Gettysburg automatically considers every applicant for renewable academic merit scholarships of $30,000-$53,000/year (no separate application), with extra competitive specialty awards for leadership, history, music, and first-gen STEM students.
Verified Jun 2026today· COWORK
Merit tiers5See requirements
Last verifiedJun 2026Analyst COWORK
Common merit-aid mistakes at Gettysburg
Outside scholarships first reduce work-study and/or loans; once federal need is met they reduce the Gettysburg College Grant. Total aid can't exceed the family's estimated federal financial need.
Academic merit scholarships are set at admission, capped at eight semesters, and 'scholarship values are not changed' once you enroll — there is no escalation and no re-consideration.
Eisenhower, GLI History, Sunderman Music (audition), and the first-gen STEM scholarship are specialty awards that require a separate application.
Students who study through a non-affiliated off-campus program 'will not be eligible for any type of institutional aid' (state/federal aid may still apply with approvals).
2026-27 billed costs are $89,070, but the full cost of attendance is $92,810 once non-billed costs (personal, transportation, books, loan fees) are added; required student health insurance (~$2,856) is additional for those without coverage.
Who this school is for
Strong applicants (advanced coursework, engagement, strong writing/recommendations) who want automatic, no-application merit money at a selective PA liberal-arts college; leadership/history/music/first-gen-STEM students can stack competitive specialty awards.
Tuition / cost of attendance: Approximately $92,810 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.
$30,000-$53,000 per year
Academic Merit Scholarships
ApplicationRenewable
View requirements+
Eligibility
All applicants considered automatically by submitting the Common Application; selection based on academic and creative talent — strong grades in advanced courses, engagement, strong writing/communication, strong recommendations
Renewal terms
Awarded for no more than eight semesters; renewable annually as long as the recipient meets the required cumulative GPA associated with their scholarship. Once enrolled, students do not receive consideration for new merit scholarships and scholarship values are not changed.
Notes
No separate application required. Holistic selection — no published GPA/test grid. Can be coupled with need-based grants, federal/state grants, loans, and work-study.
Merit scholarships can be combined with need-based grants, federal/state grants, loans, and work-study. Outside scholarships reduce work-study and/or loans first; once those are exhausted and federal need is exceeded, the Gettysburg College Grant is reduced. Total aid from all sources may not exceed the family's estimated federal financial need (PLUS/alternative loans plus other aid cannot exceed COA). Merit scholarship values themselves are fixed once enrolled.
Outside assistance reduces work-study/loan first; excess beyond those reduces the need-based Gettysburg College Grant. Cap = family's estimated federal financial need (with PLUS/alt loans capped at COA).
Do I need a separate application for merit scholarships?
No for the main academic merit scholarships ($30,000-$53,000/yr) — all applicants are considered just by submitting the Common Application. Yes for the specialty awards: Eisenhower, GLI History, Sunderman Music (audition), and the STEM Scholars Program.
How long do merit scholarships last and what keeps them?
Up to eight semesters, renewable annually if you meet the required cumulative GPA associated with your scholarship (the specific GPA is in the financial-aid award materials).
Will winning an outside scholarship cost me my Gettysburg money?
It reduces work-study/loans first; if it exceeds those and federal need is met, your Gettysburg College Grant is reduced. Your fixed merit scholarship value is not changed.
How Gettysburg compares across our verified dataset
68 of 272 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.
Gettysburg is in a recognizable cluster (68 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
247 of 272 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Gettysburg is one of them. The cohort minority (25 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 Gettysburg’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
