Is Mercer test-required?

Yes. Mercer requires SAT or ACT (superscored) and asks for official scores prior to enrollment. The test score is factored into the automatic merit tier alongside GPA and curriculum rigor.

How easy is it to keep Mercer merit aid for four years?

Renewable for 4 years (8 semesters) at a 2.0 minimum cumulative GPA with full-time enrollment. Students who fall below get a one-year provisional period. If they recover, the full scholarship resumes; if not, the award drops to 50% of original value contingent on a success plan.

Mercer· Renewal Rules

Keeping Mercer’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 May 20268 days ago· CA-1

At a glance

Renewable tiers: 3 of 3
One-time tiers: 0
Tiers with published renewal terms: 3
Renewal risk profile: low

Renewal risk profile

Mercer's published renewal rules cluster around a 3.0 floor with no major-GPA gating, which is survivable for the typical freshman with steady study habits. The risk is non-renewal due to enrollment status (dropping below full-time), not GPA.

Stamps Scholars Program: See notes
Presidential Scholars Weekend (PSW): See notes
University Merit Scholarship (initial automatic merit): 2.0 GPA

Renewal terms by tier

Stamps Scholars Program
Full tuition and fees, housing and meals, technology package, plus up to ~$16,000 in enrichment funds across four years
To keep it: Four-year renewable Stamps Scholars cohort.
Source: https://undergrad.mercer.edu/stamps/
Presidential Scholars Weekend (PSW)
Increases to initial merit, up to full tuition
To keep it: Renewable as part of the four-year Mercer scholarship package.
Source: https://undergrad.mercer.edu/mercer-scholarships/
University Merit Scholarship (initial automatic merit)
$18,000–$25,000 per year
To keep it: Renewable for 4 years (8 semesters). Recipients must maintain a 2.0 GPA, 12-credit minimum, and full-time enrollment. Provisional period of one year if requirements are not met.
Source: https://undergrad.mercer.edu/mercer-scholarships/

How families lose this aid

Submitting test-optional for a Mercer application chasing the top merit tier.
Mercer currently requires SAT or ACT (superscored) and asks for official scores prior to enrollment. The automatic merit tier placement uses GPA, curriculum rigor, and the test score. Skipping the test caps your tier ceiling.

Renewal questions families ask

Is Mercer test-required?: Yes. Mercer requires SAT or ACT (superscored) and asks for official scores prior to enrollment. The test score is factored into the automatic merit tier alongside GPA and curriculum rigor.
How easy is it to keep Mercer merit aid for four years?: Renewable for 4 years (8 semesters) at a 2.0 minimum cumulative GPA with full-time enrollment. Students who fall below get a one-year provisional period. If they recover, the full scholarship resumes; if not, the award drops to 50% of original value contingent on a success plan.

Rules that bite at Mercer

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

renewalUniversity Merit Scholarship (initial automatic merit): renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Renewable for 4 years (8 semesters). Recipients must maintain a 2.0 GPA, 12-credit minimum, and full-time enrollment. Provisional period of one year if requirements are not met. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

How Mercer compares across our verified dataset

133 of 150 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Mercer is one of them. The cohort minority (17 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 Mercer’s own published materials.