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.

Franklin Pierce· Renewal Rules

Keeping Franklin Pierce’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: 2 of 3
One-time tiers: 1
Tiers with published renewal terms: 2
Renewal risk profile: low

Renewal risk profile

Franklin Pierce'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.

Franklin Pierce Merit Awards (Fall 2026 & Spring 2027): See notes
Pierce Promise (New Hampshire free-tuition program): See notes

Renewal terms by tier

Franklin Pierce Merit Awards (Fall 2026 & Spring 2027)
$31,000-$35,000
To keep it: Renewal terms not stated on the pages opened; the catalog says the Admissions Office evaluates merit at the time of admission.
Source: https://franklinpierce.edu/admissions/tuition-fees-financial-aid/index.html
Pierce Promise (New Hampshire free-tuition program)
Full tuition and fees
Entry requirements: 3.0 or higher high school cumulative GPA GPA
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.'
Source: https://franklinpierce.edu/admissions/tuition-fees-financial-aid/piercepromise.html

How families lose this aid

Missing the Pierce Promise gates: NH residency, $60,000 income cap, 3.0 GPA, FAFSA, and living on campus at Rindge.
All criteria must be met; commuters get only 'a prorated discount,' not free tuition.

Renewal questions families ask

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.

How Franklin Pierce compares across our verified dataset

669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Franklin Pierce 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 Franklin Pierce’s own published materials.