DRAFT: PBA does not publish its Academic Merit grid (you must run the Net Price Calculator), but it layers a $2,500 Honors Scholarship (3.5W + 1270 SAT/26 ACT), the full-cost Farish Scholars award, Florida Bright Futures, and an unusual 9-semester renewal window — with institutional scholarships restricted to tuition and fees only.
Verified Jul 20262 months ago
The short answer
Is Palm Beach Atlantic worth a closer look?
Palm Beach Atlantic is worth checking if your student has strong grades or scores. We found 7 published awards, and one is based on those numbers.
Merit tiers71 based on grades or scores
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team
Free Merit Check
See what Palm Beach Atlantic's published rules mean for your student. Takes 30 seconds.
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.
Where you landAutomatic merit aid by ACT compositeEach bar marks the ACT score range that qualifies for the tier.
Honors Scholarship$2,500
ACT 26SAT 1270 · GPA Minimum 3.5 high school GPA (weighted)
2024283236
Not on this ladder:Academic Merit Scholarship, Farish Scholars Program, Florida Bright Futures — Florida Academic Scholars (FAS) at PBA, Florida Bright Futures — Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS) at PBA, Bebe Warren Scholars Program (Elementary Education), Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship (PTK) — application required, holistic, or scored on a different axis.
View as table
Tier
ACT composite
Award
Honors Scholarship
26
$2,500
Amount not published
Academic Merit Scholarship
Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
Dependent on high school/transfer GPA (no public grid)
See who qualifies and how to keep it+
Who qualifies
All full-time day undergraduate students; amount determined via the Net Price Calculator / admission review
How to keep it
Page-level: 'most renew for up to 9 semesters!' Specific renewal GPA not published on this page.
Notes
No dollar grid is published — PBA directs families to its Net Price Calculator. Institutional scholarships (Academic, Talent, Athletic, PBA Lead, Honors) 'are designated to defray the cost of tuition and fees only.'
$2,500 first year…$2,500 first year; $5,000 in years 2-4
Bebe Warren Scholars Program (Elementary Education)
Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies+
Who qualifies
Students majoring in Elementary Education with a desire to make a difference in children's lives; program encourages a student-teaching semester abroad senior year
How to keep it
Years 2-4 contingent on good standing: passing Candidacy, Professional Performance Review, Internship, and remaining an elementary education major.
Notes
Major-restricted: leaving elementary education ends the award.
These are the rules we would flag for your family. Each comes from Palm Beach Atlantic's published information.
Outside awardsNo published displacement order
Palm Beach Atlantic's policy doesn't specify whether outside scholarships hit loans, grants, or only the COA ceiling. Get a written aid-office answer before chasing private awards.
What families often miss
The page is explicit: institutional scholarships and grants 'including Academic, Talent, Athletic, PBA Lead, and Honors Scholarships, are designated to defray the cost of tuition and fees only.' With 2026-27 room ($8,200) and meals ($7,550) on top of $43,000 tuition + $1,550 fees, families must budget separately for living costs.
PBA publishes no Academic Merit amounts — 'Amounts vary' and the school directs families to the Net Price Calculator. Run it before assuming any figure.
Bright Futures requires submitting the Florida Financial Aid Application 'no later than August 31 after high school graduation' — miss it and the state award (worth $158-$211 per credit hour at PBA) is lost.
FAS requires a 3.0 cumulative GPA and 24 earned credits per year (FMS: 2.75 and 24 credits); falling short ends the state scholarship. FAS students also lose the $300 book stipend in summer terms.
Years 2-4 ($5,000/yr) require 'remaining an elementary education major' plus passing Candidacy, the Professional Performance Review, and Internship.
PBA's page says most scholarships 'renew for up to 9 semesters' — an unusual window worth confirming per award, since renewal GPAs are not published on the page.
Outside awards must be reported and mailed to the Financial Aid Office; without sponsor instructions 'the scholarship will automatically be split between the Fall and Spring semesters.'
See costs and school data+
Who this school may work for
DRAFT: Christian-college-minded students — especially Floridians who can layer Bright Futures ($158-$211/credit) and the EASE Grant on top of PBA merit; top students (3.5/1330+) should target the Farish Scholars interview for full tuition, fees, and room & board.
Published yearly cost: Approximately $60,300 for 2026-2027. Source
Cost and graduation facts
Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Palm Beach Atlantic, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.
Average annual net price by family income at Palm Beach Atlantic, academic year 2021-22
Family income
Average net price paid
$0–$30,000
$25,570
$30,001–$48,000
$25,312
$48,001–$75,000
$25,619
$75,001–$110,000
$26,244
$110,001+
$32,786
All income levels (average)
$28,354
Sticker price vs. what students actually pay
Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$40,650
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$28,354
That works out to roughly a 47% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $53,827 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).
Outcomes for students who enrolled here
Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
55%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
68%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$22,500 (~$239/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$49,232
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
30%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
55%
See other scholarships and cost examples+
If your student brings another scholarship
PBA does not publish an outside-scholarship displacement formula. Outside awards must be reported to the Financial Aid Office; checks are split between fall and spring by default unless the sponsor specifies otherwise. The page's key cap: institutional scholarships and grants (Academic, Talent, Athletic, PBA Lead, Honors) defray TUITION AND FEES ONLY — they cannot be applied to room and board.
Tuition-and-fees-only restriction on institutional merit; most awards renew up to 9 semesters; outside-scholarship handling is procedural (report, mail check, default 50/50 split). Whether outside money reduces institutional aid is not stated.
Other Palm Beach Atlantic scholarships worth checking
These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.
AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityIncoming freshmen who aspire to be leaders; includes a leadership-development program; contact admissions counselor.
Tuition-and-fees-only restriction applies (named in the institutional list).
Amount$2,000 per yearEligibilityIncoming freshmen meeting GPA and SAT/ACT requirements (thresholds not published) with a declared major in English, History, Politics, Pre-Law or Philosophy; students are notified if eligible to apply.
AmountAmounts varyEligibilityStudents in certain programs including business, nursing, music, education and more (separate departmental page; not opened).
AmountAmount not published on pages openedEligibilityFlorida state grant for residents attending eligible private institutions (separate page in scholarships nav; not opened).
AmountAmounts varyEligibilityRecruited student-athletes; Sunshine State Conference; tuition-and-fees-only restriction applies per the institutional list.
PBA publishes no deadline for the automatic Academic Merit Scholarship (awarded at admission). Key dates that ARE published: Florida residents must submit the FFAA for Bright Futures by August 31 after high school graduation, and the Universal Scholarship Application for endowed scholarships opens each Spring semester.
How much is the Academic Merit Scholarship?
Amounts are not published — the award 'is dependent on high school/transfer GPA,' and PBA says to 'Use our Net Price Calculator to determine your scholarship amount!'
What stats earn the Honors and Farish awards?
Honors Scholarship ($2,500/yr): minimum 3.5 weighted HS GPA plus 1270 SAT or 26 ACT. Farish Scholars (full tuition and fees plus traditional room and board for residents): minimum 3.5 GPA plus 1330 SAT, 29 ACT, or 89 CLT, extensive community involvement, and a competitive in-person interview.
What does PBA cost for 2026-27?
Published direct cost for day undergraduates: tuition $43,000 + fees $1,550 + room $8,200 + meals $7,550 = $60,300 total.
Can I use Florida state money at PBA?
Yes — Bright Futures pays $211/credit hour (Academic Scholars) or $158/credit hour (Medallion Scholars) at PBA, and the site also lists Florida's EASE Grant for residents at private institutions.
See sources and other schools+
How Palm Beach Atlantic compares
133 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use unclear or unpublished displacement.
Palm Beach Atlantic is in a recognizable cluster (133 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
133 of 749 verified schools publish no clear displacement order.
Palm Beach Atlantic is one of them. The right move is the aid-office email script below, not a guess.
665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Palm Beach Atlantic 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 Palm Beach Atlantic’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
