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Harding· Renewal Rules

Keeping Harding’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

Harding'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.

  • Academic Achievement Scholarship: Full-time enrollment
  • Trustee Scholar Award: See notes
  • National Merit Semifinalist Scholarship: See notes
  • National Merit Finalist Scholarship: See notes
  • Christian Ministers and Educators Scholarship: See notes
  • Homeschool Scholarship: See notes
  • Carter Business Scholarship: See notes

Renewal terms by tier

  • Academic Achievement Scholarship

    $7,000 to $11,000 per year

    Entry requirements: Combination of high school GPA and test scores (no single cutoff published; exact grid not on the page) GPA · Used in the calculation; no published cutoff for amount SAT · Used in the calculation; no published cutoff for amount ACT

    To keep it: Recipients must be enrolled full time (12 hours) and maintain a GPA of 3.0. Renewable for four years or eight semesters.

    Source: https://www.harding.edu/admissions/cost/

  • Trustee Scholar Award

    Full tuition

    Entry requirements: High school GPA of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale GPA · SAT combined Critical Reading and Math score of 1390 or higher SAT · ACT score or superscore of 31 or higher ACT

    To keep it: Trustee Scholars are expected to uphold a minimum GPA of 3.25 and reside in on-campus housing.

    Source: https://www.harding.edu/admissions/cost/

  • National Merit Semifinalist Scholarship

    Full undergraduate tuition

    To keep it: Recipients must maintain a GPA of 3.25 and live in campus housing.

    Source: https://www.harding.edu/admissions/cost/

  • National Merit Finalist Scholarship

    Full undergraduate tuition and a $2,000 annual stipend

    To keep it: Recipients must maintain a GPA of 3.25 and live in campus housing.

    Source: https://www.harding.edu/admissions/cost/

  • Christian Ministers and Educators Scholarship

    $4,000 per year

    To keep it: Valid for a maximum of four years (eight semesters) of undergraduate education.

    Source: https://www.harding.edu/admissions/cost/

  • Homeschool Scholarship

    $2,000 per year

    To keep it: Renewable for four years.

    Source: https://www.harding.edu/admissions/cost/

  • Carter Business Scholarship

    $10,000 per year

    To keep it: Renewal terms not stated. Typically divided among four students each year at approximately $2,500 per student per year.

    Source: https://www.harding.edu/admissions/cost/

How families lose this aid

  • Assuming you can pin down your exact Academic Achievement award from the website.

    Harding publishes only the $7,000-$11,000 range and says the amount is 'calculated on a combination of test scores and high school GPA' — the dollar-by-stat grid is not public, so you must ask admissions for your specific number.

  • Treating the Trustee Scholar Award as automatic once you hit the numbers.

    Meeting 3.5 GPA + ACT 31 / SAT 1390 / CLT 100 only makes you eligible; the award is 'specially extended to a select group of incoming freshmen,' requires a separate Trustee Scholar application and an interview, and obligates you to keep a 3.25 GPA and live on campus.

Renewal questions families ask

Is the Academic Achievement Scholarship automatic?
Yes — it is 'awarded to admitted freshmen and calculated on a combination of test scores and high school GPA,' ranging from $7,000 to $11,000 per year. You must enroll full time (12 hours) and maintain a 3.0 GPA to keep it. The exact amount for your stats is not published; ask admissions.
How do I get full tuition at Harding?
The Trustee Scholar Award offers full tuition to a select group of incoming freshmen with a 3.5 GPA and an ACT 31 / SAT 1390 / CLT 100 (or higher); it requires an application and interview, official scores before January 1, a 3.25 renewal GPA, and on-campus residence. National Merit Semifinalists also receive full undergraduate tuition, and Finalists add a $2,000 annual stipend.
What GPA do I need to keep my scholarship?
The Academic Achievement Scholarship requires a 3.0 GPA and full-time enrollment; the Trustee Scholar Award and both National Merit awards require a 3.25 GPA (and on-campus housing).

Rules that bite at Harding

The renewal trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook, derived from Harding's own tier rules and not generic advice.

  • renewalAcademic Achievement Scholarship: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

    Recipients must be enrolled full time (12 hours) and maintain a GPA of 3.0. Renewable for four years or eight semesters. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

How Harding compares across our verified dataset

  • 669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

    Harding 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.

  • 133 of 751 verified schools publish a dedicated National Merit Finalist package.

    Harding is one of them. NMF packages typically carry their own stacking and renewal carve-outs separate from the standard automatic merit ladder; confirm those before assuming the headline NMF value is final.

Sources used on this page

Every renewal claim is checked against Harding’s own published materials.

More on Harding merit aid