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Hawaii Pacific award rules

Will the scholarship last four years at Hawaii Pacific?

We pulled the school’s grade, credit, and time limits into one place so you can see what it takes to keep the award.

Verified Jul 20262 months ago

The short answer

5 of 5 published awards are listed as renewable.

The exact rule can change by award. Check the award your student may receive before you count on the same amount every year.

What to do

Find the award name in the full research below. Save its grade, credit, and deadline rules with your college plan.

See every award rule, common mistake, and source

At a glance

Renewable tiers
5 of 5
One-time tiers
0
Tiers with published renewal terms
5
Renewal risk profile
moderate

Renewal risk profile

Hawaii Pacific'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 Merit Scholarships (new undergraduate freshmen): Full-time enrollment
  • Guaranteed Scholarship and Admission Program (GSAP): See notes
  • Transfer Academic Merit Scholarships (GPA grid): Full-time enrollment
  • Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship: Full-time enrollment
  • #YouAreWelcomeHere Scholarship (international F-1 students): See notes

Renewal terms by tier

  • Academic Merit Scholarships (new undergraduate freshmen)

    Amount not published

    To keep it: Continuing/returning students may receive their Merit Scholarships in subsequent years based on the guidelines/restrictions of the awards. All institutional scholarships and grants require full-time enrollment (12-plus credit hours per semester).

    Source: https://www.hpu.edu/financial-aid/scholarships/new-undergraduate/index.html

  • Guaranteed Scholarship and Admission Program (GSAP)

    $15,000 minimum

    Entry requirements: Minimum 2.75 cumulative GPA through the end of junior year GPA

    To keep it: Annual tuition scholarship is renewable. Award is divided between fall/spring semesters towards the completion of an undergraduate bachelor's degree. Maximum eight consecutive semesters (fall/spring). Scholarship is renewable for 3 additional years.

    Source: https://hpu.edu/undergraduate-admissions/guarantee-scholarship-and-admission-program.html

  • Transfer Academic Merit Scholarships (GPA grid)

    $3,000-$11,000

    Entry requirements: 2.75-4.00 cumulative college transfer GPA (see grid) GPA

    To keep it: Continuing/returning students may receive their Merit Scholarships in subsequent years based on the guidelines/restrictions of the awards. Full-time enrollment (12-plus credit hours per semester) required for institutional scholarships and grants.

    Source: https://www.hpu.edu/financial-aid/scholarships/new-undergraduate/index.html

  • Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship

    $5,000

    Entry requirements: A minimum 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale and 45 transferable credit hours from the institution where the transfer student is a member of PTK is preferred GPA

    To keep it: Maximum PTK scholarship award is four semesters (fall and spring only), provided that scholarship recipients are full-time enrolled (12 credits minimum per semester) and maintain a 2.0 or higher cumulative GPA.

    Source: https://www.hpu.edu/undergraduate-admissions/transfer/phi-theta-kappa-scholarship.html

  • #YouAreWelcomeHere Scholarship (international F-1 students)

    $12,815

    To keep it: Described as a renewable scholarship; renewal conditions not stated on the page.

    Source: https://www.hpu.edu/undergraduate-admissions/international/scholarships.html

How families lose this aid

  • Expecting a published freshman merit grid to predict your award.

    HPU publishes no freshman GPA/test award grid and no freshman merit dollar amounts — freshmen are 'considered for academic merit scholarships at the time of admission based on academic abilities' and only learn the award with their admission decision. Only the transfer grid ($3,000-$11,000 by GPA) is published.

  • Dropping below full-time enrollment and losing institutional awards.

    'All institutional scholarships and grants require full-time enrollment (12-plus credit hours per semester) to receive the award... Failure to maintain full-time enrollment may result in a loss of these awards.'

  • PTK transfers assuming the $5,000 scholarship runs all the way to graduation or covers summer.

    The PTK award is capped at four semesters (fall/spring only), requires full-time enrollment and a 2.0+ cumulative GPA, is not awarded for summer terms, and is applicable to undergraduate tuition only.

  • Pell Grant recipients not realizing big scholarship packages can eliminate Pell starting 2026-27.

    HPU's What's New page states that for 2026-2027, 'Pell Grant eligibility may be reduced in the following instances: Grants & Scholarships cover the Cost of Attendance,' and Pell is lost if your SAI is twice the maximum Pell award.

Renewal questions families ask

How much merit aid do freshmen get?
HPU does not publish freshman merit amounts or a GPA/test grid. You are notified 'at the time of admission, whether or not you have been awarded an academic merit scholarship.' Hawai'i high school 2026 graduates with a 2.75+ GPA who apply by January 15, 2026 are guaranteed at minimum a $15,000 annual tuition scholarship under GSAP.
How much merit aid do transfer students get?
Per the published grid: 3.75-4.00 GPA = $11,000; 3.50-3.74 = $8,000; 3.25-3.49 = $6,000; 3.00-3.24 = $5,000; 2.75-2.99 = $3,000 per year, split between fall and spring. Active Phi Theta Kappa members can add a $5,000/year PTK scholarship on top (application and advisor recommendation required).
Are HPU merit scholarships renewable?
The GSAP scholarship is renewable for 3 additional years (maximum eight consecutive fall/spring semesters). Other merit scholarships: 'Continuing/returning students may receive their Merit Scholarships in subsequent years based on the guidelines/restrictions of the awards,' and all institutional scholarships and grants require full-time enrollment (12+ credit hours per semester). The PTK scholarship is capped at four semesters and requires a 2.0+ cumulative GPA. A specific renewal GPA for freshman academic merit is not published.

Rules that bite at Hawaii Pacific

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

  • Renewal ruleAcademic Merit Scholarships (new undergraduate freshmen): renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

    Continuing/returning students may receive their Merit Scholarships in subsequent years based on the guidelines/restrictions of the awards. All institutional scholarships and grants require full-time enrollment (12-plus credit hours per semester). A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

How Hawaii Pacific compares across our verified dataset

  • 665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

    Hawaii Pacific 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 renewal claim is checked against Hawaii Pacific’s own published materials.

More on Hawaii Pacific merit aid