Morris College's merit aid runs through a deep catalog of named endowed scholarships — the headline freshman award is the $4,500/yr Luns C. Richardson Endowed Scholarship for 3.5+ GPA graduates — plus a Presidential Scholars Program for top-quarter-of-class seniors with no published dollar amount.
Verified Jul 20262 months ago
The short answer
Is Morris worth a closer look?
Morris may be worth checking, but its awards do not follow a simple grades-and-scores chart. Start with the published scholarships below.
Merit tiers2See who qualifies
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team
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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.
$4,500 annually
The Luns C. Richardson Endowed Scholarship
Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
3.5 or higher out of 4.0 (high school)
See who qualifies and how to keep it+
Who qualifies
Exceptional high school graduates; all scholarship recipients must be enrolled full-time for the award period.
How to keep it
Renewable for up to four years; renewal conditions (GPA to maintain) not stated on the page.
Notes
The page appends Presidential Scholars Program language to this entry; the two appear to be related recognition programs — confirm with the aid office whether the Richardson award is part of the Presidential Scholars Program.
Rank in the upper one-fourth of graduating class; admitted to Morris College; completed scholarship application submitted by the prescribed date (date not published).
How to keep it
Renewal terms not published.
Notes
Funded by a consortium of named donors (Ruth Mack Memorial Fund, Heritage Classic Foundation, SAFE Federal Credit Union, Rotary Club of Sumter, and others). Requires a separate application — not automatic.
The page's blanket rule: 'All scholarship recipients MUST be enrolled as a full-time student for the period in which the scholarship will be awarded and issued unless otherwise specified.'
The Presidential Scholars Program requires a 'completed application for the scholarship by the prescribed date' — and that date is not published on the page. Contact financial aid early for the current-cycle deadline.
The majority are restricted — by major, class year, sex, county, church membership, fraternity/sorority chapter, or donor selection — and most publish no dollar amount. Treat the list as leads to ask the aid office about, not as packageable offers.
The Tuition & Fees page presents the fee schedule only as an image labeled '2025-2026 — UPDATED 11-5-2025,' one year behind the 2026-2027 entry cycle; no machine-readable 2026-2027 costs were available. Request the current fee schedule directly.
Policy: 'Students who move off-campus during the semester for any reason other than withdrawal will not receive any refund of their room and board charges. The insurance fee also is non-refundable.'
See costs and school data+
Who this school may work for
Strong 3.5+ GPA freshmen can target the renewable $4,500 Richardson award and top-quarter-of-class seniors the Presidential Scholars Program; most other awards are small endowed scholarships tied to specific majors, churches, counties, or organizations.
Cost and graduation facts
Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Morris, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.
Average annual net price by family income at Morris, academic year 2021-22
Family income
Average net price paid
$0–$30,000
$20,485
$30,001–$48,000
$20,609
$48,001–$75,000
$20,727
$75,001–$110,000
$21,121
All income levels (average)
$20,555
Sticker price vs. what students actually pay
Total cost of attendance (sticker), AY 2021-22
$30,148
Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$16,664
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$20,555
That works out to an average 32% discount off the sticker price above — both figures come from the same federal AY 2021-22 Scorecard report, not a number the school itself published.
Outcomes for students who enrolled here
Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
17%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
41%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$31,400 (~$333/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$30,614
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
100%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
100%
See other scholarships and cost examples+
Other Morris scholarships worth checking
These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.
AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityTwo needy first-time freshmen (1 male, 1 female) with outstanding high school academic achievement and good citizenship.
AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityIncoming freshman with at least a 2.5 GPA, Christian character, proven leadership/service; priority to Christian Education or Pastoral Ministry majors.
AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityFreshman male with a GPA no less than 2.0 and no higher than 2.5 who exhibits commitment toward getting an education.
Unusual award targeted at students in the 2.0-2.5 GPA band.
AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityGraduating senior with financial need, 3.0+ GPA, academic excellence, leadership/citizenship; covers a remaining balance after the aid package.
Gap-funding for seniors, not an entering-student award.
AmountAmounts not publishedEligibilityMostly continuing students in specific majors (Teacher Education, Pastoral Ministry/Christian Education, Business, Sciences, English/Mass Communications, Music) with GPA floors typically 2.5-3.0; many require financial need, specific church/county ties, or organizational membership.
See the full list on the scholarships page; selection often by division chairs or donors.
Not published. The Presidential Scholars Program requires an application 'by the prescribed date,' but no date appears on the scholarships page (retrieved 2026-06-07; page banner labeled '2024-2025 Scholarship Opportunities'). Contact the Office of Financial Aid at (803) 934-3286 for current dates.
What is the biggest merit scholarship for freshmen?
The Luns C. Richardson Endowed Scholarship: $4,500 annually, renewable up to four years, for high school graduates with a 3.5+ GPA. The Presidential Scholars Program (top 25% of class) has no published amount.
Do I have to be full-time to keep a scholarship?
Yes — all scholarship recipients must be enrolled full-time for the award period unless otherwise specified.
How much does Morris College cost?
The website's fee schedule is posted as a 2025-2026 image (not machine-readable in this extraction); no 2026-2027 figures were found. Use the net price calculator or request the current schedule from the college.
See sources and other schools+
How Morris compares
665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Morris 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 Morris’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
