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Frostburg State scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$28,910per year · 2025-2026 · cost of attendance
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

Frostburg State 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
4 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. Purpose Scholarship (freshman Admissions Merit)Amount not publishedNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Purpose Scholarship (freshman Admissions Merit)

    Amount not published

    Published award termsNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    Renewal cumulative GPA 3.0 (initial-award GPA/test cutoffs not published)
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Purpose Scholarship (freshman Admissions Merit)

    Who qualifies

    All residencies. No extra application required — offered from a thorough review of the admissions application, official transcripts, and residency materials. Full-time, degree-seeking undergraduate, first bachelor's degree.

    How to keep it

    Renewal requires a cumulative FSU GPA of 3.0, 24 earned credits, and full-time fall & spring enrollment; freshman awards may be received for a maximum of 8 consecutive fall and spring semesters.

    Worth knowing

    Initial award amounts and GPA/test thresholds are not published on FSU's official pages; awards are determined by holistic admissions review. Renewal criteria are published (see excerpt).

  2. Reach Scholarship (freshman Admissions Merit, out-of-state/regional)Amount not publishedNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Reach Scholarship (freshman Admissions Merit, out-of-state/regional)

    Amount not published

    Published award termsNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    Renewal cumulative GPA 2.8 (initial-award cutoffs not published)
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Reach Scholarship (freshman Admissions Merit, out-of-state/regional)

    Who qualifies

    Out-of-state or regional tuition residency only. No extra application required. Academic Common Market students and some VA benefits/Tuition Waivers convert residency to in-state and are therefore excluded from Reach eligibility.

    How to keep it

    Renewal requires a cumulative FSU GPA of 2.8, 24 earned credits, and full-time fall & spring enrollment; max 8 consecutive fall/spring semesters. Award is CANCELED if the student's tuition residency changes to in-state.

    Worth knowing

    Out-of-state/regional-only award that effectively offsets non-resident tuition; it disappears the moment a student's residency becomes in-state. Combined with an Athletic Differential Waiver, the total cannot exceed the in-state vs. out-of-state (or in-state vs. regional) tuition difference.

  3. Associate Degree Scholars Program$3,000 per academic yearNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Associate Degree Scholars Program

    $3,000 per academic year

    Published award termsNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    Minimum cumulative 3.0 GPA
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Associate Degree Scholars Program

    Who qualifies

    Entering transfer students who graduated from a Maryland community college or Potomac State College of West Virginia with an Associate of Arts, Associate of Science, or Associate of Arts in Teaching (certain AAS degrees may also qualify). Full-time enrollment. No extra application required.

    How to keep it

    Applied toward total cost of education for up to four semesters provided the student maintains a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 and completes at least 24 credits per academic year.

    Worth knowing

    Distinct transfer-merit track with a published amount.

  4. Transfer (Academic) ScholarshipAmount not publishedNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Transfer (Academic) Scholarship

    Amount not published

    Published award termsNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    Transfer students with a total college cumulative GPA of 2.8 or higher will initially be considered; renewal cumulative GPA 2.8
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Transfer (Academic) Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    No extra application required; considered from the admission application, cumulative GPA, and full academic portfolio.

    How to keep it

    Renewal requires a cumulative FSU GPA of 2.8, 24 earned credits, and full-time fall & spring enrollment; the number of renewable semesters varies by incoming approved credits.

    Worth knowing

    Holistic transfer merit award; initial dollar amount not published.

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The fine print

Renewal rulePurpose Scholarship (freshman Admissions Merit): renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

Renewal requires a cumulative FSU GPA of 3.0, 24 earned credits, and full-time fall & spring enrollment; freshman awards may be received for a maximum of 8 consecutive fall and spring semesters. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

Aid capHard $28,910 cost-of-attendance ceiling

Institutional aid at Frostburg State cannot push the package past $28,910. Big outside wins can mathematically reduce institutional grant once the ceiling is reached.

What makes Frostburg State different

Frostburg awards its named Admissions Merit Scholarships (Purpose, Reach, Transfer, Associate) automatically from the admissions review with no extra application — but the dollar amounts aren't published, the out-of-state-only Reach award vanishes if your residency flips to in-state, and total aid from all sources (including private) is capped at the cost of attendance.

Merit tiers4See 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 Frostburg State'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. The Reach award is for out-of-state/regional students and 'will be canceled' if your tuition residency changes to in-state — including via Academic Common Market, certain VA benefits, USM employee tuition waivers, or other waivers.

  2. Total aid from all sources — federal, state, FSU, AND private — cannot exceed your FSU cost of attendance; if it does, FSU reduces the least favorable funds first (usually loans, then FSU awards).

  3. You can keep the merit award by earning 24 units per year, but FSU notes you actually need at least 30 units per academic year to finish a bachelor's in four years; winter intercession units don't count toward the full-time renewal check.

  4. Their combined value cannot exceed the in-state vs. out-of-state (or in-state vs. regional) tuition difference.

  5. Initial merit offers are valid only for the original term; deferring triggers a new Admissions review using final and any newly earned transcripts.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Students who submit a strong admissions application and final transcripts (no separate scholarship app needed); out-of-state and regional students benefit from the Reach award, and Maryland/Potomac State associate-degree grads from the $3,000 Associate Scholars award.

Published yearly cost: Approximately $28,910 for 2025-2026. Source

Cost and graduation facts

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

Average annual net price by family income at Frostburg State, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$12,129
$30,001–$48,000$12,240
$48,001–$75,000$15,709
$75,001–$110,000$19,727
$110,001+$23,297
All income levels (average)$16,715

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$10,220
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$25,814
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$16,715

That works out to roughly a 38% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $27,056 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

Frostburg State is a public school; Scorecard's net price figure covers in-state, Title-IV-aid-recipient payers only — there is no comparable federal figure for out-of-state students.

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
50%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
69%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$21,105 (~$224/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$55,493
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
42%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
49%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Total combined aid from ALL sources — federal, state, FSU, and private outside scholarships — cannot exceed the student's FSU cost of attendance. When the limit is exceeded, FSU reduces the least favorable funds first (usually loans, then FSU awards). Reach plus an Athletic Differential Waiver is separately capped at the resident/non-resident tuition difference.

The scholarships page states the combined offer from all sources (including private) cannot exceed the FSU cost of attendance, and when it does, the Financial Aid Office reduces the least favorable funds first (loans, FSU awards, and/or other aid). This is a COA cap with loan-first displacement that explicitly includes private/outside scholarships.

Source

Other Frostburg State scholarships worth checking

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

AmountAmount not published (varies by donor award)EligibilityComprehensive review of academic talents, financial need, and other factors; treat the application like a resume

Application priority deadline March 1; applications accepted until August 1.

Source

Frostburg State merit aid FAQ

  • Do I need a separate application for the merit scholarships?

    No. No extra application is required for the Purpose, Reach, Transfer, and Associate scholarships — they're offered from a review of your admissions application, transcripts, and residency materials.

  • What is the FSU Foundation scholarship deadline?

    The application priority deadline is March 1, but you can continue to submit until August 1.

  • What GPA do I need to renew my merit scholarship?

    Cumulative FSU GPA of 3.0 for the Purpose and Associate awards and 2.8 for the Reach and Transfer awards, plus 24 earned credits and full-time fall/spring enrollment.

See sources and other schools

How Frostburg State compares

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

    Frostburg State 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.

    Frostburg State 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 Frostburg State’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

Keep exploring Frostburg State merit aid

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