Morehouse (HBCU, men's) considers newly admitted freshmen automatically for institutional scholarships from the admission application, but the dollar amounts are withheld behind a scholarship portal and donor criteria — the published awards (Academic, Athletic, Talent, Oprah Winfrey) list eligibility and renewal rules, not amounts. (DRAFT)
Verified Jun 2026today· COWORK
Merit tiers5See requirements
Last verifiedJun 2026Analyst COWORK
Rules that bite at Morehouse
The trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook. Each is derived from Morehouse's own published policy, not generic advice.
renewalMorehouse College Academic Award (MCAA): renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Freshmen: cumulative 2.75 GPA at end of first year; upperclassmen: cumulative 3.0 GPA at end of each year. Must earn 28-36 institutional credit hours/year, file FAFSA, maintain continuous full-time Fall+Spring enrollment. Renewable a maximum of 8 semesters; cannot be used for summer courses. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.
displacementDifferent aid types are displaced differently
Morehouse treats loans, work-study, and institutional grant under different rules. The same $5,000 outside award can land against any of them depending on category.
Common merit-aid mistakes at Morehouse
Morehouse withholds institutional scholarship amounts — newly admitted students are matched automatically from the admission application and notified at admission, and current students apply through the AcademicWorks scholarship portal. There is no published GPA-to-dollar grid, so plan around 'amount not published.'
The Academic Award (MCAA) and Athletic and Talent awards all require submitting the FAFSA, and the college strongly encourages FAFSA for all institutional scholarship consideration — skipping it can cost you merit eligibility.
The MCAA requires a 2.75 cumulative GPA at the end of the first year and a 3.0 cumulative GPA every year thereafter, plus 28-36 earned institutional credits per year and continuous full-time enrollment; it is renewable for a maximum of 8 semesters and cannot pay for summer courses.
It is a need+merit hybrid with a hard need cap — eligibility requires an Expected Family Contribution of $5,000 or less (plus 3.2 HS GPA, SAT 1200/ACT 26, and demonstrated service), and renewal requires a 3.0 GPA, 15 credits/semester, and completing service requirements.
Institutional awards cannot be used for summer term, Study Abroad, or Dual Degree programs, and Morehouse Online students are not eligible for institutional scholarships at all. Awards are applied to your account first, before other aid.
Who this school is for
Strong applicants (3.4+ HS GPA with distinguished activities) who file the FAFSA and apply for admission; service-minded students with high need (EFC under $5,000) may qualify for the Oprah Winfrey Endowed Scholars Program. (DRAFT)
Tuition / cost of attendance: Approximately $56,442 for 2025-2026. Source
Institutional merit aid tiers
Every tier below is sourced to the school’s own published financial aid pages. Renewal terms apply only if the student maintains the stated GPA.
Amount not published
Institutional Scholarships (Automatic Scholarship Match for newly admitted students)
ApplicationRenewable
View requirements+
Eligibility
Newly admitted freshmen automatically considered based on the admission application; must meet criteria established by scholarship donors; FAFSA strongly encouraged. Morehouse Online students are NOT eligible
Renewal terms
Continued eligibility requires meeting donor criteria, maintaining GPA / community service hours / other conditions, and submitting required documents.
Notes
Dollar amounts are not grid-published; awards are matched in an Institutional Scholarship Portal (AcademicWorks). Current students apply via the portal.
Complete admission application + FAFSA + paid application fee/waiver; evaluation of 4 distinguished activities (academic, leadership, extracurricular, recommendations). Reviewed, ranked, and selected by an awards committee
Renewal terms
Freshmen: cumulative 2.75 GPA at end of first year; upperclassmen: cumulative 3.0 GPA at end of each year. Must earn 28-36 institutional credit hours/year, file FAFSA, maintain continuous full-time Fall+Spring enrollment. Renewable a maximum of 8 semesters; cannot be used for summer courses.
Notes
Initial criteria and renewal cliffs are published, but the award DOLLAR AMOUNT is not. Students cover any credit hours over 18 per semester.
Maintain 2.0 cumulative GPA; earn 9 credits/semester or 24/year; file FAFSA; remain NCAA-compliant. Renewed annually; cover up to 36 credit hours/year. May be reduced or cancelled for ineligibility, misconduct, voluntarily quitting the sport, or transfer notification.
Enroll in the assigned ensemble course; complete music duties; FAFSA. Vocalists/instrumentalists must perform in required concerts
Renewal terms
Granted on a semester basis (not summer); maintain 2.0 cumulative GPA; participate in all required rehearsals/practices and assigned performances; must reapply each year. Failure to perform required concerts can cancel the award.
3.2 minimum high school GPA (or 3.0 Morehouse GPA)
SAT
1200
ACT
26
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
Demonstrated commitment to service AND an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) of $5,000 or less. Need + merit hybrid; applications solicited each spring, selected by May
Renewal terms
Maintain cumulative 3.0 GPA, complete 15 credit hours each semester, and fulfill annual service/program participation requirements (mentoring, leadership program implementation).
Notes
Provides financial support plus leadership development and a South Africa service trip. Selection is need-gated (EFC <= $5,000).
Institutional awards are non-refundable and applied directly to the student's account FIRST, before all other eligible aid. They cannot be used for summer term, Study Abroad, or Dual Degree programs, and Morehouse Online students are ineligible. The page does not address how outside/private scholarships are treated.
Institutional awards apply to direct costs (tuition, mandatory fees, on-campus housing, meal plans) first; outside-scholarship displacement is not stated.
Newly admitted freshmen are automatically considered based on their admission application (you may be directed to the scholarship portal in special cases). Current students apply through the Morehouse Institutional Scholarship Portal (AcademicWorks).
What GPA do I need for the Academic Award?
A 3.4 minimum high school GPA plus four distinguished activities and a completed FAFSA. To renew, keep a 2.75 cumulative GPA after year one and a 3.0 every year after.
What are the Oprah Winfrey Scholars eligibility requirements?
A 3.2 high school GPA (or 3.0 at Morehouse), SAT 1200 or ACT 26, demonstrated commitment to service, and an Expected Family Contribution of $5,000 or less.
What does Morehouse cost?
The 2025-26 on-campus residential cost of attendance is $56,442 (tuition $30,122 + student fees $4,012 + housing + food + other).
How Morehouse compares across our verified dataset
31 of 272 verified schools in our dataset use mixed displacement.
Morehouse is in the modest minority (31 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
247 of 272 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Morehouse is one of them. The cohort minority (25 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 Morehouse’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
