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Plymouth State University · New Hampshire

Plymouth State Merit Aid

Every admitted first-year student gets an automatic, published merit scholarship set purely by high-school GPA — $1,000-$7,000/yr for NH residents and $1,000-$14,000/yr for out-of-state/NEBHE students — and the award is locked at the admission-time GPA, not your final transcript.

Verified Jun 20264 days ago· CC
Merit tiers1210 automatic on stats
Last verifiedJun 2026Analyst CC

Rules that bite at Plymouth State

The trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook. Each is derived from Plymouth State's own published policy, not generic advice.

  • renewalPresidential Scholarship (First-Year): renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

    Renewable for up to three additional years (eight full-time fall and spring semesters total) at the awarded amount; requires a cumulative 3.0 GPA to renew. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

  • displacementNo published displacement order

    Plymouth State'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.

Common merit-aid mistakes at Plymouth State

  1. The award is set on your GPA 'at the time of decision' and is not adjusted based on your final GPA. Grades earned after the admission decision do not move you up the grid.

  2. The $11,000-$14,000 figures are the out-of-state/NEBHE amounts; non-resident tuition (~$23,380 for 2025-2026) is roughly double in-state, so a bigger headline scholarship does not mean a lower bill than a NH resident pays.

  3. It is tied to living in on-campus housing. A commuting student would not receive it, and it does not offset tuition the way the GPA merit tier does.

  4. The official visit must be completed no later than the February Open House before your year of entry. Visit after that and the one-time $1,000 award is gone.

  5. The $1,000 STEM award renews only while you stay enrolled as a full-time STEM major in an approved field with a 2.25 GPA. Switch out of the major and renewal ends.

  6. It is a state award that requires Pell eligibility — a need component — and is not part of PSU's automatic GPA merit grid.

Who this school is for

Out-of-state and NEBHE students who want a large, guaranteed, no-essay merit award driven entirely by an admission-time GPA grid; New England regional residents (MA, RI, ME, VT, CT, NJ, NY) who stack an automatic $2,000 regional award on top.

Institutional merit aid tiers

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.

$7,000/yr in-state…$7,000/yr in-state; $14,000/yr out-of-state/NEBHE

Presidential Scholarship (First-Year)

AutomaticRenewable
GPA
3.75-4.00 HS GPA
Requirements & details
Eligibility

First-year, full-time; awarded automatically at admission based on GPA at the time of decision

Renewal terms

Renewable for up to three additional years (eight full-time fall and spring semesters total) at the awarded amount; requires a cumulative 3.0 GPA to renew.

Notes

Highest first-year merit tier. The award is set on your GPA at the time of decision and is not adjusted to your final GPA. The $14,000 figure is the out-of-state/NEBHE amount; NEBHE (New England Regional) students separately pay a reduced regional tuition rate.

Source

$6,000/yr in-state…$6,000/yr in-state; $13,000/yr out-of-state/NEBHE

Dean's Scholarship (First-Year)

AutomaticRenewable
GPA
3.25-3.74 HS GPA
Requirements & details
Eligibility

First-year, full-time; awarded automatically at admission based on GPA at the time of decision

Renewal terms

Renewable for up to three additional years at the awarded amount; requires a cumulative 3.0 GPA to renew.

Notes

Set on admission-time GPA; not re-evaluated against your final transcript.

Source

$5,000/yr in-state…$5,000/yr in-state; $12,000/yr out-of-state/NEBHE

Aspire Scholarship (First-Year)

AutomaticRenewable
GPA
2.75-3.24 HS GPA
Requirements & details
Eligibility

First-year, full-time; awarded automatically at admission based on GPA at the time of decision

Renewal terms

Renewable for up to three additional years at the awarded amount; requires a cumulative 2.5 GPA to renew.

Notes

Set on admission-time GPA.

Source

$4,000/yr in-state…$4,000/yr in-state; $8,000/yr out-of-state/NEBHE

Promise Scholarship (First-Year)

AutomaticRenewable
GPA
2.50-2.74 HS GPA
Requirements & details
Eligibility

First-year, full-time; awarded automatically at admission based on GPA at the time of decision

Renewal terms

Renewable for up to three additional years at the awarded amount; requires a cumulative 2.25 GPA to renew.

Notes

Set on admission-time GPA.

Source

$2,000/yr in-state…$2,000/yr in-state; $4,000/yr out-of-state/NEBHE

Achieve Scholarship (First-Year)

AutomaticRenewable
GPA
2.25-2.49 HS GPA
Requirements & details
Eligibility

First-year, full-time; awarded automatically at admission based on GPA at the time of decision

Renewal terms

Renewable for up to three additional years at the awarded amount; renewal GPA not separately listed for the Achieve tier on the page.

Notes

Set on admission-time GPA. The page lists renewal GPAs for Presidential/Dean's (3.0), Aspire (2.5), and Promise/Strive (2.25) but does not state a separate Achieve renewal GPA — confirm with the aid office.

Source

$1,000/yr

Strive Scholarship (First-Year)

AutomaticRenewable
GPA
Below 2.24 HS GPA
Requirements & details
Eligibility

First-year, full-time; awarded automatically at admission based on GPA at the time of decision

Renewal terms

Renewable for up to three additional years at the awarded amount; NH Strive requires a cumulative 2.25 GPA to renew.

Notes

Lowest first-year tier; the page shows $1,000 for this tier for both in-state and out-of-state.

Source

$2,000/yr

On-Campus Housing Scholarship

AutomaticRenewable
View requirements
Eligibility

First-year and transfer students who live in on-campus housing

Renewal terms

Stated as a per-year award for first-year and transfer students; specific renewal terms not detailed on the page.

Notes

Stacks on top of the GPA-based merit tier. Tied to living in PSU housing — a commuter would not receive it.

Source

$2,000/yr

Bay and Ocean States Scholarship

AutomaticRenewable
View requirements
Eligibility

First-year, full-time residents of Massachusetts or Rhode Island; no separate application required

Renewal terms

Renewal terms not stated on the page.

Notes

Automatic regional award; stacks on top of the GPA merit tier. No scholarship application is required.

Source

$2,000/yr

North Woods Connection

AutomaticRenewable
View requirements
Eligibility

First-year, full-time residents of Maine or Vermont; no separate application required

Renewal terms

Renewal terms not stated on the page.

Notes

Automatic regional award; stacks on top of the GPA merit tier.

Source

$2,000/yr

Tri-State Scholarship

AutomaticRenewable
View requirements
Eligibility

First-year, full-time residents of Connecticut, New Jersey, or New York

Renewal terms

Renewal terms not stated on the page.

Notes

Automatic regional award; stacks on top of the GPA merit tier.

Source

$1,000 (one-time, first year)

PSU Visit Scholarship

Application
View requirements
Eligibility

Complete an 'official' campus visit no later than the February Open House preceding the year of entry

Notes

Deadline-gated: the visit must be completed by the February Open House before enrollment. Applies to first-year tuition only — a one-time award, not the per-year merit tiers. Easy to miss by visiting too late.

Source

$1,000/yr

STEM Scholarship

ApplicationRenewable
GPA
Maintain 2.25 cumulative GPA to renew
Requirements & details
Eligibility

Accepted, incoming first-year student who has declared an approved STEM major (Biochemistry, Biology, Cell & Molecular Biology, Chemistry, Climate Studies, Computer Science, Environmental Biology, Environmental Science & Policy, Forensic Science, Game Design, Information Technology, Mathematical Data Sciences, Mathematics, Meteorology, or Robotics)

Renewal terms

Renewable for three additional years if a cumulative 2.25 GPA is maintained and the student remains enrolled as a full-time STEM major.

Notes

Award depends on declaring and staying in an approved STEM major; switching out of the major ends renewal.

Source

Outside scholarship stacking policy

PSU's own awards layer automatically: every admit gets the GPA-based merit tier, and the $2,000 On-Campus Housing Scholarship plus an automatic $2,000 regional award (Bay and Ocean States / North Woods Connection / Tri-State) and the $1,000 STEM and $1,000 Visit awards are presented as additional, additive scholarships. No published rule was found describing how third-party OUTSIDE scholarships displace PSU institutional aid.

The institutional awards are presented as separate line items a student receives in addition to the GPA merit tier, which reads as additive PSU-to-PSU stacking. The page on outside scholarships encourages students to pursue external awards but does not state whether outside money reduces PSU merit aid, need-based aid, or self-help — so the outside-displacement behavior is not published.

Source

Lesser-known scholarships at Plymouth State

Named awards that don’t always surface on the main financial aid page. Each one has its own eligibility rules.

Amount$2,000/yr (NH Scholars) or $1,000/yr for up to four years (others)EligibilityNew Hampshire residents; Pell-eligible; additional state eligibility criteria. NH Scholars designation gets the higher amount.

A state-funded award, not pure institutional merit; tied to Pell eligibility (a need component). NH Scholars renew at 2.5 GPA; others at 2.0 GPA.

Source

Amount$1,000EligibilityPhi Theta Kappa members (transfer students); requires a 3.0 entry GPA. Limited number of awards (stated as ten $1,000 scholarships).

Transfer-oriented; renews at 2.5 GPA. Separate from the first-year GPA merit grid.

Source

Plymouth State merit aid FAQ

  • Do I have to apply separately for the merit scholarship?

    No. All students are considered automatically for a merit scholarship based on their GPA at the time of admission. The automatic regional awards (Bay and Ocean States, North Woods Connection, Tri-State) also require no separate application.

  • How long does the merit scholarship last?

    It is renewable for up to three additional years at the awarded amount — a total of eight full-time fall and spring semesters — as long as you maintain the required cumulative GPA (3.0 for Presidential/Dean's, 2.5 for Aspire, 2.25 for Promise/Strive).

  • Can the merit award increase if my final GPA is higher?

    No. Scholarships are awarded based on your GPA at the time of decision and are not adjusted based on your final GPA.

  • Can I stack PSU scholarships?

    PSU's own awards appear additive — the GPA merit tier plus the $2,000 On-Campus Housing Scholarship, an automatic $2,000 regional award, and the STEM/Visit awards are listed as separate scholarships you receive in addition to the merit tier. How third-party OUTSIDE scholarships affect PSU aid is not published; ask the aid office.

How Plymouth State compares across our verified dataset

  • 199 of 751 verified schools in our dataset use unclear or unpublished displacement.

    Plymouth State is in a recognizable cluster (199 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

  • 199 of 751 verified schools publish no clear displacement order.

    Plymouth State is one of them. The right move is the aid-office email script below, not a guess.

  • 669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

    Plymouth State 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.

Sources used on this page

Every claim is checked against Plymouth State’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

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