North Carolina experiential-luxury private with a genuinely published four-level merit grid — High Point Scholarships up to Presidential Founders ($40,000 to full tuition) — banded by GPA and SAT, plus a $3,000 Honors/Fellows add-on.
Verified Jul 20262 months ago
The short answer
Is High Point worth a closer look?
High Point is worth checking if your student has strong grades or scores. We found 4 published awards, and 4 are based on those numbers.
Merit tiers44 based on grades or scores
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team
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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.
$40,000–Full Tuition per year
Presidential Founders Scholarship
Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
4.0
SAT
1550
See who qualifies and how to keep it+
Who qualifies
Published figures are averages for the tier (Average GPA 4.0 unweighted, Average SAT 1550), not hard cutoffs. Awarded within the admission review; no separate scholarship application.
How to keep it
Renewable over four years as long as renewal GPA requirements are met. For full consideration, apply by November 15.
High Point lists 'Average GPA' and 'Average SAT' at each level — e.g., 4.0 / 1550 for Presidential Founders. These are the typical profile at the tier, not minimum thresholds. A student slightly below the average can still earn the tier, and a student at the average is not guaranteed it; the rest of the application matters.
The Founders tier is measured against tuition, not the total. Tuition and fees are $50,628 for 2026-27, while the $71,429 figure adds Tier 1 housing, food, and dining tax. Even a full-tuition award leaves roughly $20,801 of housing and food for the family.
High Point states that 'For full consideration under the Presidential Scholarship Program or High Point Scholars, students must submit their application for admission by November 15.' Applying after that date can reduce scholarship consideration even for a strong applicant.
See award cutoffs and special programs+
Presidential Founders Scholarship — High Point's top tier, $40,000 to full tuition
The Presidential Founders Scholarship is High Point's highest published merit level at '$40,000-Full Tuition,' aimed at applicants with an 'Average GPA: 4.0 (unweighted)' and 'Average SAT: 1550.' Unlike schools that hide their ladder, High Point publishes a four-level grid with stat averages at each step, so families can roughly self-place. The award is part of the Presidential Scholarship Program and is 'renewable over four years, as long as renewal GPA requirements are met.' For full consideration, 'students must submit their application for admission by November 15.' The figures are averages, not hard cutoffs — High Point frames them as the typical profile at each level, so a student slightly below the average SAT can still land the tier on the strength of the rest of the application. Honors Scholars and Fellows also receive a $3,000 scholarship on top of the Presidential award.
High-stat students (think 1.5k+ SAT, near-4.0 GPA for the top tier) drawn to High Point's amenity-heavy campus who want a transparent, stat-anchored merit ladder rather than a discretionary black box. The Founders tier rewards the strongest applicants with up to full tuition.
Cost of attendance$80,686 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$80,686
$51K
$26K
Tuition & fees
Housing & food
Books
Travel
Personal
Loan fees
Official COA total $80,686 (Tier 2 default housing incl. higher-tier upcharge). Housing combines Tier 2 ($9,348) + higher room tier ($4,890); food combines meals ($10,728) + NC dining tax ($724). Input total $71,429 reflects base direct costs only.
Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at High Point, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.
Average annual net price by family income at High Point, academic year 2021-22
Family income
Average net price paid
$0–$30,000
$32,763
$30,001–$48,000
$31,937
$48,001–$75,000
$32,461
$75,001–$110,000
$35,508
$110,001+
$41,994
All income levels (average)
$38,707
Sticker price vs. what students actually pay
Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$45,312
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$38,707
That works out to roughly a 41% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $65,548 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).
Outcomes for students who enrolled here
Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
74%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
85%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$24,575 (~$261/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$61,389
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
15%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
45%
See other scholarships and cost examples+
Other High Point scholarships worth checking
These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.
Amount$3,000 per year (renewable)EligibilityHonors Scholars and students in the nine discipline-specific Fellows programs receive a $3,000 scholarship renewable annually based on academic performance and continued participation, in addition to any Presidential Fellowship, Presidential Scholarship, or High Point Scholarship.
Does High Point publish its merit scholarship amounts?
Yes — unusually clearly. High Point lists four levels with dollar ranges and stat averages: Presidential Founders ($40,000-Full Tuition, avg GPA 4.0 / SAT 1550), Presidential Fellowships ($12,000-$20,000), Presidential Scholarships ($10,000-$17,000), and High Point Scholarships ($5,000-$10,000 per year).
Are the listed GPA and SAT numbers required to get the scholarship?
No. High Point publishes them as the 'Average GPA' and 'Average SAT' for each tier, not as cutoffs. They describe the typical recipient profile; placement is decided in the admission review, so the surrounding application still matters.
When do I need to apply to be considered for the top scholarships?
By November 15. High Point states that 'For full consideration under the Presidential Scholarship Program or High Point Scholars, students must submit their application for admission by November 15.'
Do the Fellows and Honors programs add money on top?
Yes. 'Honors Scholars and fellows will receive a $3,000 scholarship renewable annually based on academic performance and continued participation in the program,' layered on top of any Presidential Fellowship, Presidential Scholarship, or High Point Scholarship.
Does a full-tuition Founders award cover the whole bill?
No. It covers tuition. For 2026-27, tuition and fees are $50,628, but the published total of $71,429 also includes Tier 1 housing, food, and dining tax — roughly $20,801 of housing and food that a full-tuition award does not touch.
See sources and other schools+
How High Point compares
665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
High Point 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 High Point’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
