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North Carolina A&T State University · North Carolina

North Carolina A&T scholarships and merit aid

NC A&T's headline money is its four competitive full-ride awards (Cheatham-White, Dowdy, February One, National Alumni) routed through one Honors College application; broader 'Merit Scholarships' are automatic on the admission application but the university does not publish their dollar amounts.

Verified Jul 20262 months ago

The short answer

Is North Carolina A&T worth a closer look?

North Carolina A&T awards automatic merit on admission. North Carolina A&T does not publish a GPA or test chart, so you cannot self-calculate the dollars.

Merit tiers51 based on grades or scores
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.

Full ride: tuition…Full ride: tuition, student fees, housing, meals, textbooks, a laptop computer, supplies, travel and personal expenses (amount not published as a flat dollar figure)

Cheatham-White Scholarship (Honors Distinguished Scholars Program)

Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
Minimum 4.00 or higher weighted cumulative GPA
SAT
1280 (test optional)
ACT
28 (test optional)
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Apply as a first-year freshman for fall; submit the Honors College application with a school or self-endorsed nomination; U.S. citizen or permanent resident; on course to graduate the spring before college; exceptional character/leadership, extracurricular involvement, and commitment to service. Financial need is not a consideration.

How to keep it

Renewable contingent on maintaining a 3.5 cumulative GPA annually, enrolling full time each semester and earning a minimum 30 credit hours each academic year, and maintaining membership and active participation in the Honors College.

Notes

Competitive, holistic full-ride — NOT automatic. One Honors College application (by the Nov 15 priority deadline) considers a student for all three Honors Distinguished Scholars awards (Cheatham-White, Dowdy, February One); a recipient is selected for only one. Cheatham-White also funds four summers of enrichment that may include international travel. The university publishes the coverage list but no single flat dollar amount, so 'amount' captures coverage rather than a figure.

Source

Full ride: tuition and related fees…Full ride: tuition and related fees, room and board (amount not published as a flat dollar figure)

Lewis and Elizabeth Dowdy Scholarship (Honors Distinguished Scholars Program)

Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
Minimum 3.75 weighted cumulative GPA (per the Honors Distinguished Scholars recruitment materials)
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Entering freshman who has shown excellence in academics and scholarly leadership during high school; competitive Honors College application required.

How to keep it

Described as a 4-year renewable scholarship, contingent upon meeting renewal requirements each year. Specific renewal GPA is not stated on the freshman-scholarships page (the Honors Distinguished Scholars full-ride awards require maintaining a 3.5 cumulative GPA, per the Cheatham-White page).

Notes

Competitive, holistic full-ride — NOT automatic. Considered through the same single Honors College application as Cheatham-White and February One, by the Nov 15 priority deadline. The freshman-scholarships page states coverage as 'tuition and related fees, room and board'; no flat dollar figure is published. GPA minimum (3.75 weighted) comes from NC A&T Honors Distinguished Scholars recruitment material rather than the scholarship landing page itself — confirm with the Honors College.

Source

Full ride: tuition…Full ride: tuition, student fees, housing, and meals (amount not published as a flat dollar figure)

February One Scholarship (Honors Distinguished Scholars Program)

Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
Minimum 3.75 weighted cumulative GPA (per the Honors Distinguished Scholars recruitment materials)
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Honors College application required; honors the legacy of the A&T Four (1960 Greensboro Sit-In); supports students committed to social justice, civic leadership, and transformative impact.

How to keep it

Honors Distinguished Scholars full-ride awards require maintaining a 3.5 cumulative GPA annually and full-time enrollment with 30 credit hours/year (per the Cheatham-White renewal terms); February One-specific renewal text was not separately confirmed on an official page.

Notes

Competitive, holistic full-ride — NOT automatic. Bundled into the same single Honors College application (Nov 15 priority deadline). Coverage (tuition, fees, housing, meals) is described on the Honors College scholarships page; no flat dollar figure published. GPA minimum (3.75 weighted) is from NC A&T recruitment material, not a standalone scholarship page — confirm with the Honors College.

Source

Full tuition…Full tuition, related fees, room, and board (amount not published as a flat dollar figure)

National Alumni Scholarship

Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
Minimum 3.75 GPA on a 4.0 scale
SAT
Optional for 2026-2027
ACT
Optional for 2026-2027
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Two (2) typed and signed letters of recommendation. Separate application window: November 1 – January 10.

How to keep it

Renewable for up to four (4) years, contingent on meeting yearly renewal requirements.

Notes

Competitive — NOT automatic. Funded by the NC A&T National Alumni Association; covers full tuition, related fees, room, and board, renewable up to four years. Has its own application window (Nov 1 – Jan 10) separate from the Honors Distinguished Scholars program. ACT/SAT are optional for the 2026-2027 cycle.

Source

Amount not published…Amount not published (criteria varies and dependent upon funding)

Merit Scholarships (automatic on the admission application)

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Awarded based solely on academic achievement reflected within the admissions application; the admission application serves as the application (no separate application). Completed admissions application on file by November 1st for priority scholarship consideration.

How to keep it

Renewal terms not published on the freshman-scholarships page.

Notes

This is the closest thing NC A&T publishes to an automatic-merit award: the admission application IS the application and incoming freshmen are automatically considered once admitted. CRITICAL: the university explicitly states 'Merit award criteria varies and dependent upon funding,' and publishes NO dollar amounts, GPA cutoffs, or award grid. Do not present a number — there is none on the official page. File the admission application by Nov 1 for priority consideration.

Source

See what could change an award

Rules that could change the answer

These are the rules we would flag for your family. Each comes from North Carolina A&T's published information.

  • Renewal ruleCheatham-White Scholarship (Honors Distinguished Scholars Program): renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

    Renewable contingent on maintaining a 3.5 cumulative GPA annually, enrolling full time each semester and earning a minimum 30 credit hours each academic year, and maintaining membership and active participation in the Honors College. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

  • Aid capHard $28,519 cost-of-attendance ceiling

    Institutional aid at North Carolina A&T cannot push the package past $28,519. Big outside wins can mathematically reduce institutional grant once the ceiling is reached.

What families often miss

  1. They are competitive and holistic, awarded through the Honors College via a SEPARATE application (school or self-endorsed nomination, two letters of recommendation, finalist interviews at Honors Weekend) by the November 15 priority deadline. Meeting the 4.0/3.75 GPA floor only makes you eligible to apply — it does not award the scholarship.

  2. Incoming freshmen are automatically considered for Merit Scholarships once admitted (no separate application), but NC A&T explicitly says 'Merit award criteria varies and dependent upon funding' and publishes no amount, GPA grid, or guaranteed floor. There is no published automatic-merit dollar table the way some private colleges have.

  3. A completed admissions application must be on file by November 1 for priority Merit scholarship consideration, and the Honors College application is due November 15 for the full-ride Distinguished Scholars awards. The National Alumni Scholarship has its own Nov 1 – Jan 10 window. Late applicants lose priority consideration.

  4. NC A&T states 'University based awards will not be reduced by external awards received from entities such as high schools, churches, fraternities/sororities, etc.' But total aid can't exceed COA, and your federal/state/need-based aid is what gets reduced first to prevent an over-award — so an outside scholarship often displaces your own need-based aid rather than putting extra cash in your pocket.

  5. The in-state 2025-2026 tuition line is only $3,540, but the full on-campus in-state Cost of Attendance TOTAL is $28,519.19 (tuition $3,540 + fees $3,273 + insurance $2,453.60 + housing $9,148.59 + food $4,224 + books $1,600 + transportation $1,780 + personal $2,500). Out-of-state on-campus COA is $43,243.19.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

High-achieving students (4.0/3.75 weighted GPA, top of class) who can win a competitive, holistic full-ride at an HBCU land-grant university; also a strong automatic-consideration value play for solid applicants who file early, though NC A&T does not publish a guaranteed merit grid.

Published yearly cost: Approximately $28,519 for 2025-2026. Source

Cost and graduation facts

Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at North Carolina A&T, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.

Average annual net price by family income at North Carolina A&T, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$8,223
$30,001–$48,000$9,462
$48,001–$75,000$11,973
$75,001–$110,000$16,454
$110,001+$17,311
All income levels (average)$10,846

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$6,813
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$20,673
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$10,846

That works out to roughly a 47% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $20,427 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

North Carolina A&T is a public school; Scorecard's net price figure covers in-state, Title-IV-aid-recipient payers only — there is no comparable federal figure for out-of-state students.

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
57%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
78%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$27,000 (~$286/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$44,440
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
60%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
59%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

NC A&T explicitly states that University-based awards will NOT be reduced by external (outside) awards from entities such as high schools, churches, or fraternities/sororities. However, total aid (federal, state, institutional, and external) cannot exceed the total Cost of Attendance, and federal/state assistance may be reduced to prevent an over-award. Outside scholarships may affect need-based aid.

Per the official Financial Aid Information Guide: institutional scholarships are protected from external-award displacement, but the total package is capped at COA and federal/state aid (need-based) is what gets reduced to avoid an over-award. The current-student scholarships page separately warns that outside scholarships 'may affect the amount of need-based financial aid you are allowed to receive.' Net effect: an outside award is more likely to displace your own federal/state/need-based aid than your NC A&T merit scholarship, and any aid above COA is reduced/returned.

Source

Other North Carolina A&T scholarships worth checking

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

AmountVariesEligibilityEstablished through private donations to the University; first preference to students who complete an application between February 1st and March 15th.

Applied for through the university scholarship process (Aggie Scholarship Application Portal / ASAP); amounts and criteria vary by fund. Separate Feb 1 – Mar 15 priority window.

Source

AmountVariesEligibilityAdministered within academic (and athletic) departments; contact the academic department directly.

More than 300 A&T scholarship funds are referenced by the university; most are department-administered. Not a single automatic award.

Source

North Carolina A&T merit aid FAQ

  • What are the scholarship deadlines at NC A&T?

    File your admissions application by November 1 for priority Merit scholarship consideration. The Honors College application for the full-ride Distinguished Scholars awards (Cheatham-White, Dowdy, February One) is due November 15. The National Alumni Scholarship has a separate Nov 1 – Jan 10 window, and Endowed scholarships have a Feb 1 – Mar 15 priority window.

  • Is the Cheatham-White Scholarship automatic if I have a 4.0?

    No. A 4.0 weighted cumulative GPA (and 1280 SAT / 28 ACT, test-optional) only makes you eligible to apply. The award is competitive and holistic — you must submit the Honors College application with a nomination and two letters, and finalists interview at Honors Weekend. It is renewable if you keep a 3.5 cumulative GPA and stay active in the Honors College.

  • Does NC A&T publish guaranteed merit scholarship amounts?

    No. The university says Merit award 'criteria varies and dependent upon funding' and does not publish dollar amounts or a GPA grid for its general merit scholarships. The named full-ride awards (Cheatham-White, Dowdy, February One, National Alumni) describe their coverage but not a single flat dollar figure.

  • If I win an outside scholarship, will it cut my NC A&T scholarship?

    NC A&T says University-based awards will not be reduced by external awards from high schools, churches, fraternities/sororities, etc. However, your total aid can't exceed the Cost of Attendance, and federal/state (need-based) aid may be reduced to prevent an over-award. Report all outside awards to the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships.

See sources and other schools

How North Carolina A&T compares

  • 235 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use cost-of-attendance cap displacement.

    North Carolina A&T is in a recognizable cluster (235 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

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

    North Carolina A&T 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 North Carolina A&T’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

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