to make affordability work through Bright Futures + institutional aid + family contribution.

  • Skipping the 15-credit-per-semester recommendation under Golden Promise.

    Golden Promise requires 30 credits per year for renewal. Students who take only 12 credits per semester (24/year) fall short of the renewal floor and lose the award. FIU recommends 15 credits per semester to stay safely above the requirement.

How FIU compares across our verified dataset

  • 669 of 750 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

    FIU is one of them. The cohort minority (81 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 FIU’s own published materials.

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