Ithaca· Renewal Rules
Keeping Ithaca’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
- 11 of 11
- One-time tiers
- 0
- Tiers with published renewal terms
- 9
- Renewal risk profile
- moderate
Renewal risk profile
Ithaca'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.
- Ithaca College Scholarship: Full-time enrollment
- Presidential Scholarship: Full-time enrollment
- Ithaca College Residential Experience Scholarship: See notes
- Leadership Scholar Program: Full-time enrollment
- Martin Luther King Scholar Program: See notes
- Park Scholar Program Award: See notes
- Innovation Scholar Program Award: Full-time enrollment
- Ithaca Premier Talent Scholarship: Full-time enrollment
- Phi Theta Kappa Transfer Scholarships: Full-time enrollment
Renewal terms by tier
Ithaca College Scholarship
Amount not publishedTo keep it: All the awards may be renewed annually for the duration of the student's undergraduate study as long as the student maintains full-time enrollment and satisfactory progress toward a degree. A review of each student's academic performance is conducted by the Office of Student Financial Services before approval for renewal.
Presidential Scholarship
Full tuition and feesTo keep it: May be renewed annually for up to 4 years/8 semesters as long as the student maintains full-time enrollment and satisfactory progress toward a degree.
Ithaca College Residential Experience Scholarship
$2,000To keep it: Renewable each year that the student is living on campus; subject to a review of the student's satisfactory academic progress each semester.
Leadership Scholar Program
Amount not publishedTo keep it: Renewable contingent upon continued demonstration of leadership and a cumulative GPA of 2.75 at the end of each semester. Full-time enrollment is required.
Martin Luther King Scholar Program
Amount not publishedTo keep it: Scholarships page: renewable contingent upon continued participation in the program and a cumulative GPA of 3.0 at the end of each semester. NOTE: the 2025-2026 catalog states the MLK CGPA requirement is 2.5 — pages conflict.
Park Scholar Program Award
Amount not publishedTo keep it: Scholars receive this award throughout their Ithaca College career by maintaining a predetermined standard of performance.
Innovation Scholar Program Award
Amount not publishedTo keep it: Automatically renewed each semester provided: enrollment in a School of Humanities and Sciences undergraduate program; full-time enrollment (minimum 12 credits/semester); 3.0 or higher cumulative GPA; participation in Innovation Scholar programming; and good judicial standing.
Ithaca Premier Talent Scholarship
Amount not publishedTo keep it: Good academic standing and full-time enrollment are required.
Phi Theta Kappa Transfer Scholarships
$2,000Entry requirements: 3.5 minimum cumulative GPA GPA
To keep it: Renewable; full-time enrollment required.
How families lose this aid
- Counting the $2,000 Residential Experience Scholarship after moving off campus.
It is renewable only 'each year that the student is living on campus' — moving off campus forfeits it.
- Letting GPA slip below the program-specific renewal cliff.
Renewal GPAs differ by award: 2.75 (Leadership), 3.0 (MLK per the scholarships page; the catalog says 2.5 — ask the aid office which governs), 3.0 (Innovation). Dropping below full-time (12 credits) also breaks merit renewal.
- Expecting aid beyond eight semesters.
Per the catalog, 'Financial aid is usually terminated after eight semesters unless the course of study normally requires additional semesters,' and the Presidential Scholarship is capped at 4 years/8 semesters.
- Withdrawing or taking an unapproved leave and expecting aid back.
The catalog states a student 'automatically forfeits financial aid when they withdraw, are suspended, or are dismissed,' and awards are not renewed after returning without an approved leave of absence.
Rules that bite at Ithaca
The renewal trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook, derived from Ithaca's own tier rules and not generic advice.
- renewalIthaca College Scholarship: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
All the awards may be renewed annually for the duration of the student's undergraduate study as long as the student maintains full-time enrollment and satisfactory progress toward a degree. A review of each student's academic performance is conducted by the Office of Student Financial Services before approval for renewal. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.
How Ithaca compares across our verified dataset
- 669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Ithaca 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 Ithaca’s own published materials.
More on Ithaca merit aid
- Ithaca merit aid overviewFull tier ladder, named scholarships, departmental awards, and how families decide.
- Ithaca scholarship stackingWhether outside awards land as upside or quietly displace institutional aid.
- Does Ithaca displace outside scholarships?The dollar math on a $5,000 outside award, plus peer schools that handle it differently.