Roger Williams University · Rhode Island
DRAFT: RWU's 2026-27 merit scholarships run $18,000-$24,000 with an unusually friendly renewal rule — good standing only, 'no higher GPA requirement' — plus a $1,000 yearly Academic Excellence bonus for a 3.6 GPA and a $1,500 Travel Grant for non-Northeast students.
The short answer
Roger Williams awards automatic merit on admission. Roger Williams does not publish a GPA or test chart, so you cannot self-calculate the dollars.
Free Merit Check
These amounts and requirements come from the school’s own published pages. Open an award to see who qualifies and how to keep it.
All applicants considered, no separate application; awards 'recognize what students have accomplished in their learning prior to enrolling' — no published GPA/test grid
Renew all four years with good standing at the university — 'no higher GPA requirement exists to keep their award.'
Range only; no tier grid published — do not invent cutoffs.
All transfer applicants considered automatically; 'primarily determined by the college GPA' (no grid published)
Renews up to four years with good standing and full-time bachelor's enrollment; no higher GPA requirement.
Excluded for students on full or near-full tuition scholarships (Tuition Remission, Tuition Exchange, CIC, Harold Payson, Bristol Memorial, Michael Andrade, Portsmouth HS, ILA Program & Scholarship)
Can be earned at the conclusion of each academic year in which a 3.6 GPA is earned; applies to the following year's tuition.
Enrolled students from states outside the northeast U.S.; automatic for admitted students meeting the geographic criteria; in addition to merit scholarships; same full/near-full-tuition exclusions as the Academic Excellence Award
High demonstrated need (FAFSA); demonstrated leadership; plus one of: first-generation, first language other than English / non-English-primary home, under-resourced community, or geographically underrepresented community. All applicants automatically considered.
Renewable for four consecutive years of residential, full-time undergraduate study.
95% of TUITION (not COA) for 2026-27; selective program; recipients are excluded from the Academic Excellence Award and Travel Grant.
Accepted international applicants are guaranteed a scholarship; no separate application
Annual and renewable.
Greek citizens graduating from Greek secondary schools may add the Greek Student Scholar Award (up to $5,000, need+merit, by request via the financial aid appeal form).
Residency/affiliation gates: Payson (Bristol RI, no prior college); Bristol Fire/Police Memorial (2+ years Bristol residency + parent/grandparent in the department); Andrade (Mount Hope HS graduate, preference for construction management/engineering/architecture); Portsmouth (Portsmouth HS RI graduate, US citizen/PR). Application deadline February 1 via online endowed scholarship forms.
Four-year awards. Portsmouth HS renewal: maintain a minimum RWU GPA of 3.0 and five hours of community service to the Portsmouth School District. Bristol awards require full-time status and SAP per the catalog.
Awarded annually; 'In a year where there is no qualified candidate as determined by the Award Committee, there shall be no award of the scholarship for such year.'
These are the rules we would flag for your family. Each comes from Roger Williams's published information.
Renews up to four years with good standing and full-time bachelor's enrollment; no higher GPA requirement. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.
Straight from the aid office
Per the Financial Aid Office, Roger Williams University, August 2026. How we verify
What GPA does he need to keep a merit scholarship after the first year?
The GPA requirement for the Merit Scholarship is tied to Satisfactory Academic Progress, which requires full-time enrollment and a 2.0 GPA.
“The GPA for the Merit Scholarship is just keeping up with Satisfactory Academic Progress which is being a full-time student and having a GPA of a 2.0.”
What happens if a student falls below the required GPA?
If not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress, the student is notified and given a chance to improve; if still not meeting it, they must create a plan with Advising before the scholarship is taken away.
“If a student is not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress, they would be notified that they are not meeting the requirement and why. They would then be given an opportunity to bring that up to where is needs to be. If the student is still not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress, they would then have to put together a plan with Advising before any add would be taken away.”
What happens if the GPA is still not met after being notified?
If the student is still not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress after being notified, they must put together a plan with Advising before any aid would be taken away.
“If the student is still not meeting Satisfactory Academic Progress, they would then have to put together a plan with Advising before any add would be taken away.”
Is the GPA used for scholarships cumulative or per-semester?
The GPA used is cumulative.
“The GPA is cumulative.”
Which office handles Merit Scholarship questions?
The Admissions Office awards the Merit Scholarship and can answer further questions about it.
“The Admissions Office would be able to answer any questions regarding to the Merit Scholarship as they are the office that awards that scholarship to the student.”
What GPA does he need to keep a merit scholarship after the first year?
As long as the student remains full time and is not on academic probation (below a 2.0), the merit scholarship is his to keep.
“as long as he remains a full time student and is not on academic probation (below the 2.0) the merit scholarship he earns would be his to keep.”
Is the GPA used for scholarships the transcript number or recalculated?
The office tries to use the weighted GPA on the transcript as much as possible, depending on the school and scale used.
“We try to use the weighted gpa on the transcript as much as possible. It depends on the school and the scale that they use.”
Is the scholarship application separate from admission, or does it have an earlier deadline?
There is no separate application for merit scholarships; students are automatically considered when they apply to the university.
“There is no separate application process for the merit scholarships. Students are automatically considered for merit award when they apply to the university.”
RWU applies outside money to unmet need first; with no unmet need, 'we will first reduce federal work study, then loan(s), and lastly grant money' — your package is adjusted, though grants are protected longest.
Both awards explicitly exclude 'students receiving a full or near-full tuition scholarship' (Tuition Remission/Exchange, CIC, Payson, Bristol Memorial, Andrade, Portsmouth HS, ILA).
Nearly every named endowed award (Payson, Bristol Fire/Police, Brito, Andrade, Portsmouth, Bolden, Onward We Learn, Montalbano, Maisoh, Grimshaw-Gudewicz, Lavine, Shawmut) lists an application deadline of February 1 — the automatic merit scholarship needs no application, but these do (or require the supplemental form).
It is '95% of tuition' — not fees, housing, or meals — and requires residential full-time study, high need, a 3.0 GPA, leadership, and a qualifying background category.
'In a year where there is no qualified candidate as determined by the Award Committee, there shall be no award of the scholarship for such year' — and several (Brito, Montalbano, Maisoh, Shawmut) are typically awarded only once every four years.
Unlike the standard merit award (good standing only), the Portsmouth award has its own renewal terms: a minimum 3.0 RWU GPA plus five hours of community service to the Portsmouth School District each year.
DRAFT: Students who want big merit money without renewal-GPA anxiety; Bristol/Portsmouth/Providence RI locals with shots at full-tuition endowed awards; out-of-region families who pick up an automatic $1,500 Travel Grant; and high-need, high-achieving students eyeing the 95%-of-tuition ILA Scholarship.
Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Roger Williams, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.
| Family income | Average net price paid |
|---|---|
| $0–$30,000 | $29,778 |
| $30,001–$48,000 | $30,087 |
| $48,001–$75,000 | $33,623 |
| $75,001–$110,000 | $37,318 |
| $110,001+ | $40,792 |
| All income levels (average) | $37,999 |
That works out to an average 39% 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.
RWU publishes an explicit outside-scholarship order: outside money fills unmet need first; if there is no unmet need, RWU reduces federal work-study first, then loans, and grant money last. Several add-on awards (Academic Excellence, Travel Grant) explicitly do NOT stack with full/near-full tuition scholarships, and the Onward We Learn award is capped at COA.
Work-study is technically reduced before loans; grants are touched last — favorable to families. Full/near-full tuition award recipients are excluded from the $1,000 Academic Excellence Award and $1,500 Travel Grant.
These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.
Merit scholarships require no application — all applicants are considered automatically. The named endowed scholarships (Payson, Bristol awards, Portsmouth HS, Bolden, Shawmut, and others) all carry a February 1 application deadline via the online forms.
First-year and transfer merit scholarships both range from $18,000 to $24,000 for the 2026-27 academic year. No GPA/test grid is published; transfer awards are 'primarily determined by the college GPA.'
None beyond good standing: 'Merit Scholarships will renew all four years for students as long as the students remain in good standing at the university - no higher GPA requirement exists to keep their award.'
Yes — a 3.6+ overall GPA at year's end earns the $1,000 Academic Excellence Award toward the next year's tuition, repeatable each qualifying year (excluded for full/near-full tuition scholarship recipients).
It is applied first to unmet need; if none exists, RWU reduces federal work-study first, then loans, and grant money last.
Roger Williams 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.
Roger Williams 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.
Roger Williams is one of them. NMF packages typically carry their own stacking and renewal carve-outs separate from the standard automatic merit ladder; confirm those before assuming the headline NMF value is final.
Every claim is checked against Roger Williams’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
