Lipscomb University · Tennessee
Lipscomb's merit aid centers on stacked academic awards like the Trustee Scholarship plus faith- and service-linked programs (Christian Education, Church Match, Scout Award) and generous transfer pathways.
The short answer
Lipscomb may be worth checking, but its awards do not follow a simple grades-and-scores chart. Start with the published scholarships below.
Free Merit Check
These amounts and requirements come from the school’s own published pages. Open an award to see who qualifies and how to keep it.
Maintain 2 GPA
Official Lipscomb snapshot states community-college transfer eligibility, most recent prior college must be community college, $2,000 annual scholarship, and 2.0 cumulative GPA requirement.
Maintain 3 GPA
Official Lipscomb snapshot supports PTK/NSLS transfer documentation requirement, $3,500 annual scholarship, stackability with transfer awards, first-bachelor restriction, and 3.0 Lipscomb GPA renewal.
Official Lipscomb snapshot states Church of Christ match up to $500 per year for a first-time undergraduate and automatic award when church funds are received.
Maintain 3 GPA
Official Lipscomb snapshot supports the listed scouting awards, $2,500 per year, proof requirement, on-campus residency, 3.0 GPA, and maximum eight-semester renewal.
Maintain 2.5 GPA
Official Lipscomb snapshot supports 12+ transfer hours from four-year/community college, minimum 2.5 GPA, first-bachelor/summer limits, $14,000-$20,000 per year range, and duration of enrollment.
Official Trustee Scholarship snapshot supports ACT 30+/SAT 1360+/CLT 97+ including superscores and cumulative high-school GPA at least 3.5 through 2024-2025.
Maintain 2 GPA
Official Lipscomb scholarship snapshot supports NCSA/CESA eligibility consideration, $5,000 per year amount, exclusions/full-tuition gift-aid cap language, and 2.0 cumulative GPA renewal.
These are the rules we would flag for your family. Each comes from Lipscomb's published information.
Institutional aid at Lipscomb cannot push the package past $69,210. Big outside wins can mathematically reduce institutional grant once the ceiling is reached.
Academically strong applicants to this Christian university, transfer students with Phi Theta Kappa standing, and students who can layer church-match or scouting awards on top of academic merit.
Published yearly cost: Approximately $69,210 for 2026-2027. Source
Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Lipscomb, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.
| Family income | Average net price paid |
|---|---|
| $0–$30,000 | $20,048 |
| $30,001–$48,000 | $20,009 |
| $48,001–$75,000 | $24,124 |
| $75,001–$110,000 | $25,210 |
| $110,001+ | $31,265 |
| All income levels (average) | $24,739 |
That works out to roughly a 55% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $55,117 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).
Awards are governed by Lipscomb's Direct Cost Policy: aid is adjusted to prevent an over-award of institutional aid against direct costs, and additional gift aid, including outside scholarships, can trigger that adjustment.
Verified policy language (2026-07-02): "Awards are subject to the Direct Cost Policy of the university. Awards will be adjusted to prevent an over-award of institutional aid." ... "Changes to a student's FAFSA, moving off-campus and additional gift aid (Lipscomb scholarships, outside scholarships, state and/or federal grants) may result in adjustment of institutional aid, including memorial scholarship awards." Separately, the school's own award-stacking rules: The Trustee Scholarship is not stackable with any other Lipscomb institutional aid. (per https://lipscomb.edu/admissions/tuition-and-financial-aid/current-students/types-aid-current-students/current-students-1)
From the Lipscomb Common Data Set 2024-2025 (school-estimated figures):
At Lipscomb, roughly 1 in 3 first-year admits receive institutional merit aid. The average award is $20,758 — about 30% of total cost.
As filed in Lipscomb's CDS Section H2A: of 716 first-time, full-time degree-seeking freshmen, 247 had no financial need and received institutional merit (non-need) scholarship or grant aid, averaging $20,758. Across all full-time degree-seeking undergraduates: 1,041 of 2,867, averaging $19,230. Athletic awards are excluded per the CDS definition.
The 2024-2025 column is marked "estimated" in the school's own CDS filing — school-projected figures, not final audited counts.
The Fall 2026 Transfer Trustee Scholarship application opens November 1, 2025 and closes March 1, 2026. Students must be admitted prior to applying.
Lipscomb is in a recognizable cluster (235 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
Lipscomb 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.
Every claim is checked against Lipscomb’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
