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Keene State scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$43,586per year · 2026-2027 · cost of attendance
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

Keene State is worth checking if your student has strong grades or scores. We found 9 published awards, and 4 are based on those numbers.

Where does your student land?

Verified Jun 2026
3 school sources to explore

Published rules, with the school sources close at hand. Confirm the details before you count on an award.

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The award collection

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.

Where does your student land?

  1. President's Award$5,500–$6,500 per year (NH) / $9,000 per year (out-of-state)AutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    President's Award

    $5,500–$6,500 per year (NH) / $9,000 per year (out-of-state)

    Published rangeAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3.5-4.0 high school GPA
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for President's Award

    Who qualifies

    First-year or transfer applicant attending full-time; considered automatically at the time the admissions application is reviewed; no separate application or essay

    How to keep it

    Renewable for up to eight semesters (up to 10 if pursuing a double major). The GPA renewal requirement for the President's Award is a cumulative 3.0; student must be enrolled full-time (12 credits or more), make progress toward the degree, and remain in good disciplinary standing.

    Worth knowing

    Highest merit tier. In-state amount varies by high school GPA ($5,500–$6,500); out-of-state is a flat $9,000. Funds apply to tuition only (not housing, meals, books, or other costs). Awarded first-come, first-served.

  2. Dean's Award$4,500–$5,000 per year (NH) / $8,000–$8,500 per year (out-of-state)AutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Dean's Award

    $4,500–$5,000 per year (NH) / $8,000–$8,500 per year (out-of-state)

    Published rangeAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3.0-3.49 high school GPA
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Dean's Award

    Who qualifies

    First-year or transfer applicant attending full-time; considered automatically at the time the admissions application is reviewed; no separate application or essay

    How to keep it

    Renewable for up to eight semesters (up to 10 if pursuing a double major). The GPA renewal requirement for the Dean's Award is a cumulative 3.0; student must be enrolled full-time (12 credits or more), make progress toward the degree, and remain in good disciplinary standing.

    Worth knowing

    Both in-state and out-of-state amounts vary by high school GPA. Funds apply to tuition only. Awarded first-come, first-served — apply early to secure the higher end of the range.

  3. Enrichment Award$3,000 per year (NH) / $5,000–$7,500 per year (out-of-state)AutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Enrichment Award

    $3,000 per year (NH) / $5,000–$7,500 per year (out-of-state)

    Published rangeAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    2.4-2.99 high school GPA
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Enrichment Award

    Who qualifies

    First-year or transfer applicant attending full-time; considered automatically at the time the admissions application is reviewed; no separate application or essay

    How to keep it

    Renewable for up to eight semesters (up to 10 if pursuing a double major). The GPA renewal requirement for the Enrichment Award is a cumulative 2.5; student must be enrolled full-time (12 credits or more), make progress toward the degree, and remain in good disciplinary standing.

    Worth knowing

    In-state is a flat $3,000; out-of-state varies by high school GPA ($5,000–$7,500). Funds apply to tuition only.

  4. Promise Award$1,500 per year (NH) / $5,000 per year (out-of-state)AutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Promise Award

    $1,500 per year (NH) / $5,000 per year (out-of-state)

    Published award termsAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    Below 2.4 high school GPA
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Promise Award

    Who qualifies

    First-year or transfer applicant attending full-time; considered automatically at the time the admissions application is reviewed; no separate application or essay

    How to keep it

    Renewable for up to eight semesters (up to 10 if pursuing a double major). The GPA renewal requirement for the Promise Award is a cumulative 2.0; student must be enrolled full-time (12 credits or more), make progress toward the degree, and remain in good disciplinary standing.

    Worth knowing

    Lowest merit tier, for students with a high school GPA below 2.40. Funds apply to tuition only. Out-of-state Promise ($5,000) is more than three times the in-state Promise ($1,500).

  5. STEM Scholarship$3,000 per yearNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    STEM Scholarship

    $3,000 per year

    Published amountNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for STEM Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Incoming first-year student who has declared a science-related major at Keene State; decisions made by the Admissions Office at the time of acceptance

    How to keep it

    Renewable for an additional three years if the student maintains a 3.0 GPA and remains enrolled in an eligible program.

    Worth knowing

    Major-restricted (science-related majors). Decided by Admissions at acceptance — no separate application is mentioned, but it is tied to the declared major.

  6. Talent Scholarships$1,000–$4,500 per yearNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Talent Scholarships

    $1,000–$4,500 per year

    Published rangeNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Talent Scholarships

    Who qualifies

    First-time incoming student majoring in art & design, music, theatre & dance, or film studies; an audition or portfolio/work submission is required

    How to keep it

    Renewable for an additional three years provided the renewal criteria are met; renewable per departmental approval — typically students need to remain in the major and meet minimum GPA requirements.

    Worth knowing

    NOT automatic — requires extra steps (an audition or submission of work). Major-restricted to the named arts disciplines.

  7. Housing Scholarship$500 per year (NH) / $2,500 per year (out-of-state)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Housing Scholarship

    $500 per year (NH) / $2,500 per year (out-of-state)

    Published award termsNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Housing Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    U.S. resident students who choose to live in a Keene State residence hall

    How to keep it

    Renewable each year. Stated as available to all new incoming students for the 2025-2026 academic year.

    Worth knowing

    Not GPA-based; tied to living on campus. Unlike the tuition-only merit awards, this one offsets housing. Page language references the 2025-2026 academic year — confirm 2026-2027 availability with the aid office.

  8. Visit Scholarship$1,000 (one-time, non-renewable)Not automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Visit Scholarship

    $1,000 (one-time, non-renewable)

    Published award termsNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    Open award details for Visit Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Incoming student who has completed a registered visit to the Keene State campus

    Renewal terms

    Explicitly non-renewable — a one-time award.

    Worth knowing

    Earned by completing a registered campus visit. One-time only, not renewed in later years.

  9. International ScholarshipUp to $7,000 per yearNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    International Scholarship

    Up to $7,000 per year

    Variable or qualified amountNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for International Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Non-U.S. resident (international) students attending Keene State; merit-based per College guidelines; limited funding

    How to keep it

    Renewal terms not stated on the page.

    Worth knowing

    For international (non-U.S.-resident) students only; merit-based but limited. May be used toward tuition, housing, and student fees (broader than the tuition-only domestic merit awards).

Lights up against Keene State's published cutoffs. Not an award offer; confirm with the financial aid office. Award terms and residency rules change; some awards differ for in-state and out-of-state students. Always confirm at the school’s source page.

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  • “it told me what to ask and what the renewal GPA looked like, which I was not going to find on my own”Melissa

The fine print

Renewal rulePresident's Award: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

Renewable for up to eight semesters (up to 10 if pursuing a double major). The GPA renewal requirement for the President's Award is a cumulative 3.0; student must be enrolled full-time (12 credits or more), make progress toward the degree, and remain in good disciplinary standing. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

What makes Keene State different

Keene State awards every admitted first-year and transfer student an automatic, GPA-based merit scholarship with no separate application — but every award is tuition-only and out-of-state students get materially larger dollar amounts than New Hampshire residents.

Merit tiers94 based on grades or scores
Research checkedJun 2026By our research team

More than one award path

Separate the two paths.

Some awards use published academic thresholds. Others have different selection criteria. A score chart does not describe every award at this school.

  1. Match the published criteria

    Use all requirements together, including residency and the entering class.

  2. Check the application dates

    Confirm the current admission and scholarship deadlines directly with the school.

  3. Know what happens next year

    Check renewal, credit requirements and how other aid affects the award.

The fine print / Three questions to carry forward

Before you count on it.

Does it apply to us? Confirm the entering year, residency and every eligibility condition.

Can we keep it? Check renewal GPA, credits and how long the award lasts.

Can we combine it? Ask how outside scholarships and other school awards change the offer.

Take Keene State's decision sheet

A printable research summary, source links and room for your questions.

See what could change an award

What families often miss

  1. Out-of-state merit awards are materially larger than in-state at every tier — e.g., President's is up to $6,500 in-state but a flat $9,000 out-of-state, and the out-of-state Promise ($5,000) is more than three times the in-state Promise ($1,500). The grid is calibrated 'relative to the costs of in-state and out-of-state attendance.'

  2. The page is explicit: 'these funds are used to pay for your tuition only (not housing, meal plans, books, or other costs).' A $6,500 award does not shrink your $10,500 room bill or $4,886 meal plan — it only reduces tuition.

  3. Merit is automatic on GPA and needs no essay, but it is 'awarded on a first-come, first-served basis.' For tiers with a range (in-state President's/Dean's, out-of-state Dean's/Enrichment), applying late can land you at the lower end of the range or risk funds running out.

  4. STEM ($3,000) requires a declared science major, and Talent ($1,000–$4,500) requires an audition or a submission of work — these are not awarded purely on GPA the way the President's/Dean's/Enrichment/Promise grid is.

  5. The Granite Guarantee covers in-state tuition but is need-based: it requires being Pell Grant-eligible, a NH resident, and a first-time student, and renewal requires staying Pell-eligible and filing a renewal FAFSA by March 1. It is not a merit award.

  6. Renewal GPAs differ by award — President's and Dean's need a 3.0, Enrichment a 2.5, Promise a 2.0 — and a merit scholarship 'will not be renewed if funding is lost due to being placed on academic probation or in cases of required withdrawal or suspension.'

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Out-of-state students who want a sizable, automatic, GPA-tiered merit award at a public liberal-arts college, and New Hampshire residents (especially Pell-eligible ones eyeing the Granite Guarantee). Strongest value for out-of-state applicants, whose merit dollars are notably higher than in-state.

Published yearly cost: Approximately $43,586 for 2026-2027. Source

Cost and graduation facts

Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Keene State, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.

Average annual net price by family income at Keene State, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$12,192
$30,001–$48,000$12,536
$48,001–$75,000$16,045
$75,001–$110,000$18,004
$110,001+$22,928
All income levels (average)$17,887

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$14,784
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$26,840
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$17,887

That works out to roughly a 40% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $29,993 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

Keene State is a public school; Scorecard's net price figure covers in-state, Title-IV-aid-recipient payers only — there is no comparable federal figure for out-of-state students.

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
60%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
79%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$25,749 (~$273/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$54,368
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
28%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
65%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Keene State applies a cost-of-attendance cap: total financial aid cannot exceed the COA. If a student is over-awarded, KSC reduces aid in a fixed order — student loans first, then work study, then gift aid (scholarships/grants) last. Outside/private scholarships must be reported and may reduce eligibility for other aid or loans; KSC frames private scholarships as primarily reducing the loan or work commitment.

Two official statements govern displacement. First: 'A student's total financial aid cannot exceed the cost of attendance ... If a student is over-awarded ... KSC must reduce some portion of their aid awarded. The KSC Student Financial Services will reduce aid in the following order: student loans, work study, gift aid.' Second: private scholarships 'help to reduce the amount of student loan or the student work commitment.' So outside awards hit loans and work-study before touching gift aid — but students must report all outside resources and 'in certain instances, these outside resources or awards may reduce eligibility for other financial aid or loans.' Whether a merit scholarship itself would be cut at the COA ceiling is not spelled out beyond the loans→work-study→gift-aid order.

Source

Other Keene State scholarships worth checking

These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.

Amount$500 (one-time)EligibilityIncoming students who complete the FAFSA (school code 002590) and enroll at Keene State.

One-time incentive just for filing the FAFSA. More than 98% of Keene State students receive aid from Keene State.

Source

AmountCovers full cost of in-state tuition (gap-filler)EligibilityFirst-time, Pell Grant-eligible New Hampshire students enrolling full-time at KSC; automatic with no extra steps.

NEED-BASED (Pell-eligible) — not pure merit. Bridges the gap between total federal/state/institutional gift aid and in-state tuition. Renewal requires continuous full-time enrollment, continued Pell eligibility, SAP, and a renewal FAFSA by March 1.

Source

Amount$2,000/year (NH Scholars) or $1,000/year (others)EligibilityPell-eligible New Hampshire residents who graduated from a NH high school and are first-time college students; awards limited and not guaranteed.

State (not institutional) award. NH Scholars designation gets $2,000/yr; renewal needs 2.5 GPA for NH Scholars, 2.0 for others. Cannot transfer to another school.

Source

Keene State merit aid FAQ

  • Do I have to apply separately for Keene State merit scholarships?

    No — for the GPA-based awards (President's, Dean's, Enrichment, Promise). 'As a first-year or transfer student applicant, you are considered for all merit awards, and you don't have to submit an additional application or essay.' Talent scholarships are the exception: they require an audition or submission of work.

  • Are the merit amounts the same for in-state and out-of-state students?

    No. Out-of-state awards are higher at every tier. For example, the President's Award is $5,500–$6,500/year in-state versus a flat $9,000/year out-of-state, and the Enrichment Award is $3,000 in-state versus $5,000–$7,500 out-of-state.

  • What GPA do I need to keep my scholarship each year?

    Renewal GPAs are President's and Dean's 3.0, Enrichment 2.5, and Promise 2.0. Awards renew for up to eight semesters (up to 10 if you pursue a double major), and you must stay enrolled full-time (12+ credits), make progress toward your degree, and remain in good disciplinary standing.

  • If I win an outside scholarship, will it cut my Keene State merit award?

    You must report all outside resources to Student Financial Services. If your total aid would exceed the cost of attendance, KSC reduces aid in this order: student loans first, then work study, then gift aid — so outside awards reduce loans/work before touching scholarships. But 'in certain instances, these outside resources or awards may reduce eligibility for other financial aid or loans,' so confirm your specific case with the aid office.

See sources and other schools

How Keene State compares

  • 145 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.

    Keene State is in a recognizable cluster (145 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

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

    Keene State 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 Keene State’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

Keep exploring Keene State merit aid

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