SOU awards automatic, GPA-only (test-optional) merit scholarships on a published 2026-2027 grid that pays non-residents far more ($8,000–$12,000/yr) than Oregon residents ($1,000–$5,000/yr), on top of the ~$13,000 WUE tuition discount.
Verified Jul 20262 months ago
The short answer
Is Southern Oregon (SOU) worth a closer look?
Southern Oregon (SOU) is worth checking if your student has strong grades or scores. We found 1 published award, and one is based on those numbers.
Merit tiers11 based on grades or scores
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team
Free Merit Check
See what Southern Oregon (SOU)'s published rules mean for your student. Takes 30 seconds.
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.
$1,000-$12,000
First Year Merit Scholarships grid (Raider Scholar, Laurels, Churchill, Siskiyou) — by residency
Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
3.00+ (Oregon) up to 3.95+ for top tier; thresholds differ slightly by residency
SAT
Not required (test-optional)
ACT
Not required (test-optional)
See who qualifies and how to keep it+
Who qualifies
Automatically considered if admitted by February 1 priority date; fall term starts only; not for resident-by-exception populations (American Samoa, North State Promise)
How to keep it
Renewable if recipient maintains full-time status AND good academic standing.
Notes
GPA-only, automatic. Awards differ sharply by residency. Raider Scholar (3.95+): OR $5,000 / WUE $3,000 / Non-res $12,000. Laurels (3.75-3.949): OR $3,000 / WUE $2,000 / Non-res $10,000. Churchill: OR (3.5-3.749) $2,000 / WUE (3.25-3.749) $1,000 / Non-res (3.25-3.749) $8,000. Siskiyou (3.00-3.499): OR $1,000 / WUE n/a / Non-res n/a.
These are the rules we would flag for your family. Each comes from Southern Oregon (SOU)'s published information.
Renewal ruleFirst Year Merit Scholarships grid (Raider Scholar, Laurels, Churchill, Siskiyou) — by residency: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Renewable if recipient maintains full-time status AND good academic standing. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.
What families often miss
Non-resident awards ($8,000–$12,000/yr) are roughly double the Oregon-resident awards ($1,000–$5,000/yr) at the same GPA — and 16 WUE states also receive the WUE tuition rate worth almost $13,000/yr.
Automatic merit consideration requires applying by the February 1 priority date; later applicants are considered only if funding remains.
Merit consideration is for fall term starts only and does not apply to resident-by-exception populations including American Samoa and the North State Promise program.
These scholarships are renewable only if you maintain full-time status AND good academic standing.
More than 80 additional scholarships are awarded only through the Southern Oregon Scholarship Application, which has an extended March 15 deadline and requires being admitted first.
See costs and school data+
Who this school may work for
GPA-strong first-years applying by February 1 — out-of-state students benefit most (large non-resident awards plus, for the 16 WUE states, the WUE tuition rate). Test scores are not required.
Published yearly cost: Approximately $36,838 for 2026-2027. Source
Cost and graduation facts
Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Southern Oregon (SOU), what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.
Average annual net price by family income at Southern Oregon (SOU), academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family income
Average net price paid
$0–$30,000
$11,830
$30,001–$48,000
$12,466
$48,001–$75,000
$15,813
$75,001–$110,000
$22,415
$110,001+
$24,181
All income levels (average)
$16,732
Sticker price vs. what students actually pay
Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$12,762
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$31,887
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$16,732
That works out to roughly a 39% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $27,636 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).
Southern Oregon (SOU) 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
43%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
68%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$20,332 (~$216/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$49,175
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
37%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
45%
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): Because the combination of these resources, your other financial aid typically cannot exceed the amount of your cost of attendance, otherwise your financial aid may be reduced (most often your loans but sometimes institutional funds if there is a large excess).
Apply for fall admission by the February 1 priority date for automatic merit consideration. The Southern Oregon Scholarship Application (SOSA) deadline is extended to March 15.
Does SOU require test scores for merit scholarships?
No. The 2026-2027 first-year merit grid is based on minimum GPA only.
How much are the awards for out-of-state students?
Non-resident awards range from $8,000/yr (Churchill) to $12,000/yr (Raider Scholar, 3.95+ GPA). Oregon residents receive $1,000–$5,000/yr and WUE-state residents $1,000–$3,000/yr.
How do I keep my scholarship?
Maintain full-time status and good academic standing.
What is the WUE rate?
Residents of the 16 participating Western Undergraduate Exchange states automatically receive the WUE tuition rate upon admission — a savings of almost $13,000 per year — separate from the merit scholarship.
See sources and other schools+
How Southern Oregon (SOU) compares
145 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.
Southern Oregon (SOU) 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.
Southern Oregon (SOU) 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 Southern Oregon (SOU)’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
