A private Church of Christ-affiliated university in Malibu, CA with a tiered merit system: the Regents Scholars Program ($40,000 to $45,000/year for the top 8-10% of admits who submit test scores), the George Pepperdine Achievement Award ($16,000 to $35,000/year, automatic for students with an unweighted GPA of 3.60 or higher), a $5,000/year Christian Leadership Award for Churches of Christ members, and Special Achievement scholarships up to $57,000/year in fine arts, science, and athletics.
Verified May 20261 month ago· PT
Merit tiers41 automatic on stats
Mid-50% SAT1330–1420CDS 2024-2025
Last verifiedMay 2026Analyst PT
Quick verdict
Worth optimizing for if your student clears the 3.60 GPA floor — but the headline upside depends on which Regents figure is real, and even the top tier is not a full ride.
Pepperdine's one broadly automatic merit play is the George Pepperdine Achievement Award: a 3.60 unweighted recalculated GPA guarantees at least $16,000/year toward tuition (tuition-only, prorated below full-time), with higher amounts up to $35,000 on holistic review. The Regents Scholars Program (top 8-10% of admits, test scores required) is competitive, not automatic — and Pepperdine's own pages conflict on its floor: one lists $40,000-$45,000/year, another lists $20,000/year. So the step over the Achievement floor is anywhere from +$4,000 to +$29,000/year depending on which is true. Regents also carries the harshest renewal term here: 3.25 cumulative Pepperdine GPA with no appeals process. Separately, departmental Special Achievement awards run up to $57,000/year and can exceed Regents. One award genuinely stacks: the Christian Leadership Award adds +$5,000/year for active Churches of Christ members, deadline Nov 1 (EA) / Feb 15 (RD). Outside awards are capped at the $99,260 COA.
Rules that bite at Pepperdine
The trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook. Each is derived from Pepperdine's own published policy, not generic advice.
cliffOne ACT point can move the award by +$16,000/yr (from $0 to George Pepperdine Achievement floor)
Pepperdine publishes a tier ladder where crossing Reaching the 3.60 GPA automatic floor changes the marginal value by +$16,000/yr (from $0 to George Pepperdine Achievement floor). The single broadly automatic award. Below 3.60, no automatic merit is promised. Applies to tuition only and prorates below full-time.
renewalRegents Scholars Program: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Renewable for four years (8 semesters). Requires 3.25 cumulative Pepperdine GPA, full-time enrollment, and no academic probation. There is no appeals process for loss of this scholarship. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.
capHard $99,260 cost-of-attendance ceiling
Institutional aid at Pepperdine cannot push the package past $99,260. Big outside wins can mathematically reduce institutional grant once the ceiling is reached.
Common merit-aid mistakes at Pepperdine
Pepperdine is test-optional for admission and for the George Pepperdine Achievement Award, but the Regents Scholars Program ($40,000-$45,000/year) explicitly requires SAT, ACT, or CLT scores. Students who do not submit scores are automatically excluded from Pepperdine's most competitive merit tier, which can mean a difference of $10,000-$29,000/year compared to the Achievement Award.
Students with an unweighted recalculated GPA of 3.60 or higher automatically receive at least $16,000/year. Many families underestimate Pepperdine's affordability because they see the $99,260 sticker price and assume no merit aid is forthcoming without a separate application. The automatic floor means competitive students know a minimum discount before they even apply.
Church of Christ families can combine the $5,000 Christian Leadership Award and the $5,000 PLP Helen Young Scholarship on top of the George Pepperdine Achievement Award or Regents Scholars Program. That is $10,000/year in faith-based aid that stacks with merit, but both require a recommendation from a church leader submitted by February 15. Families who miss the deadline or skip the recommendation leave this money on the table.
The Tuition Exchange Scholarship covers 80% of tuition and is not stackable with the George Pepperdine Achievement Award or the Pepperdine Grant. If your student qualifies for both Tuition Exchange and a merit award, they receive Tuition Exchange, not both. However, the Regents Scholarship does stack with Tuition Exchange up to the tuition cap, making the combination valuable for exceptionally strong applicants from TE-member institutions.
What your student's profile actually earns
Only the George Pepperdine Achievement Award is automatic on stats (3.60 GPA floor). Regents is competitive, Christian Leadership is faith-based and stackable, and Special Achievement awards are departmental. Pepperdine publishes no score-to-award table, so the test ranges shown are not award thresholds.
Student profile
Likely outcome
Churches of Christ member · any qualifying applicant
Christian Leadership Award — $5,000/yrThe one true additive stack: adds on top of Achievement or Regents. Requires a church-leader recommendation by Nov 1 (EA) / Feb 15 (RD).
George Pepperdine Achievement Award — $16,000/yrGuaranteed minimum at 3.60, applied to tuition only and prorated below full-time. No separate application; awarded at admission. Renewal needs only a 2.0 GPA.
Stronger GPA / rigor / fit (holistic, automatic-tier ceiling)
George Pepperdine Achievement Award — up to $35,000/yrHolistic, not a published stat threshold — the exact amount is not formula-driven. Treat as a range, not a guarantee.
Top 8-10% of admitted class · test scores submitted
Regents Scholars Program — $40,000 to $45,000/yrCompetitive, not automatic. Source conflict: another Pepperdine page lists this program starting at $20,000/yr. Harsh renewal: 3.25 cumulative GPA, no appeals. Cannot combine with the Achievement Award (student gets the higher one).
Fine arts, music, theatre, science, debate, or athletics talent
Special Achievement Scholarships — $500 to $57,000/yrDepartmental and supplemental. Includes the named Ubben Production Design award at $25,000/yr. The top of this range can exceed Regents. Fine Arts requires a supplemental application; renewal is at departmental discretion.
Where the dollars actually move
Only deltas between two named Pepperdine tiers are shown. Achievement-tier movement above the $16,000 floor is holistic, not a hard stat cliff. The Regents conflict is carried into the arithmetic with both an optimistic and a pessimistic figure.
Threshold
Marginal value
Reaching the 3.60 GPA automatic floor
+$16,000/yr (from $0 to George Pepperdine Achievement floor)The single broadly automatic award. Below 3.60, no automatic merit is promised. Applies to tuition only and prorates below full-time.
+$24,000/yr ($40,000 − $16,000)Largest step among the academic-merit tiers IF the $40,000 floor holds. Competitive (top 8-10%) and requires submitting test scores. These two awards are mutually exclusive, not stacking rungs.
+$4,000/yr ($20,000 − $16,000)If Pepperdine's other page ($20,000 start) is the real floor, the Regents step is smaller than the $5,000 Christian Leadership stack. The conflict is unresolved in the source.
Achievement floor → Regents ceiling (top tier)
+$29,000/yr ($45,000 − $16,000)The top of the academic-merit band, assuming the $40,000-$45,000 figures hold. Still well short of the $99,260 COA — not a full ride.
Adding the Christian Leadership Award on top of any merit tier
+$5,000/yr (stacks, does not replace)True additive stack per the award's own terms. Hard deadline: Nov 1 (EA) / Feb 15 (RD). Requires Churches of Christ membership.
Who this school is for
Families targeting a mid-size private university where holistic merit review rewards strong academics alongside faith-based community involvement. Pepperdine is test-optional for admission and for most merit awards, but the top-tier Regents Scholars Program requires SAT/ACT/CLT scores, making it one of the few scholarships where submitting scores is mandatory. The automatic $16,000 floor for students with a 3.60+ unweighted GPA gives families a guaranteed starting point before holistic factors push the award higher. Church of Christ families can stack the $5,000 Christian Leadership Award on top of merit aid for additional savings.
Cost of attendance$99,260 for 2026-2027Each bar is the full published cost for that scenario, sized against the highest figure so totals compare at a glance.
On-campus$99,260
$75K
$20K
Tuition & fees
Housing & food
Books
Travel
Personal
Loan fees
Private (Seaver). On-campus new student. Health insurance (~$2,724/yr, waivable) excluded from base. Components sum to official $99,260.
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.
$40,000 to $45,000/year
Regents Scholars Program
ApplicationRenewable
View requirements+
Eligibility
Competitive. Top 8-10% of the admitted first-year class. Evaluated on unweighted recalculated GPA and SAT/ACT/CLT scores. SAT/ACT/CLT submission is mandatory for Regents consideration even though Pepperdine is test-optional for general admission. All first-year applicants who submit scores are automatically considered; no separate application required. Notification at time of financial aid award.
Renewal terms
Renewable for four years (8 semesters). Requires 3.25 cumulative Pepperdine GPA, full-time enrollment, and no academic probation. There is no appeals process for loss of this scholarship.
Notes
Includes the Blanche E. Seaver Scholarship at the highest tier. The Regents Scholars Program also provides common first-year housing, a Great Books seminar, dinner events with the Dean and Board of Regents, academic conference funding, and peer mentoring through the Regents Scholars Student Board. Cannot be combined with the George Pepperdine Achievement Award (student receives the higher award). The financial aid types page lists the program as starting at $20,000/year, while the affordability page lists $40,000-$45,000/year; the difference may reflect lower Regents tiers versus the top Blanche E. Seaver tier.
3.60 unweighted recalculated GPA guarantees at least $16,000/year; higher amounts based on holistic review
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
Awarded at time of admission based on academic achievement and overall applicant strength. No separate application required. Test-optional: SAT/ACT scores are considered if submitted but not required. Higher awards go to students with stronger GPAs, greater academic rigor, or who demonstrate an excellent overall fit for Pepperdine.
Renewal terms
Renewable for four years. Requires minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA and Satisfactory Academic Progress. Award applies only to tuition charges and is prorated if enrollment drops below full-time.
Notes
This is the primary merit award for the broad middle of the admitted class. The 3.60 GPA floor means most competitive applicants receive at least $16,000 automatically. Transfer students with 30+ college units are eligible for $5,000 to $20,000/year. Cannot be combined with the Regents Scholars Program (student receives the higher award).
Must be an active member of a Churches of Christ congregation. Requires a letter of recommendation from a church leader (minister, elder, youth minister). Submit recommendation through the Pepperdine Application Portal by November 1 (Early Action) or February 15 (Regular Decision).
Renewal terms
Renewable for four years. Requires minimum 2.0 cumulative GPA and Satisfactory Academic Progress.
Notes
Stackable with other Pepperdine merit awards including the George Pepperdine Achievement Award and the Regents Scholars Program. This is one of the few faith-based awards at Pepperdine that adds on top of academic merit rather than replacing it.
Departmental scholarships in music, art, theatre, debate, science, and athletics. Fine Arts Division requires a supplemental application through the Pepperdine Application Portal. Natural Science Division does not require a separate application for entering students. Athletic scholarships are governed by NCAA Division I rules.
Renewal terms
Renewal at departmental discretion. Requires Satisfactory Academic Progress and may require maintaining a specific number of major-specific units.
Notes
The range is wide because it spans multiple departments. Theatre scholarships reach approximately 75% of theatre majors. The Ubben Endowed Scholarship for Production Design majors provides $25,000/year. Natural Science Division awards most scholarships to students who have completed 30+ units at Pepperdine, but offers a limited number of $1,000 entering-student scholarships.
Outside scholarships may exceed tuition and fees but cannot exceed the standard cost of attendance. The Regents Scholars Program and George Pepperdine Achievement Award cannot be combined (student receives the higher award). The Christian Leadership Award stacks on top of merit awards. The Tuition Exchange Scholarship replaces all other institutional grants and scholarships.
Pepperdine caps total financial aid at the published cost of attendance. Students must report all outside scholarships, grants, and loans to the Financial Assistance Office. For need-based institutional aid, Pepperdine states that aid 'may not in themselves, or when combined with state grants, exceed the need level (as calculated by the federal formula) or cost of tuition.' Outside scholarships are coordinated with need-based aid under the COA cap. Pepperdine does not publish either an order-of-operations sequence for how outside awards reduce specific aid components or a dollar-for-dollar displacement formula for merit awards when outside scholarships are added. The Tuition Exchange Scholarship (80% of tuition) is not stackable with the George Pepperdine Achievement Award or the Pepperdine Grant. The Church of Christ Reciprocal Tuition Remission (50% of tuition for children of employees at seven partner institutions) is stackable with the George Pepperdine Achievement Award, Regents Scholarship, and Pepperdine Grant.
Named awards that don’t always surface on the main financial aid page. Each one has its own eligibility rules.
Amount$5,000/yearEligibilityActive members of a Church of Christ congregation. Requires FAFSA submission, a Church of Christ leader recommendation, and the Helen Young Scholarship form by February 15. Notification by April 1.
Renewable annually with a 2.5 GPA. Recipients must participate in PLP events, maintain active Church of Christ involvement, and engage with campus ministry. Stackable with the Christian Leadership Award, meaning Church of Christ students can receive both for $10,000/year in faith-based aid on top of merit awards. Applicants who already submitted a Church of Christ leader recommendation for the Christian Leadership Award do not need to submit a separate recommendation for PLP.
Amount50% tuition scholarship (approximately $37,185/year at 2026-2027 rates)EligibilityChildren age 23 or under of employees at seven partner Church of Christ-affiliated institutions. Renewable up to five years.
Stackable with the George Pepperdine Achievement Award, Regents Scholarship, and Pepperdine Grant. This is an unusually generous institutional benefit that most families outside the Church of Christ higher-education network do not know about.
Amount80% of tuition (approximately $59,496/year at 2026-2027 rates)EligibilityChildren of faculty or staff at participating Tuition Exchange member institutions. Application deadline January 15; decisions by April 1. Renewable up to four years.
Not stackable with the George Pepperdine Achievement Award or Pepperdine Grant. If a student qualifies for both Tuition Exchange and merit aid, they receive the Tuition Exchange amount, which at 80% of Pepperdine's tuition is usually higher than most merit tiers. The Regents Scholarship is stackable with Tuition Exchange but total aid cannot exceed tuition.
Amount$25,000/yearEligibilityOutstanding student in the theatre production/design major. Requires Fine Arts supplemental application.
One of the largest named departmental awards. Approximately 75% of all theatre majors receive some theatre scholarship, making Pepperdine's theatre program unusually generous for a non-conservatory setting.
Amount$1,000/yearEligibilityExceptional entering or freshman students in Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, Natural Science, Nutrition, Physics, or Sports Medicine. No separate application; selected based on admission materials and faculty recommendation.
Limited number available. The Natural Science Division also awards larger scholarships to students who have completed 30+ units at Pepperdine with a 3.0 cumulative and 3.0 major GPA, so the real value of declaring a STEM major emerges after freshman year.
California Church of Christ student with a 3.85 unweighted GPA, 1410 SAT, who submits test scores and is selected as a Regents Scholar. Also receives the Christian Leadership Award and the PLP Helen Young Scholarship.
Net priceAid stack vs. $99,260 cost of attendanceEach segment is sized by its share of total COA. The amber segment is what the family actually pays after aid stacks.
$42K
$9.4K
$38K
$0$99,260 COA
62% covered by aid·$37,902 out of pocket
Regents Scholars ProgramMid-range of the $40,000-$45,000 Regents tier$42,000
Christian Leadership AwardChurch of Christ membership, stackable with Regents$5,000
PLP Helen Young ScholarshipChurch of Christ membership, stackable$5,000
Cal Grant A (estimated)California state grant for qualifying families$9,358
Total aidagainst $99,260 cost of attendance$61,358
Out of pocket$37,902
Pepperdine merit aid FAQ
Does Pepperdine require SAT or ACT scores for merit scholarships?
Only for the Regents Scholars Program ($40,000-$45,000/year), which requires SAT, ACT, or CLT scores. The George Pepperdine Achievement Award ($16,000-$35,000/year), the Blanche E. Seaver International Scholarship, and all other merit awards are test-optional. If a student submits scores, they are considered as part of holistic review for all awards; if they do not submit, they are still fully eligible for everything except Regents. Pepperdine superscores both the SAT and ACT.
What GPA does my student need to keep a Pepperdine merit scholarship?
It depends on the tier. Regents Scholars and Blanche E. Seaver Scholars must maintain a 3.25 cumulative Pepperdine GPA, full-time enrollment, and no academic probation, with no appeals process if the scholarship is lost. The George Pepperdine Achievement Award requires only a 2.0 cumulative GPA and Satisfactory Academic Progress. The Christian Leadership Award requires a 2.0 GPA, and the PLP Helen Young Scholarship requires a 2.5 GPA. All merit scholarships apply only to tuition charges and are prorated if a student drops below full-time enrollment.
Will outside scholarships reduce my student's Pepperdine merit award?
Pepperdine caps total aid at cost of attendance ($99,260 for 2026-2027 on-campus students). Outside scholarships must be reported to the Financial Assistance Office and are coordinated with need-based aid under the COA cap. Pepperdine does not publish a specific order-of-operations sequence for how outside awards reduce specific aid components, nor a dollar-for-dollar displacement formula for how outside scholarships interact with merit awards like the George Pepperdine Achievement Award. Contact the Financial Assistance Office at 310.506.4000 for your specific scenario.
How is the Regents Scholars Program different from the George Pepperdine Achievement Award?
The Regents Scholars Program is a competitive scholarship for the top 8-10% of admitted first-year students, worth $40,000-$45,000/year, requiring submitted test scores and a 3.25 GPA for renewal. The George Pepperdine Achievement Award is a broader merit award ($16,000-$35,000/year) that is automatic for students with a 3.60+ unweighted GPA, does not require test scores, and requires only a 2.0 GPA for renewal. Students cannot hold both; they receive the higher award. The Regents program also includes cohort housing, a Great Books seminar, and networking events with university leadership.
Can Church of Christ students stack faith-based and merit scholarships?
Yes. The $5,000 Christian Leadership Award and the $5,000 PLP Helen Young Scholarship are both available to active Church of Christ members and both stack on top of the George Pepperdine Achievement Award or the Regents Scholars Program. That is up to $10,000/year in faith-based aid layered on merit. Both require a recommendation from a Church of Christ leader. The Christian Leadership Award deadline matches admissions (November 1 EA or February 15 RD), and the Helen Young Scholarship form is due February 15. The Church of Christ Reciprocal Tuition Remission (50% tuition for children of employees at partner institutions) also stacks with merit awards.
How Pepperdine compares across our verified dataset
50 of 232 verified schools in our dataset use cost-of-attendance cap displacement.
Pepperdine is in a recognizable cluster (50 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
207 of 232 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Pepperdine is one of them. The cohort minority (25 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.
63 of 232 verified schools publish a marginal-value cliff table we can quantify.
Pepperdine is one of them. Most schools won't tell families what one ACT point is actually worth. At the schools that do, a strategic retake is sometimes mathematically more valuable than test-optional positioning.
Sources used on this page
Every claim is checked against Pepperdine’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
