What is the scholarship deadline?

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.

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.

Morris College · South Carolina

Morris Merit Aid

Verified Jul 202625 days ago· COWORK

Merit tiers2See requirements

Last verifiedJul 2026Analyst COWORK

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Checking merit aid at Morris

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The merit-aid verdict at Morris

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.

Common merit-aid mistakes at Morris

Dropping to part-time and losing every scholarship.
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.'
Waiting for an automatic merit award.
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.
Assuming most endowed awards are open competitions.
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.
Budgeting from the website's cost figures.
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.
Moving off campus mid-semester and expecting a room/board refund.
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.'

Who this school is 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.

Federal cost and outcome data

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%

How to read these numbers

Net price and cost of attendance reflect only first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students who received federal Title IV financial aid — not Morris's full student body.
Published tuition is the catalog sticker price for all students, not a Title IV-only figure.
Graduation rate reflects the entire first-time, full-time, degree-seeking cohort — not only students who received Title IV aid.
Retention rate reflects all first-time, full-time, bachelor's-seeking students — not only Title IV aid recipients.
Median debt reflects only completers who took out federal student loans — not Morris's full graduating class, and not limited to first-time, full-time students.
Median earnings reflect Title IV aid recipients who entered college and were working (not enrolled) roughly a decade later — not necessarily the graduating cohort, and not a recent graduate's paycheck.
Pell grant and federal loan participation covers first-time, full-time, degree-seeking students only.
Net price blends need-based aid and merit aid together — it is not a merit-specific estimate. It shows what similar-income families actually paid on average after every kind of aid, not what a strong-stats student could win in merit dollars alone. Treat it as cost context, not a merit forecast — a MeritPlaybook models merit aid specifically for your student’s own stats, which this net-price figure cannot do.

None of this is current-year data — the U.S. Department of Education reports it on a delay, and different figures below come from different reporting years. Net price and cost of attendance are academic year 2021-22 figures. Published tuition reflects the 2022-23 academic year. Graduation rate reflects the Fall 2016 entering, full-time, first-time, degree/certificate-seeking cohort; completion measured within 150% of normal time (~6 years for a bachelor's degree). IPEDS Graduation Rates component (C150_4). Retention reflects the Fall 2021 full-time, first-time, bachelor's-seeking cohort retained into the following fall. IPEDS Fall Enrollment component (RET_FT4). Median debt reflects the NSLDS FY2020 and FY2021 pooled completer cohorts (GRAD_DEBT_MDN, GRAD_DEBT_MDN10YR_SUPP). Median earnings reflect the Treasury-matched cohort entering college in AY2009-10 or AY2010-11, earnings measured 10 years later in calendar years 2020 and 2021, inflation-adjusted to 2022 dollars (MD_EARN_WNE_P10).

Source: U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard.

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.

$4,500 annually

The Luns C. Richardson Endowed Scholarship

ApplicationRenewable

GPA: 3.5 or higher out of 4.0 (high school)

Requirements & details

Eligibility

Exceptional high school graduates; all scholarship recipients must be enrolled full-time for the award period.

Renewal terms

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.

Source

Amount not published

The Presidential Scholars Program

ApplicationRenewable

View requirements

Eligibility

Rank in the upper one-fourth of graduating class; admitted to Morris College; completed scholarship application submitted by the prescribed date (date not published).

Renewal terms

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.

Source

Lesser-known scholarships at Morris

Named awards that don’t always surface on the main financial aid page. Each one has its own eligibility rules.

The Vashti Jackson Smith Scholarship

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityTwo needy first-time freshmen (1 male, 1 female) with outstanding high school academic achievement and good citizenship.

Freshman-specific.

Source

The B. J. Whipper, Sr. Endowed Scholarship

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityIncoming freshman with at least a 2.5 GPA, Christian character, proven leadership/service; priority to Christian Education or Pastoral Ministry majors.

Freshman-specific.

Source

The Robert Gregory White Memorial Scholarship

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.

Source

Frazier Family Foundation Scholarship

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityMinimum of two freshmen from the Charleston Tri-County area with demonstrated financial need.

Geographic.

Source

The Patricia E. Hightower Memorial Scholarship

Amount$1,000-$1,500 annuallyEligibility2.5+ GPA; need; one-page essay on goals and aspirations submitted to the donor, who selects the recipient.

One of the few endowed awards with a published amount.

Source

The Reverend Arthur Walter Williams Scholarship

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityThe three rising sophomores with the highest Grade Point Averages.

Pure-merit continuing-student award.

Source

Morris College Trustee Scholarship

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.

Source

Dozens of additional endowed awards (Hearst, Arthur Vining Davis, Wachovia, McLaughlin, National Alumni, Clyburn family, etc.)

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.

Source

Morris merit aid FAQ

What is the scholarship deadline?
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.

How Morris compares across our verified dataset

668 of 750 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Morris is one of them. The cohort minority (82 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.

tierThe Luns C. Richardson Endowed Scholarship

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Keep exploring Morris merit aid

Morris four-year renewal rules — GPA floors, credit-hour pace, and the renewal cliffs that knock awards out by sophomore year.