Huston-Tillotson· Renewal Rules
Keeping Huston-Tillotson’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.
At a glance
- Renewable tiers
- 2 of 2
- One-time tiers
- 0
- Tiers with published renewal terms
- 1
- Renewal risk profile
- moderate
Renewal risk profile
Huston-Tillotson'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.
- W.E.B. DuBois Honors Program scholarship: See notes
Renewal terms by tier
W.E.B. DuBois Honors Program scholarship
Amount not publishedEntry requirements: 3.5 unweighted (high school) GPA · 1080 (new SAT, Math + Evidence-Based Reading and Writing); 1000 (old SAT, Math + Critical Reading) SAT · 22 ACT
To keep it: Students who have been accepted as members of the W.E.B. Du Bois Honors Program must maintain a cumulative grade point average of at least 3.3 to remain in the program. Also, they must take a minimum of 15 credit hours each semester. In addition, Du Bois Scholars may not earn a grade or 'D' or 'F' in any course and remain in the program.
Source: https://htu.edu/academics/special-programs/dubois-honors-program/
How families lose this aid
- Expecting an automatic stats-based merit award.
HT publishes no GPA/test award grid. Scholarships are applied for through the AwardSpring portal, and the school explicitly warns: 'Submitting an application does not guarantee you will receive a scholarship.'
- Missing the W.E.B. DuBois Honors Program deadlines.
Priority selection is February 13, 2026 and program selection February 27, 2026; late applicants (March 3 – August 1, 2026) are considered only 'should a spot become available.' The honors scholarship is renewable for four years, so missing the window has a four-year cost.
- Underestimating the honors renewal cliff.
Du Bois Scholars must keep a 3.3 cumulative GPA, take at least 15 credit hours every semester, and may not earn ANY grade of 'D' or 'F' in any course — a single D removes a student from the program.
Renewal questions families ask
- Is there a separate honors scholarship?
- Yes — W.E.B. DuBois Honors Program members receive 'a renewable scholarship for four academic years' (amount not published). Entry requires a 3.5 unweighted HS GPA and 1080 SAT or 22 ACT, plus recommendations, a writing sample, and a telephone interview.
How Huston-Tillotson compares across our verified dataset
- 669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Huston-Tillotson 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 Huston-Tillotson’s own published materials.
More on Huston-Tillotson merit aid
- Huston-Tillotson merit aid overviewFull tier ladder, named scholarships, departmental awards, and how families decide.
- Huston-Tillotson scholarship stackingWhether outside awards land as upside or quietly displace institutional aid.
- Does Huston-Tillotson displace outside scholarships?The dollar math on a $5,000 outside award, plus peer schools that handle it differently.