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Rowan scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$42,666per year · 2026-2027 · cost of attendance
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

Rowan awards automatic merit on admission. Rowan does not publish a GPA or test chart, so you cannot self-calculate the dollars.

Where does your student land?

Verified Jul 2026
4 school sources to explore

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

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. Rowan University Scholars ProgramAmount not published (discretionary)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Rowan University Scholars Program

    Amount not published (discretionary)

    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.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Rowan University Scholars Program

    Who qualifies

    Eligible first-time students enrolled full-time fall of freshman year; complete admission application by January 31; NOT available to fully online program applicants

    How to keep it

    Renewable for four years (eight semesters) of undergraduate study as long as a 2.5 GPA is maintained; distributed equally over eight semesters; not for summer/winter, not for graduate/medical school.

    Worth knowing

    Individual amounts are 'determined at the discretion of Rowan University's Division of Student Affairs' based on academic qualifications, applicant-pool competitiveness, and funding — NO published dollar amount or grid.

  2. Brown & Gold Out-of-State ScholarshipUp to $8,500 per yearNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Brown & Gold Out-of-State Scholarship

    Up to $8,500 per year

    Variable or qualified amountNot 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.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Brown & Gold Out-of-State Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Permanent residence OUTSIDE New Jersey; full-time fall enrollment; application submitted before January 31; NOT for fully online programs

    How to keep it

    Freshmen: up to four academic years (eight semesters); transfers: up to two academic years (four semesters).

    Worth knowing

    Out-of-state-EXCLUSIVE merit award; amounts discretionary up to the $8,500 cap.

  3. International Baccalaureate (IB) ScholarshipUp to $32,000 in scholarshipsNot automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    International Baccalaureate (IB) Scholarship

    Up to $32,000 in scholarships

    Variable or qualified amountNot 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 International Baccalaureate (IB) Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Complete the IB Diploma Program

    Worth knowing

    IB Diploma completers qualify for up to $32,000; credit offered after enrollment.

  4. Transfer Trustee ScholarshipAmount not published (covers educational expenses incl. fees, EXCLUDING tuition)AutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Transfer Trustee Scholarship

    Amount not published (covers educational expenses incl. fees, EXCLUDING tuition)

    Published coverage or packageAll 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 Transfer Trustee Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Full-time transfer students; all admitted transfers automatically considered (special consideration for NJ community-college students); apply before March 1

    How to keep it

    Renewable.

    Worth knowing

    Intended to support all educational expenses including fees but EXCLUDING tuition cost.

  5. College of the Arts ScholarshipsAmount not publishedNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    College of the Arts Scholarships

    Amount not published

    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.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for College of the Arts Scholarships

    Who qualifies

    Audition or portfolio review; academic potential + artistic achievement

    How to keep it

    Renewable up to four years (eight consecutive semesters) maintaining a cumulative GPA of 2.5 (Music/Theatre/Dance) or 3.0 (Art); must stay in original program; Music = active ensemble participation; Theatre & Dance = 10-15 recruitment hours annually.

    Worth knowing

    Discipline-specific renewal GPA cliffs (2.5 vs 3.0) and participation requirements.

Lights up against Rowan'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.

Free Merit Check

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Checking merit aid at Rowan

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The fine print

Outside awardsNo published displacement order

Rowan'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.

What makes Rowan different

Rowan's merit is residency-exclusive: in-state students compete for the discretionary Rowan University Scholars Program (amounts not published), while out-of-state students get the separate Brown & Gold award (up to $8,500/yr) — and there's a hard January 31 deadline.

Merit tiers51 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 Rowan'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. Merit is residency-exclusive: Brown & Gold requires a permanent residence OUTSIDE New Jersey, while the Scholars Program serves first-time (in-state) students. You qualify for one track, not both.

  2. Individual amounts are 'determined at the discretion of Rowan University's Division of Student Affairs' based on academic qualifications, the applicant pool, and funding — there is NO published amount or GPA/test grid; mark needs_confirmation.

  3. For both the Scholars Program and Brown & Gold, only applications for admission completed before January 31 are reviewed for the scholarship — a hard deadline.

  4. Scholars Program awards are renewable for four years only as long as a 2.5 GPA is maintained (College of the Arts: 2.5 for Music/Theatre/Dance, 3.0 for Art).

  5. Online-program applicants do not qualify, scholarships can't be transferred from campus-based to online, and awards can't be applied to summer or winter sessions or compressed over a different period.

  6. It supports educational expenses 'including fees, but excluding tuition cost' — it does not reduce the tuition charge itself.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

NJ residents apply by Jan 31 for the discretionary Scholars Program (and may qualify for tuition-free Garden State Guarantee / Rowan Opportunity); out-of-state students target the Brown & Gold award. On-campus, full-time students only — online applicants are excluded.

Published yearly cost: Approximately $42,666 for 2026-2027. Source

Cost and graduation facts

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

Average annual net price by family income at Rowan, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$15,305
$30,001–$48,000$15,264
$48,001–$75,000$19,245
$75,001–$110,000$27,580
$110,001+$30,378
All income levels (average)$22,408

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$16,574
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$26,932
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$22,408

That works out to roughly a 37% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $35,842 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

Rowan is a public school; Scorecard's net price figure covers 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
67%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
82%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$20,500 (~$217/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$59,988
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
37%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
50%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Rowan states that adding an outside scholarship sometimes requires adjusting need-based aid, and a large scholarship may force a subsidized loan to convert to unsubsidized, but does not specify a reduction order or confirm institutional grants are protected. Confirm treatment with the aid office before counting on stacking.

Verified policy language (2026-07-02): Sometimes, when a scholarship is added to a student's account, we need to adjust the student's need-based aid. Sometimes a large scholarship may force us to convert a subsidized loan to an unsubsidized loan. We always make adjustments that benefit the student the most.

Source

Other Rowan scholarships worth checking

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

Amount$1,000 (three renewable awards)EligibilityCommunity-college PTK members earning an associate's, enrolling full-time at Rowan; apply before March 1; transcript by May 27; three highest GPAs selected

Recipients notified first week of June

Source

AmountTuition-free or reduced (net cost zero or reduced)EligibilityNJ residents and certain eligible noncitizens; income-based; Garden State Guarantee for juniors/seniors, Rowan Opportunity for first-/second-years

Reduces tuition+fees after all other grants/scholarships

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityIncoming undergraduate international students with a valid non-immigrant visa; automatic

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityEligible veteran students and dependents

Source

Rowan merit aid FAQ

  • What is the scholarship deadline at Rowan?

    Complete your application for admission before January 31 to be reviewed for the Rowan University Scholars Program and the Brown & Gold (out-of-state) scholarship. Transfer Trustee and PTK transfer scholarships use a March 1 application.

  • How much is the out-of-state scholarship?

    The Brown & Gold scholarship is up to $8,500 per year, with the amount set at the discretion of the Office of Admissions; freshmen can renew up to 8 semesters and transfers up to 4 semesters.

  • What GPA do I need to keep my Rowan scholarship?

    A 2.5 GPA maintains the Rowan University Scholars Program for four years (College of the Arts requires 2.5 for Music/Theatre/Dance and 3.0 for Art); awards do not apply to summer/winter or online programs.

See sources and other schools

How Rowan compares

  • 133 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use unclear or unpublished displacement.

    Rowan is in a recognizable cluster (133 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

  • 133 of 749 verified schools publish no clear displacement order.

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

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

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

Compare with similar schools

  • Rutgers merit aid. New Jersey public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • NJIT merit aid. New Jersey public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • Drew merit aid. New Jersey private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • Stevens merit aid. New Jersey private school — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.

Keep exploring Rowan merit aid

The next chapter

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Same student.
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