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Freed-Hardeman· Renewal Rules

Keeping Freed-Hardeman’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 20268 days ago· CC

At a glance

Renewable tiers
7 of 7
One-time tiers
0
Tiers with published renewal terms
7
Renewal risk profile
moderate

Renewal risk profile

Freed-Hardeman'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.

  • Merit Scholarships: 2.75 GPA
  • Trustees' Scholarship: Full-time enrollment
  • Honors Scholarship: 3.5 GPA
  • Transfer Scholarships: 2.75 GPA
  • Artist Scholarship Award (FHU Artist Award): See notes
  • FHU Competitive Departmental Awards (Garfield / Biblical Studies): See notes
  • Lads to Leaders/Leaderettes Scholarship: 2.5 GPA

Renewal terms by tier

  • Merit Scholarships

    $4,000-$12,000 per year

    Entry requirements: 3.00 high school GPA GPA · 990 (Reading/Writing and Math) SAT · 19 composite ACT

    To keep it: 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.

    Source: https://fhu.edu/admissions-aid/financial-aid/grants-scholarships-discounts/

  • Trustees' Scholarship

    $18,000 per year

    Entry requirements: 3.80 high school GPA GPA · 1360 (Reading/Writing and Math only) SAT · 30 composite ACT

    To keep it: 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.

    Source: https://fhu.edu/admissions-aid/financial-aid/grants-scholarships-discounts/

  • Honors Scholarship

    Varies (competition-based; stackable on Trustees' up to the $27,050 comprehensive charge)

    Entry requirements: 3.80 weighted high school GPA (Trustees' eligibility) GPA · 1360 SAT · 30 composite ACT

    To keep it: 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.

    Source: https://fhu.edu/admissions-aid/financial-aid/grants-scholarships-discounts/

  • Transfer Scholarships

    $1,000-$7,000 per year (college-GPA basis); merit basis $2,000-$12,000

    Entry requirements: 2.0 college GPA and above for the transfer-scholarship track; merit track uses cumulative HS GPA + highest ACT/SAT GPA

    To keep it: 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.

    Source: https://fhu.edu/admissions-aid/financial-aid/grants-scholarships-discounts/

  • Artist Scholarship Award (FHU Artist Award)

    $4,000-$6,000 over 4 years

    To keep it: Spread over four years; renewal terms not specified beyond the four-year value.

    Source: https://fhu.edu/admissions-aid/financial-aid/grants-scholarships-discounts/

  • FHU Competitive Departmental Awards (Garfield / Biblical Studies)

    $500-$2,000

    To keep it: Renewal terms not stated on the page.

    Source: https://fhu.edu/admissions-aid/financial-aid/grants-scholarships-discounts/

  • Lads to Leaders/Leaderettes Scholarship

    Up to $1,500 per year

    Entry requirements: Maintain 2.5 GPA to renew GPA

    To keep it: Students must maintain a 2.5 GPA; renewed at the end of every spring semester. Recipients must be enrolled full-time.

    Source: https://fhu.edu/admissions-aid/financial-aid/grants-scholarships-discounts/

How families lose this aid

  • Budgeting to the $27,050 comprehensive charge as the full cost.

    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.

  • Treating the FHU Promise as a merit guarantee.

    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.

  • Missing the discount application deadline.

    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.

  • Forgetting that merit is need-blind but renewal is GPA-gated.

    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.

Renewal questions families ask

Is FHU merit aid automatic?
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.
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.

Rules that bite at Freed-Hardeman

The renewal trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook, derived from Freed-Hardeman's own tier rules and 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.

How Freed-Hardeman compares across our verified dataset

  • 69 of 751 verified schools publish a top renewal tier requiring 3.5+ GPA or major-GPA gating.

    Freed-Hardeman 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.

    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 renewal claim is checked against Freed-Hardeman’s own published materials.

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