FHU stacks automatic, stats-based merit ($4,000-$12,000/yr, automatic at a 19 ACT / 3.00 GPA) up to an $18,000/yr Trustees' Scholarship at a 30 ACT / 3.80 GPA, but caps total unfunded institutional aid at $15,000/yr per student.
Verified Jun 20268 days ago· CC
Merit tiers73 automatic on stats
Last verifiedJun 2026Analyst CC
Rules that bite at Freed-Hardeman
The trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook. Each is derived from Freed-Hardeman's own published policy, not generic advice.
renewalTrustees' Scholarship: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Applied to a maximum of eight regular semesters provided the student maintains a 3.4 college cumulative GPA, reviewed at the end of each semester. Recipient must be full-time and live in university housing or a lesser award is given. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.
capHard $36,310 cost-of-attendance ceiling
Institutional aid at Freed-Hardeman cannot push the package past $36,310. Big outside wins can mathematically reduce institutional grant once the ceiling is reached.
Common merit-aid mistakes at Freed-Hardeman
Total UNFUNDED institutional aid is capped at $15,000/yr per student. Discounts combine with merit only up to that cap, and discounts don't stack on other discounts. Only the Honors Scholarship is stated to stack on the Trustees' Scholarship beyond the cap (up to the $27,050 comprehensive charge).
The comprehensive charge ($27,050/yr) is tuition/fees only. Standard room ($4,580) and a 14-meal board plan ($4,680) bring the full 2026-27 total to $36,310/yr, and books (~$300-500/semester) and travel-course costs are still extra.
FHU Promise is a need-based, last-dollar program that requires a Federal Pell Grant each semester, on-campus living, and a 21 ACT / 3.0 GPA. No Pell, no Promise — it is not a pure-merit award.
The Lads to Leaders/Leaderettes Scholarship (up to $1,500) is explicitly NOT stackable with the Trustees', Test-Optional Merit, or Athletic scholarships — so a high-stat applicant generally can't add it to a Trustees' award.
Discounts (Chester County, Participating School, Children of Minister's) must be applied for and accepted by May 15 for first-time freshmen and June 15 for transfers, or the award is forfeited.
Merit is automatic on stats, but first-year freshmen must hold a 2.75 cumulative GPA (3.0 for upperclassmen/30+-hour transfers); the Trustees' requires a 3.4 college GPA and on-campus residence, and the Honors Scholarship a 3.5 GPA — fall below and the award is reduced or lost.
Who this school is for
Christian (Churches of Christ) students who want a predictable, stats-based automatic merit award at a small faith-based university, especially high-stat applicants (30 ACT, 3.80 GPA) chasing the Trustees' + Honors stack and Tennessee residents who can layer the state HOPE Scholarship on top.
Tuition / cost of attendance: Approximately $36,310 for 2026-2027. Source
Institutional merit aid tiers
Every tier below is sourced to the school’s own published financial aid pages. Renewal terms apply only if the student maintains the stated GPA.
$4,000-$12,000 per year
Merit Scholarships
AutomaticRenewable
GPA
3.00 high school GPA
SAT
990 (Reading/Writing and Math)
ACT
19 composite
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
Automatically considered on submission of application + 3-year transcript + ACT/SAT/CLT score; preference to early submitters (Aug/Sep of senior year). Cannot be combined with athletic scholarships.
Renewal terms
First-time freshmen and students who transfer fewer than 30 hours must maintain at least a 2.75 cumulative GPA during the first academic year; upperclassmen and students who transfer more than 30 hours must maintain a 3.0 cumulative GPA. Reviewed after each semester.
Notes
Headline on the page reads 'MERIT SCHOLARSHIPS (up to $12,000 annually)'; body states range $4,000-$12,000. A January 2024 FHU news article gives an older range of $3,000-$11,000 — superseded by the current page. Subject to a $15,000/yr institutional cap on total unfunded institutional aid.
Automatic on stats; National Merit Finalists also receive the Trustees' Scholarship. Cannot be combined with athletic scholarships. Must be full-time and live in university housing.
Renewal terms
Applied to a maximum of eight regular semesters provided the student maintains a 3.4 college cumulative GPA, reviewed at the end of each semester. Recipient must be full-time and live in university housing or a lesser award is given.
Notes
CONFLICT: the current grants page states '$18,000 per year' and a '3.80 high school GPA'; FHU's own January 2024 news releases state '$17,500' and list only the 30 ACT / 3.00 GPA threshold (no 3.80 GPA). Used the live grants page ($18,000, 3.80 GPA) as authoritative; flagged for aid-office confirmation. The 3.80 GPA requirement here matches the Honors Scholarship Competition eligibility on the same page.
Varies…Varies (competition-based; stackable on Trustees' up to the $27,050 comprehensive charge)
Honors Scholarship
ApplicationRenewable
GPA
3.80 weighted high school GPA (Trustees' eligibility)
SAT
1360
ACT
30 composite
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
Awarded via a competition held each Fall semester; must qualify for the Trustees' Scholarship first. Cannot be combined with athletic scholarship or employee remission.
Renewal terms
Conditional, renewable for up to four years, subject to annual review by the Dean of the Honors College. Recipients must participate in the Freshman Honors program, join the Honors College within their first year and remain in good standing, take at least 12 hours each semester, and maintain at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA.
Notes
Amount not published on the page — competition-determined. The only award FHU explicitly says stacks on top of the Trustees' Scholarship (other awards are capped at $15,000/yr total unfunded institutional aid). 'Stackable up to the total cost of FHU's Comprehensive charge ($27,050 for the 2026-2027 school year).' Amount left as 'Varies' because no dollar figure is published.
$1,000-$7,000 per year…$1,000-$7,000 per year (college-GPA basis); merit basis $2,000-$12,000
Transfer Scholarships
AutomaticRenewable
GPA
2.0 college GPA and above for the transfer-scholarship track; merit track uses cumulative HS GPA + highest ACT/SAT
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
Transfer students are eligible for the same scholarships and discounts as first-time freshmen. Students graduating from a participating community college may be eligible for a minimum guaranteed scholarship. Cannot be combined with athletic scholarships.
Renewal terms
Same maintenance rules as merit awards; students who transfer fewer than 30 hours must maintain 2.75 cumulative GPA the first year, more than 30 hours must maintain 3.0.
Notes
Two tracks: (1) the freshman merit grid on HS GPA + ACT/SAT ($2,000-$12,000), or (2) a college-GPA transfer scholarship ($1,000-$7,000, available at a 2.0 college GPA and above). Header reads 'up to $11,000 annually'; body lists the $2,000-$12,000 and $1,000-$7,000 ranges.
Covers four performing-arts degree programs: theatre, music, visual arts, and photography. Requires an audition or portfolio review with the Awards Committee during a Maroon & Gold Day (or by appointment). Selected by program director.
Renewal terms
Spread over four years; renewal terms not specified beyond the four-year value.
Notes
Talent award; audition/portfolio required. Page states '$4,000 - $6,000 over 4 years' (i.e., not per-year). Theatre decisions made by late April each year.
James A. Garfield Award for Law & Politics and History majors (essay/writing-sample competition; submissions due April 14, 2026 for 2026-27); Biblical Studies Scholar Award for Bible, Missions, and Youth & Family Ministry majors. Selected by program directors; cannot be combined with athletic scholarship.
Renewal terms
Renewal terms not stated on the page.
Notes
Competitive, major-specific. Page lists the range '$500 - $2,000' for Competitive Departmental Awards as a group.
Recipient list comes from Lads to Leaders headquarters for students who completed the Lads to Leaders Scholarship Application and listed FHU as a top choice. Cannot be combined with athletic scholarships.
Renewal terms
Students must maintain a 2.5 GPA; renewed at the end of every spring semester. Recipients must be enrolled full-time.
Notes
NOT stackable with Trustees', Test-Optional Merit, or Athletic scholarships (explicit on the page) — a real trap for high-stat Church-of-Christ students who also do Lads to Leaders.
FHU caps total UNFUNDED institutional aid at $15,000/yr per student. Discounts (Chester County, Participating School, Children of Minister's) may combine with other institutional awards (excluding other discounts) only up to that $15,000 cap. The Honors Scholarship is the explicit exception — it stacks on top of the Trustees' Scholarship up to the full $27,050 comprehensive charge. Endowed and Nursing scholarships are stated to SUPPORT merit awards and do NOT stack on top of them. The Church Scholarship Match (up to $2,500) may stack above the institutional cap up to the comprehensive charge. No dedicated 'outside / third-party scholarship displacement' page exists; the governing ceilings are the $15,000 unfunded-institutional cap and the comprehensive charge.
The $15,000/yr cap is on unfunded institutional aid, so it primarily limits how FHU's own scholarships and discounts combine, not necessarily how an external/private scholarship displaces aid. The Church Scholarship Match and the FHU Promise both explicitly cap total awards at the comprehensive charge / cost of attendance. How a true third-party (e.g., a Rotary or corporate) scholarship reduces FHU institutional merit is NOT published — confirm with the aid office (see Section C).
Named awards that don’t always surface on the main financial aid page. Each one has its own eligibility rules.
AmountUp to $5,000 per yearEligibilityChester County residents who graduated from Chester County High School or were homeschooled and intend to pursue full-time undergraduate study at FHU.
Can combine with other scholarships (excluding additional discounts and athletic scholarships) up to $15,000/yr. Accept by May 15 (freshmen) / June 15 (transfers).
AmountUp to $5,000 per year ($10,000 if parent is full-time faculty/staff at a participating Christian college/university)EligibilityStudents who graduate from, or whose parent is full-time faculty/staff at, a K-12 school in the National Christian School Association (NCSA).
May combine with other institutional awards (excluding discounts) up to $15,000/yr. One discount per student.
AmountUp to $5,000 per yearEligibilityChildren of full-time Church of Christ pulpit or youth ministers (40 hrs/wk paid, employed full-time as a minister at least five years prior). Form signed by two elders, due May 15.
Must be full-time and live on-campus (housing + meal plan). Graduate students not eligible. Combines with other institutional awards (excluding discounts) up to $15,000/yr.
AmountMatches a church scholarship up to $2,500 per year (up to $5,000 combined)EligibilityNew full-time freshman/transfer living on-campus whose church operates a bona fide scholarship program; pass-through arrangements excluded.
May stack above the $15,000 institutional cap up to the comprehensive charge. Renewable up to four years; must keep receiving an equal/greater church scholarship, 12+ hrs/semester, 2.75 GPA first year then 3.0.
AmountCovers up to 90% of the comprehensive charge not met by other aid; caps freshman out-of-pocket at $240/semester tuition & feesEligibilityNEED-BASED. 21 ACT (1060 SAT), 3.0 HS GPA, receives a Federal Pell Grant each semester, lives on campus, admitted before May 15.
Requires a Pell Grant, so it is need-gated, not pure merit. Cannot combine with athletic scholarship or employee remission. The grants page caps the freshman-year gap at $9,500; the FHU Promise page frames it as no more than $6,250/semester for tuition, room and board — confirm which figure governs.
Amount$4,500/yr (freshmen & sophomores), $5,700/yr (juniors & seniors)EligibilitySTATE award, not FHU merit. Tennessee resident (1 yr by Sep 1), 21 ACT (1060 SAT) on a national/state test date OR weighted 3.0 GPA, graduate from a TN-eligible high school. GAMS (+$1,000) and ASPIRE (+$1,500) supplements available.
Layers on top of FHU institutional aid for TN residents; governed by the Tennessee Education Lottery, not FHU. Renewal reviewed at 24/48/72/96 attempted hours (2.75 then 3.0 cumulative TELS GPA).
Yes. Any applicant with at least a 19 ACT (990 SAT) and a 3.00 high school GPA is automatically considered for a Merit Scholarship of $4,000-$12,000/yr; a 30 ACT (1360 SAT) and 3.80 GPA automatically qualifies for the $18,000/yr Trustees' Scholarship. Submit your application, 3-year transcript, and ACT/SAT/CLT score — no separate scholarship application is required, and earlier submission is given preference.
What's the deadline?
There's no hard merit deadline, but FHU gives preference to early applicants and begins awarding in August or September of senior year. Discounts must be accepted by May 15 (freshmen) / June 15 (transfers). FHU Promise requires admission before May 15. Competitive departmental awards (Garfield) close April 14, 2026 for 2026-27.
Can I combine FHU scholarships?
Up to a point. Total unfunded institutional aid is capped at $15,000/yr. Discounts combine with merit only up to that cap (and not with each other). The Honors Scholarship is the one award stated to stack on top of the Trustees' Scholarship up to the $27,050 comprehensive charge. Endowed and Nursing scholarships support — but don't stack on top of — merit awards. Most FHU awards can't be combined with athletic scholarships.
How do I keep my merit scholarship?
First-time freshmen and sub-30-hour transfers must maintain a 2.75 cumulative GPA in the first academic year; upperclassmen and 30+-hour transfers need a 3.0. The Trustees' Scholarship requires a 3.4 college GPA, full-time status, and living in university housing; the Honors Scholarship requires a 3.5 GPA and active Honors College participation. GPA is reviewed after each semester.
How Freed-Hardeman compares across our verified dataset
160 of 751 verified schools in our dataset use cost-of-attendance cap displacement.
Freed-Hardeman is in a recognizable cluster (160 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Freed-Hardeman 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 claim is checked against Freed-Hardeman’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
