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Mars Hill scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$53,484per year · 2026-2027 · cost of attendance
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

Mars Hill may be worth checking, but its awards do not follow a simple grades-and-scores chart. Start with the published scholarships below.

Where does your student land?

Verified Jul 2026
4 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. Academic/Merit-Based Scholarships (Bailey, Blue and Gold, Presidential Academic, Presidential Music)Amount not publishedNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Academic/Merit-Based Scholarships (Bailey, Blue and Gold, Presidential Academic, Presidential Music)

    Amount not published

    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 Academic/Merit-Based Scholarships (Bailey, Blue and Gold, Presidential Academic, Presidential Music)

    Who qualifies

    Based on high school performance; specific academic standards not published on the page.

    How to keep it

    Students awarded an academic scholarship are required to maintain a designated minimum college grade point average (GPA) to continue receiving the scholarship each semester. The specific GPA is not published.

    Worth knowing

    The scholarships page lists four named academic scholarships but publishes no amounts or stat cutoffs. The Blackwell page separately references 'academic merit scholarships ranging from $17,000-$19,000 annually.' No automatic-award language appears, so automaticOnStats is set false.

  2. Judge Robert Blackwell ScholarshipUp to $3,000 (on top of academic merit scholarship)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Judge Robert Blackwell Scholarship

    Up to $3,000 (on top of academic merit scholarship)

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

    GPA
    Minimum 3.5 High School GPA
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Judge Robert Blackwell Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Interview required; 1 recommendation required; must be a North Carolina resident; separate competitive application.

    How to keep it

    Described as 'annually' alongside the academic merit scholarships; specific renewal terms not published.

    Worth knowing

    Competitive add-on award for NC students with leadership/citizenship involvement; applied for via the shared competitive-scholarship application.

  3. Local Lion PromiseMinimum 50% of tuitionNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Local Lion Promise

    Minimum 50% of tuition

    Published coverage or packageNot 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 Local Lion Promise

    Who qualifies

    Traditional undergraduate students who live or attend high school in Avery, Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Madison, Mitchell, McDowell, Transylvania, or Yancey county (NC).

    How to keep it

    Renewal terms not published on the page.

    Worth knowing

    Geographic guarantee, not a stat-based award. Page says it 'guarantees' the discount for qualifying students; no application process or renewal terms are described, so it is not marked automaticOnStats (which is reserved for GPA/test-based automatic grids).

  4. Honors Program and ScholarshipAmount not publishedNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Honors Program and Scholarship

    Amount not published

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

    GPA
    GPA requirement (value not stated)
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Honors Program and Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Interview by members of the Honors Council; competitive application via the shared competitive-scholarship form.

    How to keep it

    Renewal terms not published.

    Worth knowing

    Competitive; the page describes selection criteria (intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, communication, leadership, creativity) but no dollar amount.

  5. Transfer Student Scholarships (Presidential Transfer Scholarship, Transfer Scholarship, Mountain Lion Associate Scholarship)Amount not publishedNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Transfer Student Scholarships (Presidential Transfer Scholarship, Transfer Scholarship, Mountain Lion Associate Scholarship)

    Amount not published

    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 Transfer Student Scholarships (Presidential Transfer Scholarship, Transfer Scholarship, Mountain Lion Associate Scholarship)

    Who qualifies

    Mountain Lion Associate Scholarship is for students who have already been awarded an associate degree.

    How to keep it

    Renewal terms not published; the academic-scholarship renewal language ('designated minimum college GPA') appears on the same page.

    Worth knowing

    The scholarships page lists three transfer-merit awards by name with no amounts or criteria.

This page covers one school.

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What makes Mars Hill different

Mars Hill pairs unpublished named academic scholarships (referenced on its Blackwell page as running $17,000–$19,000 a year) with a guaranteed 50%-of-tuition Local Lion Promise for students from nine western North Carolina counties.

Merit tiers5See who qualifies
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team

Selection beyond grades and scores

Start with the selection process.

These awards are not recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read each award's selection rules, application steps and dates. Meeting a minimum is not an award offer.

  1. Read the selection rules

    Look for the school's stated criteria and whether an additional application is needed.

  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 Mars Hill'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. MHU does not publish amounts or GPA/test cutoffs for its named academic scholarships (Bailey, Blue and Gold, Presidential). The only dollar figure on the site is an indirect reference on the Blackwell page to 'academic merit scholarships ranging from $17,000-$19,000 annually.' Families must wait for the aid package to know their award.

  2. The promise is a 'minimum of a 50 percent discount on tuition' only — it does not apply to the comprehensive fee or the $13,006 food & housing charge in the $53,484 total cost of attendance.

  3. The scholarships page says recipients 'are required to maintain a designated minimum college grade point average (GPA) to continue receiving the scholarship each semester,' but the designated GPA is not published anywhere on the pages reviewed. Ask the aid office for the exact renewal GPA in writing.

  4. MHU's SAP policy states students not meeting the standards 'are not eligible for federal, state, or institutional aid' — meaning merit scholarships are also cut off, with GPA floors of 1.50 (freshman), 1.80 (sophomore), and 2.00 (junior+) plus minimum earned-hours requirements.

  5. It is competitive: it requires a separate application, an interview, one recommendation, a 3.5 high school GPA, and North Carolina residency — and it is 'up to $3000,' not a guaranteed $3,000.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Strongest fit for western North Carolina students — residents of nine nearby counties are guaranteed at least 50% off tuition — and NC students with a 3.5+ GPA and leadership record who can compete for the Blackwell add-on.

Published yearly cost: Approximately $53,484 for 2026-2027. Source

Cost and graduation facts

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

Average annual net price by family income at Mars Hill, academic year 2021-22
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$17,021
$30,001–$48,000$17,020
$48,001–$75,000$20,628
$75,001–$110,000$21,637
$110,001+$21,972
All income levels (average)$19,910

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$37,736
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$19,910

That works out to roughly a 60% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $50,099 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
45%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
69%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$26,000 (~$276/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$44,781
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
52%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
70%
See other scholarships and cost examples

Other Mars Hill scholarships worth checking

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

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityStudents with a passion for community work and social justice; service experience; most students must demonstrate financial need via FAFSA.

Service commitment of approximately 10 hours a week (service, leadership development, meetings/trainings). Need-based component makes this a hybrid, not a pure merit award.

Source

Amount$500-$2,500EligibilityUS citizen/legal resident; NC resident for at least one year; full-time (12 credit hours) at MHU; member of a church affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of NC.

Third-party award administered by Provision Financial Resources of NC Baptists, not by MHU; requires FAFSA SAR copy and transcript per the MHU page.

Source

Mars Hill merit aid FAQ

  • What is the scholarship application deadline?

    No scholarship deadline is published on the financial-aid or scholarships pages reviewed (retrieved 2026-06-07). The competitive scholarships (Blackwell, Honors, Bonner) use one shared application form. Ask the aid office for the priority date for the 2026-2027 entry cycle.

  • Do I need to file the FAFSA to get merit aid?

    The scholarships page says 'After you have completed the FAFSA, we will be in touch with you to let you know the details of the financial aid package for which you have qualified,' and the Bonner program explicitly requires FAFSA-demonstrated need. The page does not state whether the academic merit scholarships themselves require FAFSA — confirm with the aid office. MHU's federal school code is 002944.

  • How much does Mars Hill cost for 2026-2027?

    Total cost of attendance is $53,484: tuition $40,228 (includes required textbooks), comprehensive student fee $250, and food & housing $13,006.

  • Is there a guaranteed scholarship for local students?

    Yes. The Local Lion Promise guarantees a minimum 50 percent discount on tuition for traditional undergraduates who live or attend high school in Avery, Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Madison, Mitchell, McDowell, Transylvania, or Yancey county, NC.

See sources and other schools

How Mars Hill compares

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

    Mars Hill 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 Mars Hill’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

Keep exploring Mars Hill merit aid

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