What GPA do I need for each Ouachita merit tier?

Founder's needs a 3.85-4.0 HS GPA ($68,000), Dean's 3.55-3.849 ($60,000), Collegiate 3.00-3.549 ($48,000), and the Opportunity Award 2.00-2.999 ($20,000). The President's Scholarship ($80,000) also requires a minimum 26 ACT and is based on an ACT-and-GPA combination. GPA is measured through your 7th high-school semester.

Do I need to keep a certain GPA to renew?

Yes. 'A 2.00 cumulative GPA is required to maintain scholarship eligibility each year,' and awards run up to a maximum of eight semesters (the residential component of your first degree).

Ouachita Baptist· Renewal Rules

Keeping Ouachita Baptist’s Merit Aid for Four Years

What the financial-aid office actually requires after freshman year: minimum GPA, credit-hour pace, and the cliffs that quietly downgrade families mid-degree.

Verified Jun 20268 days ago· CC

At a glance

Renewable tiers: 12 of 12
One-time tiers: 0
Tiers with published renewal terms: 12
Renewal risk profile: moderate

Renewal risk profile

Ouachita Baptist'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.

President's Scholarship: 2.00 GPA
Founder's Scholarship: 2.00 GPA
Dean's Scholarship: 2.00 GPA
Collegiate Scholarship: 2.00 GPA
Opportunity Award: 2.00 GPA
Transfer Scholarship: 2.0 GPA
National Merit Ouachita Baptist University Scholarship: See notes
Missionary Dependent Award: See notes
Minister's Child and Spouse Award: 2.0 GPA
Legacy Award: 2.0 GPA
Talent / Performing Arts Scholarships (Art & Design, Band, Theatre Arts): 2.0 GPA
Athletic Scholarship: See notes

Renewal terms by tier

President's Scholarship
$80,000 4-year value ($20,000/year)
Entry requirements: Potential eligibility based upon ACT and GPA combination (see OBU scholarship calculator) GPA · Minimum ACT score of 26 required ACT
To keep it: A 2.00 cumulative GPA is required to maintain scholarship eligibility each year. Awarded up to a maximum of eight semesters (residential component of the first degree).
Source: https://obu.edu/finaid/tuition-value/obu.php
Founder's Scholarship
$68,000 4-year value ($17,000/year)
Entry requirements: High school GPA of 3.85-4.0 GPA
To keep it: A 2.00 cumulative GPA is required to maintain scholarship eligibility each year. Awarded up to a maximum of eight semesters.
Source: https://obu.edu/finaid/tuition-value/obu.php
Dean's Scholarship
$60,000 4-year value ($15,000/year)
Entry requirements: High school GPA of 3.55-3.849 GPA
To keep it: A 2.00 cumulative GPA is required to maintain scholarship eligibility each year. Awarded up to a maximum of eight semesters.
Source: https://obu.edu/finaid/tuition-value/obu.php
Collegiate Scholarship
$48,000 4-year value ($12,000/year)
Entry requirements: High school GPA of 3.00-3.549 GPA
To keep it: A 2.00 cumulative GPA is required to maintain scholarship eligibility each year. Awarded up to a maximum of eight semesters.
Source: https://obu.edu/finaid/tuition-value/obu.php
Opportunity Award
$20,000 4-year value ($5,000/year)
Entry requirements: High school GPA of 2.00-2.999 GPA
To keep it: A 2.00 cumulative GPA is required to maintain scholarship eligibility each year. Awarded up to a maximum of eight semesters.
Source: https://obu.edu/finaid/tuition-value/obu.php
Transfer Scholarship
$5,000-$12,500 per year
Entry requirements: Transfer GPA tiers: above 3.5 = $12,500/yr; 3.0-3.49 = $10,000/yr; 2.5-2.99 = $7,500/yr; 2.0-2.49 = $5,000/yr GPA
To keep it: 2.0 cumulative GPA required to maintain; available up to eight semesters, less prior full-time semesters attended at another institution.
Source: https://obu.edu/finaid/tuition-value/obu.php
National Merit Ouachita Baptist University Scholarship
Minimum of three $1,000 awards per year
To keep it: Renewal terms not stated on the page.
Source: https://obu.edu/finaid/tuition-value/obu.php
Missionary Dependent Award
$5,000 per year
To keep it: Renewable over four years.
Source: https://obu.edu/finaid/tuition-value/obu.php
Minister's Child and Spouse Award
$2,000 per year
To keep it: 2.0 cumulative GPA to maintain.
Source: https://obu.edu/finaid/tuition-value/obu.php
Legacy Award
$1,000 per year
To keep it: 2.0 cumulative GPA to maintain.
Source: https://obu.edu/finaid/tuition-value/obu.php
Talent / Performing Arts Scholarships (Art & Design, Band, Theatre Arts)
Up to $3,000 per year (each)
To keep it: Awarded for a maximum of eight semesters; Band requires a 2.0 cumulative GPA to maintain.
Source: https://obu.edu/finaid/tuition-value/obu.php
Athletic Scholarship
Up to tuition, fees, housing and food per year
To keep it: Terms set by individual coaches; awarded for a maximum of eight semesters.
Source: https://obu.edu/finaid/tuition-value/obu.php

How families lose this aid

Assuming a 26 ACT alone guarantees the $80,000 President's Scholarship.
The President's Scholarship is the only tier that requires a test score, but the page says eligibility is 'based upon ACT and GPA combination' — a 26 is the minimum to be considered, not a guarantee. Run the official OBU scholarship calculator to see your actual level.
Counting on grades after the 7th semester to bump your tier.
Awards are 'awarded to incoming first-time freshmen based on their high school GPA through the seventh semester of study,' calculated by the OBU Registrar at the time of admission. A strong final senior semester does not raise your locked-in tier.

Renewal questions families ask

What GPA do I need for each Ouachita merit tier?: Founder's needs a 3.85-4.0 HS GPA ($68,000), Dean's 3.55-3.849 ($60,000), Collegiate 3.00-3.549 ($48,000), and the Opportunity Award 2.00-2.999 ($20,000). The President's Scholarship ($80,000) also requires a minimum 26 ACT and is based on an ACT-and-GPA combination. GPA is measured through your 7th high-school semester.
Do I need to keep a certain GPA to renew?: Yes. 'A 2.00 cumulative GPA is required to maintain scholarship eligibility each year,' and awards run up to a maximum of eight semesters (the residential component of your first degree).

Rules that bite at Ouachita Baptist

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

renewalTransfer Scholarship: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
2.0 cumulative GPA required to maintain; available up to eight semesters, less prior full-time semesters attended at another institution. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

How Ouachita Baptist compares across our verified dataset

669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Ouachita Baptist 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.
133 of 751 verified schools publish a dedicated National Merit Finalist package.
Ouachita Baptist is one of them. NMF packages typically carry their own stacking and renewal carve-outs separate from the standard automatic merit ladder; confirm those before assuming the headline NMF value is final.

Sources used on this page

Every renewal claim is checked against Ouachita Baptist’s own published materials.