What GPA do I need to keep my scholarship?

No review as a sophomore. As a rising junior and rising senior: 2.0 cumulative GPA for the Dean's Award, 2.5 for the Trustee's Award, 3.0 for the Presidential Scholarship (A. Purnell Bailey scholars follow the Presidential guidelines). General SAP also requires completing 67% of attempted credits and a 2.00 cumulative GPA.

Randolph-Macon· Renewal Rules

Keeping Randolph-Macon’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 20264 days ago· COWORK

At a glance

Renewable tiers: 4 of 4
One-time tiers: 0
Tiers with published renewal terms: 3
Renewal risk profile: moderate

Renewal risk profile

Randolph-Macon'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.

Merit Scholarships (first-year): Full-time enrollment
The Randolph-Macon College Presidential and Trustee Scholar Programs and Dean's Award: See notes
A. Purnell Bailey Pre-Ministerial Program for Ordained Ministry: See notes

Renewal terms by tier

Merit Scholarships (first-year)
Up to $33,000 per year
To keep it: Renewable for up to four years, provided the recipient continues to meet academic benchmarks, Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards, and is enrolled full-time at RMC.
Source: https://www.rmc.edu/admissions-and-aid/tuition-and-aid/scholarships-and-grants/
The Randolph-Macon College Presidential and Trustee Scholar Programs and Dean's Award
$23,000 and up
To keep it: Renewable each year provided students maintain the required cumulative grade point average and satisfactory academic progress. Renewal GPA review begins at rising-junior year: Dean's Award 2.0, Trustee's Award 2.5, Presidential Scholarship 3.0 (no review for sophomores).
Source: https://catalog.rmc.edu/fees-financial-aid/aid-programs-not-need-based/
A. Purnell Bailey Pre-Ministerial Program for Ordained Ministry
Half tuition (years 1-2), Full tuition (years 3-4)
To keep it: Students who successfully meet the program requirements will be awarded full tuition during their third and fourth years. Per the Consumer Information Guide, A. Purnell Bailey scholars follow the same renewal-GPA guidelines as the Presidential Scholarship (3.0 at rising junior/senior review).
Source: https://catalog.rmc.edu/fees-financial-aid/aid-programs-not-need-based/

How families lose this aid

Forgetting the renewal-GPA cliff that begins junior year.
Per the Consumer Information Guide, academic scholarships are not reviewed for sophomores, but rising juniors and seniors must hold a 2.0 cumulative GPA for the Dean's Award, 2.5 for the Trustee's Award, and 3.0 for the Presidential Scholarship (A. Purnell Bailey scholars follow the Presidential 3.0 standard).
Dropping below full-time enrollment while holding a merit scholarship.
Merit awards require full-time enrollment at RMC; the Consumer Information Guide states that if your course load is fewer than 12 credit hours at the end of the add period, 'your financial aid awards may be reduced or cancelled.' Aid is also generally limited to eight semesters.

Renewal questions families ask

What GPA do I need to keep my scholarship?: No review as a sophomore. As a rising junior and rising senior: 2.0 cumulative GPA for the Dean's Award, 2.5 for the Trustee's Award, 3.0 for the Presidential Scholarship (A. Purnell Bailey scholars follow the Presidential guidelines). General SAP also requires completing 67% of attempted credits and a 2.00 cumulative GPA.

Rules that bite at Randolph-Macon

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

renewalMerit Scholarships (first-year): renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Renewable for up to four years, provided the recipient continues to meet academic benchmarks, Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) standards, and is enrolled full-time at RMC. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

How Randolph-Macon compares across our verified dataset

669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Randolph-Macon 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 renewal claim is checked against Randolph-Macon’s own published materials.