What GPA must I maintain to keep my Lander merit scholarship?

The general renewal standard is a cumulative GPA of 3.0 and completion of 24 semester hours per academic year (excluding summer), unless the individual scholarship terms state otherwise.

Lander· Renewal Rules

Keeping Lander’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 20268 days ago· COWORK

At a glance

Renewable tiers: 15 of 18
One-time tiers: 3
Tiers with published renewal terms: 15
Renewal risk profile: moderate

Renewal risk profile

Lander'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.

President's Award — In-State: 3.0 GPA
President's Award — Out-of-State: 3.0 GPA
Trustee's Award — In-State: 3.0 GPA
Trustee's Award — Out-of-State: 3.0 GPA
Provost's Award — In-State: 3.0 GPA
Provost's Award — Out-of-State: 3.0 GPA
Dean's Award — In-State: 3.0 GPA
Dean's Award — Out-of-State: 3.0 GPA
Alumni Heritage Scholarship: Full-time enrollment
Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Transfer Scholarship: See notes
LIFE Scholarship (SC State Portable Award): See notes
LIFE Scholarship Enhancement — STEM or Education: 3.0 GPA
Palmetto Fellows Scholarship (SC State Portable Award): See notes
Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Enhancement — STEM or Education: See notes
Teaching Fellows Program (SC State Portable Award): See notes

Renewal terms by tier

President's Award — In-State
$6,000/year
Entry requirements: 3.5 weighted (or 3.0 unweighted if only unweighted GPA available) GPA · 1360+ SAT · 30–36 ACT
To keep it: Must maintain cumulative 3.0 GPA and complete 24 semester hours per academic year (excluding summer). Scholarship renewable for up to four years from initial enrollment. Automatic renewal if standards met; appeal available if not.
Source: https://www.lander.edu/admissions/tuition-financial-aid/scholarships/
President's Award — Out-of-State
$4,000/year + $8,000 abatement
Entry requirements: 3.5 weighted GPA · 1360+ SAT · 30–36 ACT
To keep it: Must maintain cumulative 3.0 GPA and complete 24 semester hours per academic year. Renewable up to four years.
Source: https://www.lander.edu/admissions/tuition-financial-aid/scholarships/
Trustee's Award — In-State
$4,500/year
Entry requirements: 3.5 weighted GPA · 1230–1350 SAT · 26–29 ACT
To keep it: Must maintain cumulative 3.0 GPA and complete 24 semester hours per academic year. Renewable up to four years.
Source: https://www.lander.edu/admissions/tuition-financial-aid/scholarships/
Trustee's Award — Out-of-State
$3,000/year + $8,000 abatement
Entry requirements: 3.5 weighted GPA · 1230–1350 SAT · 26–29 ACT
To keep it: Must maintain cumulative 3.0 GPA and complete 24 semester hours per academic year. Renewable up to four years.
Source: https://www.lander.edu/admissions/tuition-financial-aid/scholarships/
Provost's Award — In-State
$3,000/year
Entry requirements: 3.5 weighted GPA · 1100–1220 SAT · 22–25 ACT
To keep it: Must maintain cumulative 3.0 GPA and complete 24 semester hours per academic year. Renewable up to four years.
Source: https://www.lander.edu/admissions/tuition-financial-aid/scholarships/
Provost's Award — Out-of-State
$2,000/year + $6,000 abatement
Entry requirements: 3.5 weighted GPA · 1100–1220 SAT · 22–25 ACT
To keep it: Must maintain cumulative 3.0 GPA and complete 24 semester hours per academic year. Renewable up to four years.
Source: https://www.lander.edu/admissions/tuition-financial-aid/scholarships/
Dean's Award — In-State
$1,000/year
Entry requirements: 3.5 weighted GPA · 1030–1090 SAT · 20–21 ACT
To keep it: Must maintain cumulative 3.0 GPA and complete 24 semester hours per academic year. Renewable up to four years.
Source: https://www.lander.edu/admissions/tuition-financial-aid/scholarships/
Dean's Award — Out-of-State
$500/year + $4,000 abatement
Entry requirements: 3.5 weighted GPA · 1030–1090 SAT · 20–21 ACT
To keep it: Must maintain cumulative 3.0 GPA and complete 24 semester hours per academic year. Renewable up to four years.
Source: https://www.lander.edu/admissions/tuition-financial-aid/scholarships/
Alumni Heritage Scholarship
$500/semester ($1,000/year; $4,000 total over 4 years)
To keep it: Renewable for up to seven additional semesters (eight semesters total). Must maintain full-time status and be in good standing with the university.
Source: https://www.lander.edu/admissions/tuition-financial-aid/scholarships/
Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) Transfer Scholarship
$1,000/year (stacks with Transfer Scholarship: combined $3,000/year)
To keep it: Renewable by remaining in good standing with the University.
Source: https://www.lander.edu/admissions/tuition-financial-aid/scholarships/
LIFE Scholarship (SC State Portable Award)
$5,000/year
Entry requirements: 3.0 final high school cumulative GPA on Uniform Grading Scale (one of three criteria; must meet two of three) GPA · 1,100 (one of three criteria) SAT · 22 (one of three criteria) ACT
To keep it: Annual renewal requires earning at least 30 semester hours per year of attendance and a cumulative GPA of 3.0.
Source: https://www.lander.edu/admissions/tuition-financial-aid/scholarships/
LIFE Scholarship Enhancement — STEM or Education
$2,500 additional (total $7,500/year with LIFE)
Entry requirements: 3.0 (LIFE renewal standard) GPA
To keep it: Must meet LIFE renewal criteria (30 hrs/yr, 3.0 GPA). Available beginning sophomore year, renewable up to two additional years. STEM: must earn 14 credit hours of approved STEM coursework before start of second year. Education: must sign service commitment to SC public schools.
Source: https://www.lander.edu/admissions/tuition-financial-aid/scholarships/
Palmetto Fellows Scholarship (SC State Portable Award)
$6,700/year (freshman); $7,500/year (upperclassmen)
Entry requirements: Minimum 3.50 high school GPA GPA · 1,200 SAT · 25 ACT
To keep it: Must have 3.0 Lander GPA (transfer courses do NOT impact LU GPA) and 30 credit hours EACH academic year. AP and Dual Enrollment credits do NOT count toward the 30-hr requirement at Lander for renewal purposes. Transfer hours may count toward 30-hr requirement even if not affecting GPA.
Source: https://www.lander.edu/admissions/tuition-financial-aid/scholarships/
Palmetto Fellows Scholarship Enhancement — STEM or Education
$2,500 additional (total $10,000/year with Palmetto Fellows upperclassman amount)
Entry requirements: 3.0 Lander GPA (Palmetto Fellows renewal standard) GPA
To keep it: Must meet Palmetto Fellows renewal criteria (30 hrs/yr, 3.0 Lander GPA). Available beginning sophomore year, renewable up to two additional years.
Source: https://www.lander.edu/admissions/tuition-financial-aid/scholarships/
Teaching Fellows Program (SC State Portable Award)
$5,700/year for tuition and board + $300 for summer enrichment
To keep it: Service obligation: fellow must teach in SC one year for every year fellowship received. Interested seniors must apply by Dec. 1.
Source: https://www.lander.edu/admissions/tuition-financial-aid/scholarships/

How families lose this aid

Expecting the Dean's Award for a 3.0 unweighted GPA student
All four freshman merit tiers require a 3.5 weighted GPA. Students with only an unweighted GPA must have at least a 3.0 unweighted. A 3.0 unweighted student still must meet the ACT/SAT threshold for whatever tier they qualify for, but the 3.5 weighted GPA requirement gates all four tiers.
Counting Palmetto Fellows renewal hours from AP/Dual Enrollment credits
Lander's page explicitly states that for Palmetto Fellows renewal, 'Advanced Placement and Dual Enrollment credits do NOT count' toward the required 30 credit hours per academic year at Lander.
Assuming the HOPE Scholarship is renewable
The HOPE Scholarship is explicitly 'not renewable' — it is $2,800 for the first year only. Students who earn a 3.0 GPA and 30 hours in the freshman year may then become eligible for LIFE in year two.
Expecting a scholarship for semesters with part-time enrollment
All institutional scholarships require full-time enrollment at Lander. Students enrolled less than full-time in a semester do not receive their scholarship for that semester, and missed semesters are not extended to the end of their academic career.
Believing a 4-year scholarship can be extended beyond four years
Lander's policy states 'Scholarships are awarded for up to, but never exceeding, four years from the initial term of college enrollment.' Late or interrupted enrollment does not extend the four-year window.

Renewal questions families ask

What GPA must I maintain to keep my Lander merit scholarship?: The general renewal standard is a cumulative GPA of 3.0 and completion of 24 semester hours per academic year (excluding summer), unless the individual scholarship terms state otherwise.

Rules that bite at Lander

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

renewalAlumni Heritage Scholarship: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Renewable for up to seven additional semesters (eight semesters total). Must maintain full-time status and be in good standing with the university. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

How Lander compares across our verified dataset

669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Lander 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 Lander’s own published materials.

policyLander stacking policy
coaLander cost-of-attendance worksheet
scholarshipArt Merit Scholarships (Fine Arts / departmental)