Are the scholarships renewable?

Yes — for eight semesters or completion of the bachelor's degree, whichever comes first, as long as you stay enrolled full-time (minimum 12 credits per semester) and maintain satisfactory academic progress. The Chair of the Board Scholarship additionally requires a GPA of at least 3.5, and transfer scholarships require a minimum semester GPA stated in your acceptance letter.

Does 'full tuition' include housing and food?

No. Hood's full-tuition awards cover tuition only — the transfer page states awards are a percent of tuition 'not including fees, room or board.' In 2026-27, full-time tuition is $24,900 per semester; fees, housing and meal plans are billed separately.

Hood· Renewal Rules

Keeping Hood’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 20264 days ago· COWORK

At a glance

Renewable tiers: 13 of 13
One-time tiers: 0
Tiers with published renewal terms: 12
Renewal risk profile: moderate

Renewal risk profile

Hood'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.

Trustee Scholarship: Full-time enrollment
Presidential Scholarship: Full-time enrollment
Dean Scholarship: Full-time enrollment
Leadership Award: Full-time enrollment
Achievement Award: Full-time enrollment
Pillar Scholarship: Full-time enrollment
Chair of the Board Scholarship: See notes
Founders' Scholarship (transfer): Full-time enrollment
Trailblazer Scholarship (transfer): Full-time enrollment
Recognition Award (transfer): Full-time enrollment
Hood Advantage Program: See notes
Miss America's Teen and Miss Maryland's Teen Scholarship: See notes

Renewal terms by tier

Trustee Scholarship
$30,000
To keep it: Renewable throughout the student's undergraduate career (eight semesters or completion of the bachelor's degree, whichever comes first); must be enrolled full-time (minimum of 12 credits per semester) and maintain satisfactory academic progress.
Source: https://www.hood.edu/admission-aid/financial-aid/scholarships/first-year-student-scholarships
Presidential Scholarship
$28,000
To keep it: Renewable for eight semesters or completion of the bachelor's degree, whichever comes first; full-time enrollment (minimum 12 credits) and satisfactory academic progress required.
Source: https://www.hood.edu/admission-aid/financial-aid/scholarships/first-year-student-scholarships
Dean Scholarship
$24,000
To keep it: Renewable for eight semesters or completion of the bachelor's degree, whichever comes first; full-time enrollment (minimum 12 credits) and satisfactory academic progress required.
Source: https://www.hood.edu/admission-aid/financial-aid/scholarships/first-year-student-scholarships
Leadership Award
$20,000
To keep it: Renewable for eight semesters or completion of the bachelor's degree, whichever comes first; full-time enrollment (minimum 12 credits) and satisfactory academic progress required.
Source: https://www.hood.edu/admission-aid/financial-aid/scholarships/first-year-student-scholarships
Achievement Award
$15,000
To keep it: Renewable for eight semesters or completion of the bachelor's degree, whichever comes first; full-time enrollment (minimum 12 credits) and satisfactory academic progress required.
Source: https://www.hood.edu/admission-aid/financial-aid/scholarships/first-year-student-scholarships
Pillar Scholarship
$2,000
To keep it: Renewable for eight semesters or completion of the bachelor's degree, whichever comes first; full-time enrollment (minimum 12 credits) and satisfactory academic progress required.
Source: https://www.hood.edu/admission-aid/financial-aid/scholarships/first-year-student-scholarships
Chair of the Board Scholarship
Full tuition
To keep it: Renewable annually, up to four years, provided the recipient maintains a GPA of no less than 3.5 and makes satisfactory progress toward a bachelor's degree.
Source: https://www.hood.edu/admission-aid/financial-aid/scholarships/chair-board-scholarships
Founders' Scholarship (transfer)
One-half of tuition
To keep it: Renewable for the number of semesters indicated in the student's acceptance letter; must achieve the minimum semester GPA, maintain satisfactory academic progress and be enrolled full-time. Two consecutive semesters below the minimum GPA results in reduction to or elimination of the award; the original amount can be recovered by achieving the required semester GPA.
Source: https://www.hood.edu/admission-aid/financial-aid/scholarships/transfer-student-scholarships
Trailblazer Scholarship (transfer)
One-third of tuition
To keep it: Renewable for the number of semesters indicated in the student's acceptance letter; minimum semester GPA, satisfactory academic progress and full-time enrollment required. Two consecutive semesters below the minimum GPA results in reduction to or elimination of the award.
Source: https://www.hood.edu/admission-aid/financial-aid/scholarships/transfer-student-scholarships
Recognition Award (transfer)
One-quarter of tuition
To keep it: Renewable for the number of semesters indicated in the student's acceptance letter; minimum semester GPA, satisfactory academic progress and full-time enrollment required. Two consecutive semesters below the minimum GPA results in reduction to or elimination of the award.
Source: https://www.hood.edu/admission-aid/financial-aid/scholarships/transfer-student-scholarships
Hood Advantage Program
Full tuition
Entry requirements: 3.0 (high school) GPA
To keep it: The Hood Advantage Program covers tuition for up to four years.
Source: https://www.hood.edu/admission-aid/financial-aid/types-financial-aid/hood-advantage-program
Miss America's Teen and Miss Maryland's Teen Scholarship
$33,000-Full tuition
To keep it: Full-tuition award for winners is four-year; the $33,000 local-titleholder scholarship is renewable for four years.
Source: https://www.hood.edu/admission-aid/financial-aid/scholarships/miss-americas-teen-and-miss-marylands-teen-scholarship

How families lose this aid

Letting GPA slip as a transfer-scholarship recipient.
Transfer scholarships carry a minimum semester GPA set in the acceptance letter; one bad semester triggers a warning, and 'two consecutive semesters below the minimum grade point average will result in a reduction to or elimination of the award.' (It can be recovered by hitting the required GPA again.)
Chair of the Board Scholars assuming the standard satisfactory-progress rule applies to them.
That award has a steeper renewal cliff: it is renewable only if the recipient 'maintains a GPA of no less than 3.5,' versus general satisfactory academic progress for the regular merit ladder.
Skipping the FAFSA after the first year because your scholarship is 'merit-based'.
Hood's FAQ says 'Students are required to complete the FAFSA each year to determine federal aid, state aid and institutional aid,' and scholarships are limited to the first eight semesters of full-time enrollment (minimum 12 credits).
Assuming the Hood Advantage Program covers your whole bill.
The page headline says 'Full-tuition grants' and that the program 'covers tuition for up to four years,' even though its bullets also mention room and board and books; families should confirm exactly what is covered, and note the income ($50,000 or less), Maryland-residency, 3.0 GPA and first-year-applicant gates.

Renewal questions families ask

Are the scholarships renewable?: Yes — for eight semesters or completion of the bachelor's degree, whichever comes first, as long as you stay enrolled full-time (minimum 12 credits per semester) and maintain satisfactory academic progress. The Chair of the Board Scholarship additionally requires a GPA of at least 3.5, and transfer scholarships require a minimum semester GPA stated in your acceptance letter.
Does 'full tuition' include housing and food?: No. Hood's full-tuition awards cover tuition only — the transfer page states awards are a percent of tuition 'not including fees, room or board.' In 2026-27, full-time tuition is $24,900 per semester; fees, housing and meal plans are billed separately.

Rules that bite at Hood

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

renewalTrustee Scholarship: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Renewable throughout the student's undergraduate career (eight semesters or completion of the bachelor's degree, whichever comes first); must be enrolled full-time (minimum of 12 credits per semester) and maintain satisfactory academic progress. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

How Hood compares across our verified dataset

69 of 751 verified schools publish a top renewal tier requiring 3.5+ GPA or major-GPA gating.
Hood is one of them. Calibrate year-one academic load against the renewal floor, not just freshman survival.
669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Hood 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.

Sources used on this page

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

policyHood stacking policy
coaHood cost-of-attendance worksheet
tierTrustee Scholarship
tierChair of the Board Scholarship
tierFounders' Scholarship (transfer)
tierHood Advantage Program
tierMiss America's Teen and Miss Maryland's Teen Scholarship
tierDistinguished Young Women Scholarship
scholarshipTeacher Academy of Maryland (TAM) scholarship