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Grove City scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$36,700per year · 2026-2027 · On-campus
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

Grove City is worth checking if your student has strong grades or scores. We found 7 published awards, and 4 are based on those numbers.

Where does your student land?

Verified Jul 2026
8 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. Trustee Fellow (full-ride)Full tuition plus food and housing (approximately $36,700/yr at 2026-27 direct charges)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Trustee Fellow (full-ride)

    Full tuition plus food and housing (approximately $36,700/yr at 2026-27 direct charges)

    Variable or qualified amountNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Trustee Fellow (full-ride)

    Who qualifies

    Top 8 recipients of the Trustee Scholarship Program each year. Competitive separate application in addition to the admissions application, submit both by November 1. Finalists interview on campus in early December. Notification mid-January. Selection is holistic on academic credentials plus potential to enhance the campus's spiritual, social, and academic community, no published SAT/ACT/CLT cut-score.

    How to keep it

    Renewable for up to 4 years with a 3.40 cumulative QPA.

    Worth knowing

    Grove City's top merit award and the only full-ride package in the registry that explicitly covers food and housing alongside tuition. Trustee Fellows take cohort humanities courses and participate in mentoring and Pittsburgh-area cultural activities as part of the program.

  2. Trustee Scholar (half-tuition)Half tuition (approximately $11,735/yr at 2026-27 tuition)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Trustee Scholar (half-tuition)

    Half tuition (approximately $11,735/yr at 2026-27 tuition)

    Variable or qualified amountNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Trustee Scholar (half-tuition)

    Who qualifies

    16 recipients per year (Trustee Scholar tier), beginning with the 2025-26 freshman class. Competitive separate application with the same November 1 deadline and December interview as the Trustee Fellow tier.

    How to keep it

    Renewable for up to 4 years with a 3.40 cumulative QPA. Trustee Scholars are permitted to receive additional need-based financial aid not exceeding the cost of education.

    Worth knowing

    Second tier of the Trustee Scholarship Program. Same application, same deadline, same interview as the Trustee Fellow tier, families apply once and are considered for both. Unlike the Fellow tier, the Scholar tier covers half of tuition only (no room or board), so families should plan for the remaining ~$25,000/year in direct charges.

  3. President's Scholarship$8,000/yrAutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    President's Scholarship

    $8,000/yr

    Published amountAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3.5+
    SAT
    1400+
    ACT
    31+
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for President's Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    CLT 100+ qualifies in place of SAT or ACT. Automatic on stats for admitted undergraduates who meet all three thresholds (GPA AND test score).

    How to keep it

    Renewable with a 3.3 cumulative GPA.

    Worth knowing

    Grove City's top automatic merit tier. Unlike the competitive Trustee Program, this tier is automatic for any admitted undergraduate with a 3.5+ HS GPA plus a qualifying SAT, ACT, or CLT score, with no separate application. CLT is accepted at parity with SAT and ACT.

  4. Provost Scholarship Tier A$6,000/yrAutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Provost Scholarship Tier A

    $6,000/yr

    Published amountAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3.5+
    SAT
    1300-1399 superscore
    ACT
    28-30 superscore
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Provost Scholarship Tier A

    Who qualifies

    CLT superscore 92-99 qualifies in place of SAT or ACT. Automatic on stats for admitted undergraduates who meet both the GPA AND test-score thresholds.

    How to keep it

    Renewable with a 3.3 cumulative GPA.

    Worth knowing

    Middle automatic merit tier below the President's Scholarship and above Provost Tier B.

  5. Provost Scholarship Tier B$4,000/yrAutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Provost Scholarship Tier B

    $4,000/yr

    Published amountAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3.5+
    SAT
    1250-1299 superscore
    ACT
    27 superscore
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Provost Scholarship Tier B

    Who qualifies

    CLT superscore 88-91 qualifies in place of SAT or ACT. Automatic on stats for admitted undergraduates who meet both the GPA AND test-score thresholds.

    How to keep it

    Renewable with a 3.3 cumulative GPA.

    Worth knowing

    Entry automatic merit tier below Provost Tier A and the President's Scholarship.

  6. National Merit and CLT10 Scholarship$2,000 one-year scholarshipAutomatic
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    National Merit and CLT10 Scholarship

    $2,000 one-year scholarship

    Published award termsAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    Open award details for National Merit and CLT10 Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Named National Merit Finalist OR CLT10 National Award Recipient. Automatic on status, no separate application required, recipients send their certificate to the financial aid office.

    Worth knowing

    Grove City's NMF handling is modest by comparison with BYU or Liberty (both of which offer full-tuition NMF packages), but notable for also recognizing the CLT10 national award at parity. The award stacks on top of the President's or Provost's Scholarship and the Trustee Program.

  7. Academic Excellence Alumni Merit Scholarship$2,000/yearNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Academic Excellence Alumni Merit Scholarship

    $2,000/year

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

    GPA
    3.8+
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Academic Excellence Alumni Merit Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Incoming freshmen must complete the admissions application and all supplemental documents by March 15. Students receiving a Trustee, President's, or Provost's award are not eligible. Accept the scholarship by May 1. Transfer students and qualifying international students may also qualify under Grove City's published terms.

    Worth knowing

    Renewable award recognizing academic achievement. A provisional award remains contingent on a final high school transcript showing at least a 3.8 GPA.

Lights up against Grove City's published cutoffs. Not an award offer; confirm with the financial aid office. Award terms and residency rules change; some awards differ for in-state and out-of-state students. Always confirm at the school’s source page.

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The fine print

Cutoff cliffOne ACT point can move the award by +$2,000/yr ($4,000 Provost Tier B → $6,000 Provost Tier A)

Grove City publishes a tier ladder where crossing 3.5 GPA · ACT 27 → 28 (or SAT 1299 → 1300 / CLT 91 → 92) changes the marginal value by +$2,000/yr ($4,000 Provost Tier B → $6,000 Provost Tier A). First test-driven automatic step.

Aid capHard $36,700 cost-of-attendance ceiling

Institutional aid at Grove City cannot push the package past $36,700. Big outside wins can mathematically reduce institutional grant once the ceiling is reached.

Harbison Chapel at Grove City College

Harbison Chapel at Grove City College

What makes Grove City different

Private Presbyterian-founded liberal arts college in Western Pennsylvania that does not participate in any federal student aid program and will block enrollment if a student accepts any federal aid elsewhere. Grove City uses the CSS Profile (code 2277) instead of FAFSA, publishes competitive Trustee awards plus an $8,000 President's Scholarship and $6,000 and $4,000 Provost tiers, and allows outside scholarships to stack with institutional aid up to the full cost of attendance with no federal overaward rule.

Read our full reasoning

Worth optimizing for if your student is high-stat and willing to chase the competitive Trustee application. The automatic tiers alone leave most of the bill uncovered.

Grove City's automatic merit is modest. With a 3.5 GPA, an ACT 27 (SAT 1250-1299 / CLT 88-91) lands the $4,000 Provost Tier B; ACT 28-30 (SAT 1300-1399 / CLT 92-99) lands the $6,000 Provost Tier A; and ACT 31 (SAT 1400 / CLT 100) reaches the $8,000 President's Scholarship. Each automatic step adds $2,000/year. Against $36,700/yr in direct charges, even the top automatic tier covers under a third of the bill. The real money is the competitive Trustee Scholarship Program: one application by November 1, a December campus interview, and holistic selection with no published test cutoff. The biggest computable cliff is inside that program - Trustee Scholar (half tuition, ~$11,735/yr) to Trustee Fellow (full tuition plus food and housing, ~$36,700/yr) is a +$24,965/yr jump, and the Fellow tier is the only award covering full direct charges (tuition + food/housing). Stacking is among the cleanest anywhere: because Grove City takes no federal aid, outside scholarships stack up to cost of attendance with no displacement until that cap. Hard deadlines bite - Trustee is November 1; the $2,000 renewable Academic Excellence Alumni Merit Scholarship requires a complete application by March 15 and acceptance by May 1.

Merit tiers74 based on grades or scores
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team

More than one award path

Separate the two paths.

Some awards use published academic thresholds. Others have different selection criteria. A score chart does not describe every award at this school.

  1. Match the published criteria

    Use all requirements together, including residency and the entering class.

  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 Grove City's decision sheet

A printable research summary, source links and room for your questions.

See what could change an award

Straight from the aid office

What Grove City's aid office says

Per the Financial Aid Office, Grove City College, August 2026. How we verify

Outside scholarships stack

Does an outside scholarship reduce GCC aid?

No — outside awards stack on top of Grove City’s own aid, all the way up to the cost of attendance. Private awards pile on here where many schools must displace.

“privately sourced awards that can be stacked on top of any Grove City College-funded aid you receive (not exceeding total cost of attendance).”
Order of reduction

And if total aid does hit the ceiling, what gets cut first?

Loans, always. Grove City aid is only touched if the combination of everything exceeds the total cost of attendance — the strongest loans-first commitment an office can make in writing.

“Loans would always be reduced first. The only time GCC aid would be reduced is if he exceeded the total cost of attendance with all aid.”
Which office owns merit

Who answers merit scholarship questions?

Admissions, not Financial Aid — merit scholarships run through the admissions office at Grove City, so merit criteria and renewal questions belong there.

“Merit scholarships run through their office.”
Automatic consideration

Is a separate merit scholarship application needed?

No. Admissions confirmed a student is considered automatically, with one condition attached — the transcript and test scores have to reach them.

“He would be automatically considered for these merit scholarships as long as he sends us his transcript and test scores.”
Superscoring

Does Grove City superscore across test dates for merit?

Yes, confirmed in writing by Admissions — the highest section scores across sittings are combined for scholarship purposes.

“We will superscore his scores”
Test score deadline

Is there a cutoff for getting scores in?

January 31. Admissions named it as a qualifying condition rather than a suggestion, which makes it the hard date on this page: scores arriving after it do not qualify for scholarships, however strong they are.

“keep in mind in order to qualify for scholarships test scores need to be submitted by January 31st!”

What families often miss

  1. Grove City does not participate in federal student aid and does not use FAFSA for institutional need-based aid. All need-based aid is administered through the CSS Profile (College Board code 2277), with an April 15 priority deadline, reduced awards between April 15 and July 15, and no awards accepted after July 15. Families who rely on FAFSA alone miss Grove City's institutional need-based aid entirely. FAFSA is still worth completing for eligible state-level aid (like the PA State Grant) that Grove City does permit students to use.

  2. Grove City publishes that the college will not allow any student to register for classes if it is aware that the student has accepted or received federal financial aid for that semester. This rule covers federal loans, Pell Grants, SEOG, Work-Study, Parent PLUS, GI Bill benefits, and any other scholarship or loan that could be construed as federal aid. Families with students transferring from a federally participating school, or with simultaneous enrollment elsewhere, should confirm that no federal aid has been accepted before attempting to register for Grove City classes.

  3. Grove City does not accept GI Bill funds and explains the policy plainly on its financial aid FAQ: 'The College can find no way to accept the benefits offered in this legislation without submitting to the government control that is a requirement for participation in the program.' Veterans and veteran dependents planning to use the Post-9/11 GI Bill at Grove City will need to structure around the policy, typically by using private savings, outside scholarships, and Grove City institutional aid, and preserving GI Bill benefits for a graduate program at a federally participating school later.

  4. Grove City competes at NCAA Division III and is not permitted to offer athletic scholarships as a matter of NCAA rules. Recruited student-athletes should plan their merit and need-based aid through the standard Grove City ladder rather than through athletics. The Trustee Program, President's Scholarship, and Provost's Scholarship remain available to athletes on the same academic criteria as non-athletes.

  5. The Trustee Scholarship Program is the only path to a full-ride award at Grove City (Trustee Fellow tier) or a half-tuition award (Trustee Scholar tier), and applications close on November 1 for the following fall. Families who apply to Grove City later in the admission cycle miss the Trustee window entirely. The President's ($8,000/yr) and Provost Tier A/Tier B ($6,000/$4,000 per year) automatic awards remain available on stats, but the competitive top tier is permanently closed for that year.

See award cutoffs and special programs

What each profile actually wins at Grove City

Automatic tiers fire on a GPA-and-test combination with no separate application. The two Trustee tiers require a competitive November 1 application and a December interview, so they are not guaranteed by stats alone.

Student profileLikely outcome
3.5 GPA · ACT 27 (SAT 1250-1299 / CLT 88-91)Provost Scholarship Tier B - $4,000/yrEntry automatic tier; renews at a 3.3 cumulative GPA. Covers roughly 11% of $36,700 direct charges.
3.5 GPA · ACT 28-30 (SAT 1300-1399 / CLT 92-99)Provost Scholarship Tier A - $6,000/yrMiddle automatic tier; renews at a 3.3 cumulative GPA.
3.5 GPA · ACT 31 (SAT 1400 / CLT 100)President's Scholarship - $8,000/yrTop automatic tier, automatic on stats, renews at 3.3. Still under a third of direct charges.
Competitive Trustee applicant (16 Scholar slots/yr)Trustee Scholar - ~$11,735/yr (half tuition)Requires separate Nov 1 application + Dec interview; holistic selection, no published cut-score. Covers half tuition only (no room or board), leaving ~$25,000/yr in direct charges.
Top Trustee applicant (top 8 selected/yr)Trustee Fellow - ~$36,700/yr (full tuition + food/housing)Only award in the registry covering full direct charges (tuition + food/housing); books, personal, and transportation are not included. Same single Nov 1 application and Dec interview as the Scholar tier.

Where the dollars actually jump

Each step subtracts two named tiers above. Trustee steps require a competitive application, not just a higher stat line, so treat them as application targets rather than test-prep targets.

ThresholdMarginal value
3.5 GPA · ACT 27 → 28 (or SAT 1299 → 1300 / CLT 91 → 92)+$2,000/yr ($4,000 Provost Tier B → $6,000 Provost Tier A)First test-driven automatic step.
3.5 GPA · ACT 30 → 31 (or SAT 1399 → 1400 / CLT 99 → 100)+$2,000/yr ($6,000 Provost Tier A → $8,000 President's)Second test-driven automatic step.
Trustee Scholar → Trustee Fellow (selection within the same Nov 1 application)+$24,965/yr (~$11,735 half tuition → ~$36,700 full tuition + food/housing)Largest computable cliff at Grove City, and the jump from a half-tuition award to full direct charges (tuition + food/housing). Driven by holistic selection, not a published score, so it cannot be guaranteed by stats.
See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Grove City works for families who are aligned with Grove City's Christian classical liberal arts mission and who can finance a $36,700/year residential sticker using private funds rather than federal aid. Grove City's defining structural rule is more explicit than Hillsdale's: the college does not accept or certify any loans under the Federal Family Education Loan Program, Pell Grants, Perkins Loans, SEOG, Federal Work-Study, Parent PLUS, TEACH Grants, the GI Bill, AmeriCorps, Byrd, Douglas, National Science Scholars, Academic Competitiveness Grants, or any other scholarship or loan that could be construed as federal aid, and the college will not allow any student to register for classes if it is aware that the student has accepted or received federal financial aid for that semester. Grove City uses the CSS Profile (College Board code 2277) for institutional need-based aid instead of FAFSA, though FAFSA is still worth completing for state-level aid like the PA State Grant, which Grove City does permit. Its current merit mix includes 8 Trustee Fellows (full-ride, covering tuition plus food and housing) and 16 Trustee Scholars (half-tuition) per year via a Nov 1 competitive application; an $8,000/yr President's Scholarship at a 3.5 HS GPA plus SAT 1400 / CLT 100 / ACT 31; a $6,000/yr Provost Tier A at a 3.5 GPA plus SAT 1300-1399 / CLT 92-99 / ACT 28-30; and a $4,000/yr Provost Tier B at a 3.5 GPA plus SAT 1250-1299 / CLT 88-91 / ACT 27. National Merit Finalists and CLT10 National Award Recipients receive an automatic $2,000 one-year scholarship. Athletic scholarships do not exist at Grove City because the college competes at NCAA Division III. Outside scholarship stacking is unusually clean: outside scholarships will not decrease Grove City institutional aid unless the total exceeds cost of attendance, which is the only ceiling that applies.

Cost of attendance$36,700 for 2026-2027Each bar is the full published cost for that scenario, sized against the highest figure so totals compare at a glance.
On-campus$36,700
  • Tuition & fees
  • Housing & food

Grove City bundles a no-fee technology package into tuition and publishes only tuition and food/housing; total ($36,700) matches input. No separate books/transport/personal line items are published.

Grove City cost-of-attendance source

Cost and graduation facts

Federal reporting on what happened to students who enrolled at Grove City — independent of anything the school markets.

Published tuition

Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$21,700

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
83%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
88%
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
0%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
0%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Grove City is one of the cleanest outside-scholarship stacking environments in U.S. higher education because the college does not participate in any federal student aid program, so the federal overaward rule does not apply. Grove City's published policy is plain: outside scholarships will not decrease Grove City institutional aid unless the total amount of aid exceeds cost of attendance. The only ceiling is COA.

Grove City publishes two complementary stacking statements. The FAQ: 'Outside scholarships will not decrease the amount of aid offered by Grove City College unless the total amount of aid exceeds the cost of attendance.' The Outside Scholarships page: 'Privately sourced awards can be stacked on top of any Grove City College-funded aid you receive (not exceeding total cost of attendance).' The Trustee Scholarship Program page adds: 'Trustee Scholars are permitted to receive additional need-based financial aid not exceeding the cost of education.' Because Grove City does not accept federal aid (no FFEL/Stafford, no Pell, no PLUS, no Perkins, no SEOG, no Work-Study, no TEACH Grant, no GI Bill, no DVA educational benefits, no AmeriCorps, no Byrd, no Douglas, no NSS, no ACG, no SMART, and no ROTC scholarships per the verbatim Federal Aid Non-Participation list on Grove City's FAQ), the federal overaward and Title IV displacement mechanics that govern most stacking decisions at other schools are structurally inapplicable at Grove City. Families can apply aggressively for outside scholarships. Grove City publishes that 185 students in a recent freshman class brought in an average of $5,283 each in outside scholarships. One critical caveat: the college will not allow any student to register for classes if it is aware that the student has accepted or received federal financial aid for that semester, so families must not inadvertently accept federal loans or grants alongside Grove City enrollment.

Source

Other Grove City scholarships worth checking

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

AmountUp to four $2,500/yr awardsEligibilityU.S. citizens or permanent residents majoring in Applied Science and Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electrical Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering. Submit the Engineering Scholarship Referral Form plus a letter of recommendation to the Financial Aid Office by March 15. Three of the four awards require CSS Profile submission by March 15 (need-based component).

Renewable with a 3.00 cumulative QPA as an engineering major. Families with an engineering-bound student should treat the March 15 deadline as a firm gate, missing it removes the award from consideration for the year.

Source

AmountUp to five $2,500/yr awardsEligibilityBased on community-service leadership. Renewable with a 3.00 cumulative QPA. Eligible students are contacted by Grove City to apply, rather than the student initiating the application.

Not a self-nominated award. Students who believe they qualify should ensure their admission application fully documents community service and leadership so Grove City's review can flag them for the invitation.

Source

Amount$1,500/yr for two years (freshman and sophomore only), up to 10 awardsEligibilityTied to the Institute for Faith and Freedom student-fellow pipeline. Submit the admissions application plus a 500-word essay to admissions@gcc.edu by January 31.

Two-year award only, not renewable into junior or senior year. Families should model this as a short-term supplement on top of the automatic merit tier rather than a full 4-year commitment.

Source

AmountOne-year scholarship, amount not publicly publishedEligibilityMember in good standing of a local church who has memorized and recited the original 1648 Westminster Shorter Catechism, verified by a signed letter from a pastor or priest. Awarded to the qualifying applicant with the highest demonstrated need. Letter due to the Financial Aid office by April 15.

One of the more unusual named scholarships in the registry. Requires memorization and recitation of the full 1648 Westminster Shorter Catechism, a serious undertaking that takes most applicants months of preparation. Families aligned with Reformed theology whose student is already catechized should treat this as a specific early opportunity.

Source

AmountAmount varies by academic performance and available fundsEligibilityReturning Grove City students with a 3.40+ cumulative QPA. No application required.

Supplemental recognition award for current Grove City students at the upper end of the GPA distribution. Not available to incoming freshmen. Specific dollar amounts are not published.

Source

AmountVaries per Pittsburgh Promise published award amountEligibilityGraduates of Pittsburgh Public Schools with a 2.5 HS GPA and 90% attendance, continuous district residency since 9th grade.

Third-party award from the Pittsburgh Promise foundation, applied at Grove City like any other outside scholarship. Stacks on top of Grove City institutional aid up to cost of attendance.

Source

AmountVaries by awardEligibilityProtestant full-time students from six Western Pennsylvania counties. Administered through an $80 million endowed fund.

Regional scholarship with a specific denominational and geographic eligibility. Families from the six eligible Western PA counties should flag Duff eligibility on the admissions application so Grove City's financial aid office can route the candidate through the correct portal.

Source

Grove City merit aid FAQ

  • We just filled out the FAFSA for other schools. Is that enough for Grove City?

    No. Grove City does not participate in any federal financial aid program, so the FAFSA does not route anything to Grove City's financial aid office. For Grove City institutional need-based aid you must submit the CSS Profile (College Board code 2277) by the April 15 priority deadline. The FAFSA is still worth doing if your state grant (for example the PA State Grant) requires it, because Grove City does permit students to use eligible state-level aid. Do not accept any federal loan or grant at the same time, Grove City will not let the student register for classes if the college is aware that federal aid has been accepted for that semester.

  • Will the outside scholarships I earn reduce what Grove City gives me?

    Not unless your total aid would exceed cost of attendance. Grove City's published policy is plain: outside scholarships will not decrease Grove City institutional aid unless the total amount of aid exceeds the cost of attendance. Because no federal aid is involved, there is no Title IV overaward rule. The only ceiling is COA. Grove City is one of the cleanest stacking environments in U.S. higher education, families should apply aggressively for outside awards. Grove City publishes that 185 students in a recent freshman class averaged $5,283 each in outside scholarships.

  • What's the difference between Trustee Fellow and Trustee Scholar?

    Both are awarded through the same Trustee Scholarship Program competitive application, due November 1 with a December on-campus interview and mid-January notification. The top 8 recipients each year are named Trustee Fellows and receive a full-ride package covering tuition plus food and housing (approximately $36,700/year at 2026-27 direct charges). The next 16 recipients are named Trustee Scholars and receive half tuition (approximately $11,735/year). Both tiers are renewable for up to 4 years with a 3.40 cumulative QPA, and Trustee Scholars may stack additional need-based aid up to cost of education.

  • How do the automatic President's and Provost's Scholarships work?

    The President's Scholarship pays $8,000/year for a 3.5+ HS GPA and SAT 1400 / CLT 100 / ACT 31. Provost Tier A pays $6,000/year for a 3.5+ GPA and SAT superscore 1300-1399 / CLT superscore 92-99 / ACT superscore 28-30. Provost Tier B pays $4,000/year for a 3.5+ GPA and SAT superscore 1250-1299 / CLT superscore 88-91 / ACT superscore 27. Each award requires both the qualifying GPA and test score; test-optional admission alone does not qualify. Each renews at a 3.3 cumulative GPA.

  • Why doesn't Grove City accept federal aid?

    Grove City's published Statement on Federal Funding explains that the college does not accept or certify any federal aid (Pell, Stafford, Parent PLUS, Perkins, SEOG, Work-Study, TEACH, GI Bill, AmeriCorps, Byrd, Douglas, NSS, ACG, SMART, or any other award that could be construed as direct or indirect federal aid). Grove City explains the GI Bill choice plainly: the college can find no way to accept those benefits without submitting to government control required for participation. The policy predates and aligns with Grove City College v. Bell (1984), and the college continues to operate fully on private funds and CSS Profile-administered institutional need-based aid.

See sources and other schools

How Grove City compares

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

    Grove City 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.

    Grove City 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.

  • 63 of 749 verified schools publish a marginal-value cliff table we can quantify.

    Grove City is one of them. Most schools won't tell families what one ACT point is actually worth. At the schools that do, a strategic retake is sometimes mathematically more valuable than test-optional positioning.

Sources used on this page

Every claim is checked against Grove City’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

How Grove City compares

Grove City sits in a small cluster of conservative Christian colleges with distinct financial structures. Families evaluating it usually also look at:

  • Hillsdale's tuition policy. Hillsdale and Grove City are the two best-known no-federal-aid Christian conservative schools. Hillsdale's sticker is significantly higher; Grove City is meaningfully cheaper for full-pay families.
  • Liberty merit aid. Liberty is much larger and accepts federal aid, which changes the financial calculus completely. For families specifically wanting the no-federal-aid model, Liberty isn't the analog; for families just wanting affordable Christian education, Liberty often comes in cheaper.
  • BYU merit aid. BYU is dramatically cheaper at sticker but requires the LDS religious filter. For non-LDS Christian families, Grove City is the analog at a higher net price.
  • The Master's University. TMU is smaller and more theologically narrow than Grove City; the comparison is mostly about denominational fit rather than financial differences.
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