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Franklin Pierce scholarships and merit aid

The short answer

Franklin Pierce 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 Jul 2026
3 school sources to explore

Published rules, with the school sources close at hand. Confirm the details before you count on an award.

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. Franklin Pierce Merit Awards (Fall 2026 & Spring 2027)$31,000-$35,000Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Franklin Pierce Merit Awards (Fall 2026 & Spring 2027)

    $31,000-$35,000

    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 Franklin Pierce Merit Awards (Fall 2026 & Spring 2027)

    Who qualifies

    Awarded to 100% of incoming undergraduate students based on academic achievements in high school; evaluated by the Admissions Office at the time of admission; Rindge campus study only per the catalog

    How to keep it

    Renewal terms not stated on the pages opened; the catalog says the Admissions Office evaluates merit at the time of admission.

    Worth knowing

    No GPA/test grid is published — do not invent tiers. The admissions page also promises 'No incoming residential student will pay more than $13,500 for tuition in the 2026-2027 academic year' (domestic residential only; excludes room/board/fees). NOTE: the current academic catalog states a different range ($32,000-$37,500) — see Section C conflict.

  2. Pierce Promise (New Hampshire free-tuition program)Full tuition and feesNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Pierce Promise (New Hampshire free-tuition program)

    Full tuition and fees

    Published coverage or packageNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3.0 or higher high school cumulative GPA
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Pierce Promise (New Hampshire free-tuition program)

    Who qualifies

    First-time, full-time incoming student; New Hampshire resident; residential student at the Rindge campus (commuters get a prorated discount); FAFSA filed; household gross income under $60,000

    How to keep it

    'The Pierce Promise NH program will cover all tuition and fees, even if they increase, as long as the qualifiers are met.'

    Worth knowing

    The page text I opened references 'the fall 2024 semester' in the eligibility bullet — stale cycle copy; confirm 2026-27 terms. Award is built from merit scholarships plus federal/state aid ('The actual award through the Pierce Promise will depend on merit based scholarships and other sources of federal and state financial aid'). FULL TUITION+FEES, not full ride: room/board (~$16,000), books (~$1,100), personal/transportation (~$1,000) are NOT covered.

  3. FAFSA Filer Grant$500Not automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    FAFSA Filer Grant

    $500

    Published amountNot 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.

    Open award details for FAFSA Filer Grant

    Who qualifies

    All new Rindge Campus undergraduate students who file the 2026-2027 FAFSA

    Worth knowing

    Applied toward FPU tuition.

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What makes Franklin Pierce different

DRAFT: Franklin Pierce guarantees a merit award to 100% of incoming undergraduates — $31,000-$35,000 for Fall 2026/Spring 2027 — and caps net tuition at $13,500 for incoming domestic residential students, with a free-tuition Pierce Promise for lower-income NH residents.

Merit tiers3See who qualifies
Research checkedJul 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 Franklin Pierce'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. Merit awards of $31,000-$35,000 go to 100% of incoming students, and the page itself frames the result as tuition capped at $13,500 (which excludes room, board, and fees). Compare net price, not award size.

  2. It covers tuition and fees only. The page's own FAQ: you still pay room and board (~$16,000 average), books (~$1,100/yr), and personal/transportation (~$1,000/yr).

  3. All criteria must be met; commuters get only 'a prorated discount,' not free tuition.

  4. Catalog policy: 'Students who receive private scholarships are required to notify the Office of Student Financial Services.' Under Pierce Promise, private money is directed at room/board/books rather than stacking on tuition.

  5. 'Tuition Exchange cannot be combined with other Franklin Pierce sources of financial aid,' and recipients pay a $700-per-term administrative fee.

  6. The catalog states all aid combined (e.g., with athletic awards) may 'not exceed cost of attendance.'

  7. The catalog labels Franklin Pierce Merit Awards, the FP Grant, SEOG, state grants, and Tuition Exchange as 'Rindge Campus Study Only.'

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

DRAFT: Families who want a guaranteed large discount without a stats contest — every admitted student gets merit money — and especially New Hampshire residents with a 3.0 GPA and household income under $60,000, who can attend tuition-free via Pierce Promise.

Cost and graduation facts

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

Average annual net price by family income at Franklin Pierce, academic year 2021-22
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$19,364
$30,001–$48,000$23,557
$48,001–$75,000$24,473
$75,001–$110,000$26,943
$110,001+$30,860
All income levels (average)$27,154

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Total cost of attendance (sticker), AY 2021-22
$64,185
Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$46,442
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$27,154

That works out to an average 58% discount off the sticker price above — both figures come from the same federal AY 2021-22 Scorecard report, not a number the school itself published.

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
54%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
74%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$27,000 (~$286/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$53,353
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
33%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
78%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

All aid combined (including athletic awards) cannot exceed the cost of attendance. Students must report private/outside scholarships to Student Financial Services. Under Pierce Promise, private scholarships/grants may be applied to room, board, and book expenses (they do not void the tuition coverage). Tuition Exchange scholarships CANNOT be combined with any other Franklin Pierce aid.

Catalog: athletic awards are 'calculated into the student's overall financial aid package, with all aid combined not to exceed cost of attendance.' Catalog: 'Students who receive private scholarships are required to notify the Office of Student Financial Services.' Catalog: 'Tuition Exchange cannot be combined with other Franklin Pierce sources of financial aid' (plus a $700/term administrative fee).

Source

Other Franklin Pierce scholarships worth checking

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

AmountAmount not published (varies by need and funds)EligibilityFAFSA required; need-based; Rindge campus study only.

Need-based, not merit.

Source

AmountTuition-related expenses (program-defined)EligibilityDependents of employees at member institutions of the Tuition Exchange Program, NH College and University Tuition Scholarship Program, or CIC Tuition Exchange; Rindge campus only; not usable for study abroad/off-campus programs.

Cannot be combined with other FPU aid; $700/term administrative fee.

Source

AmountAmount not published (set by Athletics)EligibilityNCAA Division II student athletes, decided by the Athletics Department and coaches; athletes expected to live on campus.

All aid combined may not exceed cost of attendance.

Source

Franklin Pierce merit aid FAQ

  • What is the scholarship deadline?

    No merit-scholarship deadline is published — the Admissions Office evaluates every application for merit at the time of admission, and 100% of incoming students receive an award. The 2026-2027 FAFSA is open now; filing it earns new Rindge undergrads a $500 tuition grant.

  • How much merit aid will I get?

    For incoming Fall 2026 & Spring 2027 students, merit awards range from $31,000 to $35,000 based on high school academic achievement. No GPA/test breakdown is published; the net effect promised is tuition of no more than $13,500 for incoming domestic residential students in 2026-27.

  • Who qualifies for free tuition under Pierce Promise?

    New Hampshire residents who are first-time, full-time incoming residential students at the Rindge campus with a 3.0+ HS GPA, a filed FAFSA, and household gross income under $60,000. Tuition and fees are covered 'even if they increase'; room, board, and books are not.

  • Can I use outside scholarships too?

    Yes — but you must notify Student Financial Services. Under Pierce Promise, 'any private scholarship or grant may be applied to your room, board and book expenses.'

See sources and other schools

How Franklin Pierce compares

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

    Franklin Pierce 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.

    Franklin Pierce 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 Franklin Pierce’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

Keep exploring Franklin Pierce merit aid

The next chapter

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