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NAU award rules

Will the scholarship last four years at NAU?

We pulled the school’s grade, credit, and time limits into one place so you can see what it takes to keep the award.

Verified Jun 20263 months ago

The short answer

4 of 4 published awards are listed as renewable.

The exact rule can change by award. Check the award your student may receive before you count on the same amount every year.

What to do

Find the award name in the full research below. Save its grade, credit, and deadline rules with your college plan.

See every award rule, common mistake, and source

At a glance

Renewable tiers
4 of 4
One-time tiers
0
Tiers with published renewal terms
4
Renewal risk profile
moderate

Renewal risk profile

NAU's renewal bar is achievable for steady students but isn't generous. Most awards require a cumulative GPA in the 3.0–3.4 band plus full-time enrollment. Audit the strictest tier on this school's list before assuming the four-year value is locked in.

  • Freshman Tuition Scholarships — Arizona Residents: Full-time enrollment
  • Freshman Tuition Scholarships — WUE (Western Undergraduate Exchange): Full-time enrollment
  • Freshman Tuition Scholarships — Out-of-State (non-WUE): Full-time enrollment
  • Access2Excellence (A2E): See notes

Renewal terms by tier

  • Freshman Tuition Scholarships — Arizona Residents

    $2,500-$11,000 per year

    Entry requirements: Unweighted HS core GPA: Lumberjack Scholars 3.75-4.0 = $11,000/yr; President's 3.5-3.74 = $9,000/yr; Dean's with Distinction 3.4-3.49 = $6,500/yr; Dean's 3.0-3.39 = $5,000/yr; Opportunity Admitted-2.99 = $2,500/yr GPA · No test score required SAT · No test score required ACT

    To keep it: Renews automatically for three additional years (up to 4 years / 8 semesters) as long as the student maintains at least a 2.0 cumulative NAU GPA and stays enrolled full-time (12+ credits).

    Source: https://nau.edu/financial-aid/scholarships/freshman/

  • Freshman Tuition Scholarships — WUE (Western Undergraduate Exchange)

    $4,500-$8,500 per year

    Entry requirements: Unweighted HS core GPA: Excellence 3.75-4.0 = $8,500/yr; Gold 3.5-3.74 = $8,000/yr; Blue 3.0-3.49 = $7,000/yr; Opportunity Admitted-2.99 = $4,500/yr GPA · No test score required SAT · No test score required ACT

    To keep it: Renews automatically up to 4 years (8 semesters) with a 2.0+ cumulative NAU GPA and full-time enrollment.

    Source: https://nau.edu/financial-aid/scholarships/freshman/

  • Freshman Tuition Scholarships — Out-of-State (non-WUE)

    $10,000-$15,000 per year (Fall 2026)

    Entry requirements: Unweighted HS core GPA: President's Excellence 3.5-4.0 = $15,000/yr; President's 3.0-3.49 = $12,000/yr; Opportunity Admitted-2.99 = $10,000/yr GPA · No test score required SAT · No test score required ACT

    To keep it: Renews automatically up to 4 years (8 semesters) with a 2.0+ cumulative NAU GPA and full-time enrollment.

    Source: https://nau.edu/financial-aid/scholarships/freshman/

  • Access2Excellence (A2E)

    100% of tuition

    To keep it: Combination of funding including scholarships; renewal terms per A2E program (see Access2Excellence page).

    Source: https://nau.edu/financial-aid/scholarships/freshman/

How families lose this aid

  • Using a weighted or overall GPA to check your tier

    Award tiers are based on the unweighted high school CORE GPA (a specific subset of courses), not your weighted or overall GPA.

  • Forgetting the campus and enrollment conditions

    You must attend Flagstaff or a statewide campus (not online), enroll full-time (12+ credits), accept admission and pay the enrollment fee, and submit final HS transcripts; renewal requires a 2.0 cumulative NAU GPA and continued full-time enrollment.

Renewal questions families ask

What GPA is used?
The unweighted high school core GPA. Award tiers range from 'Admitted-2.99' up to '3.75-4.0' depending on residency grid.
How do I keep my scholarship?
It's renewable for up to 4 years (8 semesters) as long as you maintain at least a 2.0 cumulative NAU GPA and stay enrolled full-time (12+ credits per semester).

Rules that bite at NAU

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

  • Renewal ruleFreshman Tuition Scholarships — Arizona Residents: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

    Renews automatically for three additional years (up to 4 years / 8 semesters) as long as the student maintains at least a 2.0 cumulative NAU GPA and stays enrolled full-time (12+ credits). A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

How NAU compares across our verified dataset

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

    NAU 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 renewal claim is checked against NAU’s own published materials.

More on NAU merit aid