What is the scholarship deadline?

Priority consideration goes to applicants submitted on or before February 1 (consideration is invitation-only). After award: tuition deposit by July 1, Scholarship Award Agreement by July 15, and FAFSA on file by April 15 for renewal each year.

Do I need the FAFSA for a merit scholarship?

Yes. 'Students must have a valid, processed FAFSA before scholarships are disbursed,' and all domestic students with an institutional scholarship must have a completed FAFSA on file by April 15 for renewal.

The financial aid office's published average total cost of attendance for undergraduates is $39,018 for the academic year (Fall/Spring), including direct costs (tuition $7,137/semester, general fees $2,950/semester) and indirect allowances.

Is the Presidential Honors Scholarship a full ride?

It covers 'One hundred percent tuition, fees, room and board per academic year' — but housing is covered only at the double-occupancy rate, and you must keep a 3.5 GPA and 15 credits/semester to renew.

Can I use my scholarship in summer?

No — 'Scholarships are only awarded for Fall and Spring semesters.'

Florida Memorial· Renewal Rules

Keeping Florida Memorial’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 7
One-time tiers: 3
Tiers with published renewal terms: 4
Renewal risk profile: high

Renewal risk profile

Florida Memorial's top merit tiers carry renewal floors at or above 3.5 cumulative GPA, which is above the median freshman college GPA at most US flagships. A single rough semester can knock a four-year award out without a published reinstatement path. Plan year-one course load with renewal in mind, not just first-year survival.

Presidential Honors Scholarship: See notes
Academic Excellence Scholarship: See notes
Blue and Orange Scholarship: See notes
Transfer Legacy Student Scholarship: See notes

Renewal terms by tier

Presidential Honors Scholarship
Full tuition, fees, room and board (100%)
Entry requirements: 4.0 GPA · 1200 SAT · 25 ACT
To keep it: Renewal GPA 3.5 (per Institutional Scholarship Policy); academic standing reviewed each semester; if in good standing the scholarship is automatically renewed for the following year.
Source: https://www.fmu.edu/admissions/financial-aid/types-of-aid/
Academic Excellence Scholarship
Full tuition (100%, Fall & Spring)
Entry requirements: 3.5 GPA · 1060 SAT · 21 ACT
To keep it: Renewal GPA 3.25 (per Institutional Scholarship Policy).
Source: https://www.fmu.edu/admissions/financial-aid/types-of-aid/
Blue and Orange Scholarship
Half tuition (Fall & Spring)
Entry requirements: 3.25 GPA
To keep it: The policy page lists renewal GPAs only for Presidential Honors (3.5), Academic Excellence (3.25), Academic Achievement (3.0), and Transfer (3.0); 'Blue and Orange' is not named there — renewal GPA unconfirmed (general good standing is 2.0).
Source: https://www.fmu.edu/admissions/financial-aid/types-of-aid/
Transfer Legacy Student Scholarship
$2,000
Entry requirements: 3.0 (cumulative) GPA
To keep it: Policy page lists 'Transfer Scholarship – 3.0' renewal GPA.
Source: https://www.fmu.edu/admissions/financial-aid/types-of-aid/

How families lose this aid

Treating the published GPA/test cutoffs as automatic awards.
The Types of Aid page states 'Consideration is on an invitation only basis... the requirements do not guarantee eligibility... Eligibility for consideration does not guarantee the award.' These scholarships are competitive and limited in number based on funding.
Registering for only 12 credits because that counts as 'full-time.'
Beginning Fall 2025, scholarship recipients must register for at least 15 credit hours per semester, even though full-time is defined as 12. Scholarships are also only awarded for Fall and Spring.
Trying to defer the scholarship or start in spring.
Policy: 'you must attend FMU beginning in the Fall semester... Failure to start in the fall semester will result in the forfeiture of your scholarship offer. Scholarship offers cannot be deferred.'
Missing the paperwork deadlines that silently kill the award.
Tuition deposit due July 1; Scholarship Award Agreement due July 15 (forfeiture if late); FAFSA and documents on file by April 15 for renewal. Revoked scholarships 'cannot be appealed.'
Transfer students expecting four full years of scholarship.
Maximum is 8 semesters of continuous enrollment, reduced by transfer credits/advanced standing (e.g., entering with 30 hours = 6 semesters max), 'determined when the scholarship is awarded, and it will not be extended for any reason.'
Coasting on the 2.0 good-standing floor when your award has a higher cliff.
Renewal GPAs are scholarship-specific: Presidential Honors 3.5, Academic Excellence 3.25, Academic Achievement 3.0, Transfer 3.0.

Renewal questions families ask

What is the scholarship deadline?: Priority consideration goes to applicants submitted on or before February 1 (consideration is invitation-only). After award: tuition deposit by July 1, Scholarship Award Agreement by July 15, and FAFSA on file by April 15 for renewal each year.
Do I need the FAFSA for a merit scholarship?: Yes. 'Students must have a valid, processed FAFSA before scholarships are disbursed,' and all domestic students with an institutional scholarship must have a completed FAFSA on file by April 15 for renewal.
What does FMU cost?: The financial aid office's published average total cost of attendance for undergraduates is $39,018 for the academic year (Fall/Spring), including direct costs (tuition $7,137/semester, general fees $2,950/semester) and indirect allowances.
Is the Presidential Honors Scholarship a full ride?: It covers 'One hundred percent tuition, fees, room and board per academic year' — but housing is covered only at the double-occupancy rate, and you must keep a 3.5 GPA and 15 credits/semester to renew.
Can I use my scholarship in summer?: No — 'Scholarships are only awarded for Fall and Spring semesters.'

Rules that bite at Florida Memorial

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

renewalPresidential Honors Scholarship: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Renewal GPA 3.5 (per Institutional Scholarship Policy); academic standing reviewed each semester; if in good standing the scholarship is automatically renewed for the following year. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

How Florida Memorial compares across our verified dataset

69 of 751 verified schools publish a top renewal tier requiring 3.5+ GPA or major-GPA gating.
Florida Memorial is one of them. Calibrate year-one academic load against the renewal floor, not just freshman survival.
669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Florida Memorial 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 Florida Memorial’s own published materials.