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Plymouth State scholarships and merit aid

The short answer

Plymouth State is worth checking if your student has strong grades or scores. We found 12 published awards, and 10 are based on those numbers.

Where does your student land?

Verified Jul 2026
3 school sources to explore

Published rules, with the school sources close at hand. Confirm the details before you count on an award.

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The award collection

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 does your student land?

  1. Presidential Scholarship (First-Year)$7,000/yr in-state; $14,000/yr out-of-state/NEBHEAutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Presidential Scholarship (First-Year)

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

    Published award termsAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3.75-4.00 HS GPA
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Presidential Scholarship (First-Year)

    Who qualifies

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

    How to keep it

    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.

    Worth knowing

    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.

  2. Dean's Scholarship (First-Year)$6,000/yr in-state; $13,000/yr out-of-state/NEBHEAutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Dean's Scholarship (First-Year)

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

    Published award termsAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3.25-3.74 HS GPA
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Dean's Scholarship (First-Year)

    Who qualifies

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

    How to keep it

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

    Worth knowing

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

  3. Aspire Scholarship (First-Year)$5,000/yr in-state; $12,000/yr out-of-state/NEBHEAutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Aspire Scholarship (First-Year)

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

    Published award termsAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    2.75-3.24 HS GPA
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Aspire Scholarship (First-Year)

    Who qualifies

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

    How to keep it

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

    Worth knowing

    Set on admission-time GPA.

  4. Promise Scholarship (First-Year)$4,000/yr in-state; $8,000/yr out-of-state/NEBHEAutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Promise Scholarship (First-Year)

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

    Published award termsAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    2.50-2.74 HS GPA
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Promise Scholarship (First-Year)

    Who qualifies

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

    How to keep it

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

    Worth knowing

    Set on admission-time GPA.

  5. Achieve Scholarship (First-Year)$2,000/yr in-state; $4,000/yr out-of-state/NEBHEAutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Achieve Scholarship (First-Year)

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

    Published award termsAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    2.25-2.49 HS GPA
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Achieve Scholarship (First-Year)

    Who qualifies

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

    How to keep it

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

    Worth knowing

    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.

  6. Strive Scholarship (First-Year)$1,000/yrAutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Strive Scholarship (First-Year)

    $1,000/yr

    Published amountAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    Below 2.24 HS GPA
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Strive Scholarship (First-Year)

    Who qualifies

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

    How to keep it

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

    Worth knowing

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

  7. On-Campus Housing Scholarship$2,000/yrAutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    On-Campus Housing Scholarship

    $2,000/yr

    Published amountAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for On-Campus Housing Scholarship

    Who qualifies

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

    How to keep it

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

    Worth knowing

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

  8. Bay and Ocean States Scholarship$2,000/yrAutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Bay and Ocean States Scholarship

    $2,000/yr

    Published amountAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Bay and Ocean States Scholarship

    Who qualifies

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

    How to keep it

    Renewal terms not stated on the page.

    Worth knowing

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

  9. North Woods Connection$2,000/yrAutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    North Woods Connection

    $2,000/yr

    Published amountAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for North Woods Connection

    Who qualifies

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

    How to keep it

    Renewal terms not stated on the page.

    Worth knowing

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

  10. Tri-State Scholarship$2,000/yrAutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Tri-State Scholarship

    $2,000/yr

    Published amountAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Tri-State Scholarship

    Who qualifies

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

    How to keep it

    Renewal terms not stated on the page.

    Worth knowing

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

  11. PSU Visit Scholarship$1,000 (one-time, first year)Not automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    PSU Visit Scholarship

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

    Published award termsNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    Open award details for PSU Visit Scholarship

    Who qualifies

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

    Renewal terms

    One-time award toward first-year tuition; not described as renewable.

    Worth knowing

    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.

  12. STEM Scholarship$1,000/yrNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    STEM Scholarship

    $1,000/yr

    Published amountNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    Maintain 2.25 cumulative GPA to renew
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for STEM Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    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)

    How to keep it

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

    Worth knowing

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

Lights up against Plymouth State's published cutoffs. Not an award offer; confirm with the financial aid office. Award terms and residency rules change; some awards differ for in-state and out-of-state students. Always confirm at the school’s source page.

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  • “it told me what to ask and what the renewal GPA looked like, which I was not going to find on my own”Melissa

The fine print

Renewal rulePresidential 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.

What makes Plymouth State different

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.

Merit tiers1210 based on grades or scores
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team

More than one award path

Separate the two paths.

Some awards use published academic thresholds. Others have different selection criteria. A score chart does not describe every award at this school.

  1. Match the published criteria

    Use all requirements together, including residency and the entering class.

  2. Check the application dates

    Confirm the current admission and scholarship deadlines directly with the school.

  3. Know what happens next year

    Check renewal, credit requirements and how other aid affects the award.

The fine print / Three questions to carry forward

Before you count on it.

Does it apply to us? Confirm the entering year, residency and every eligibility condition.

Can we keep it? Check renewal GPA, credits and how long the award lasts.

Can we combine it? Ask how outside scholarships and other school awards change the offer.

Take Plymouth State's decision sheet

A printable research summary, source links and room for your questions.

See what could change an award

What families often miss

  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.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work 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.

Cost and graduation facts

Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Plymouth State, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.

Average annual net price by family income at Plymouth State, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$14,676
$30,001–$48,000$14,714
$48,001–$75,000$17,030
$75,001–$110,000$21,157
$110,001+$23,020
All income levels (average)$19,216

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Total cost of attendance (sticker), AY 2021-22
$29,644
Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$14,626
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$25,566
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$19,216

That works out to an average 35% discount off the sticker price above — both figures come from the same federal AY 2021-22 Scorecard report, not a number the school itself published.

Plymouth State is a public school; Scorecard's net price and cost of attendance figures cover in-state, Title-IV-aid-recipient payers only — there is no comparable federal figure for out-of-state students.

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
52%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
68%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$26,000 (~$276/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$57,304
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
31%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
68%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Outside scholarships reduce loans and/or work-study first; institutional grants are only reduced if required to prevent an over-award.

Verified policy language (2026-07-02): In most cases, we will allow the outside resource to fill "unmet need," then to replace all or part of the student's loan or work-study allocation first before adjusting any institutional need based scholarship or grant.

Source

Other Plymouth State scholarships worth checking

These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own 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.

See sources and other schools

How Plymouth State compares

  • 145 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.

    Plymouth State is in a recognizable cluster (145 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

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

    Plymouth State 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 Plymouth State’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

Keep exploring Plymouth State merit aid

The next chapter

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