St. Thomas University · Florida
Miami Gardens' Catholic university posts simple GPA tiers (up to $13,000 at 3.6+, $9,000 at just 2.5+), guarantees up to $14,000 for Catholic-high-school grads, and tops Bright Futures recipients to 100% of tuition — but multiple institutional awards never stack: you get the single highest one.
The short answer
STU (Miami) may be worth checking, but its awards do not follow a simple grades-and-scores chart. Start with the published scholarships below.
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.
Guaranteed to all freshmen who graduate from a U.S. private Catholic high school or were an STU Dual Enrollment student.
Academic scholarships renew for four years with SAP (or an approved probation).
'These awards cannot be combined with each other or additional academic scholarships.'
Renewable for four years with SAP (or approved probation).
Renewable for four years with SAP (or approved probation).
Renewable for four years with SAP (or approved probation).
Must be receiving a Florida Academic Scholarship or Florida Medallion Scholarship through Florida Bright Futures, be approved by the Florida DOE, and appear on STU's Bright Futures roster; FAFSA and STU/Common App application required.
Renewable up to four years of full-time undergraduate study with good academic standing at STU and with the Bright Futures program.
Last-dollar top-up: amount 'is determined after subtracting federal, state, and institutional aid from the cost of tuition.' Covers tuition only — not fees, housing, or meal plans.
Schedule and attend an in-person campus tour (only certain admissions events count); complete the free application and be admitted. An athletic scholarship may already include this award.
Renewable up to four years of study ($1,000 per year) for full-time traditional undergraduates who maintain on-campus enrollment.
New undergraduate international students, based on high school GPA.
Academic scholarships renew for four years with SAP.
Based on financial need, leadership, extracurricular involvement, service, and institutional aid; priority to students admitted and deposited before May 1.
These are the rules we would flag for your family. Each comes from STU (Miami)'s published information.
Renewable up to four years of full-time undergraduate study with good academic standing at STU and with the Bright Futures program. 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 Enrollment Operations Office, St. Thomas University, August 2026. How we verify
If a student qualifies for more than one merit scholarship, do the amounts combine?
If an applicant is eligible for multiple merit scholarships, they receive only the one with the maximum value; the scholarships do not stack.
“If an applicant is eligible for multiple merit scholarships, they would receive whatever one has the maximum value -- they do not "stack".”
Can a merit scholarship be combined with need-based, athletic, or extracurricular scholarships?
The student is guaranteed to receive the merit scholarship amount in addition to any other scholarships they may receive, such as need-based, athletic, or extracurricular awards.
“But they would be guaranteed to receive the amount of the merit scholarship, in addition to any other scholarships they may receive -- need, athletics, extracurricular, etc.”
'Recipients of multiple institutional awards, including tuition discounts, are eligible to receive the highest individual award only,' and the Catholic HS/Dual Enrollment award 'cannot be combined with each other or additional academic scholarships.'
STU 'reserves the right to review and adjust original financial aid award packages, including university-funded scholarships and/or grants received as additional funding from federal, state, or private source.'
It is last-dollar and tuition-only: the amount is 'determined after subtracting federal, state, and institutional aid from the cost of tuition' and 'does not cover fees, housing, or meal plans.'
Every academic tier is 'Up to' ($14,000/$13,000/$11,000/$9,000) — the exact award can be lower.
The $4,000 Campus Visit Award requires attending an in-person tour (only certain events count), and the FAFSA (code 001468) is the stated first step to a full aid offer — it also triggers the automatic $3,500/yr EASE grant for Florida residents.
'Academic scholarships are renewable for four years of study, as long as students continue to make satisfactory academic progress (SAP), or a probation is approved.'
Florida students who can layer state money (Bright Futures top-up to full tuition, automatic $3,500 EASE) under one institutional award; Catholic-high-school and dual-enrollment grads get the largest guaranteed tier at only a 2.5 GPA.
Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at STU (Miami), what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.
| Family income | Average net price paid |
|---|---|
| $0–$30,000 | $24,657 |
| $30,001–$48,000 | $26,101 |
| $48,001–$75,000 | $27,122 |
| $75,001–$110,000 | $29,081 |
| $110,001+ | $30,098 |
| All income levels (average) | $26,312 |
That works out to an average 49% 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.
Outside scholarships only trigger an aid adjustment if total aid would exceed the cost of attendance (or the student's aid eligibility cap); below that ceiling, awards are not displaced.
Verified policy language (2026-07-02): You must notify the Office of Financial Aid if you are awarded any of these scholarships to avoid being over met on your Cost of Attendance.
These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.
Subject to the highest-single-award rule.
Subject to the highest-single-award rule.
Requires ongoing service and Campus Ministry Leadership Team involvement while enrolled.
May already include the Campus Visit Award.
State grant, automatic with FAFSA.
No hard scholarship deadline is published. The Villanova Award gives priority to students 'admitted and deposited before May 1'; other awards are tied to admission, the FAFSA, and (for the Campus Visit Award) attending a tour.
Up to $14,000/yr (Catholic HS or STU Dual Enrollment grad, 2.5+ GPA), up to $13,000/yr Presidential (3.6+), up to $11,000/yr Dean's (3.0+), or up to $9,000/yr STU Award (2.5+) — but only the highest single institutional award applies.
If you hold a Florida Academic or Medallion Scholarship and appear on STU's roster, the STU Bright Futures award guarantees 100% of tuition after federal, state, and institutional aid — but it never covers fees, housing, or meal plans.
Academic scholarships renew for four years with satisfactory academic progress (or an approved probation). The Campus Visit Award renews at $1,000/yr for on-campus full-time students; Bright Futures renews with good standing in both STU and the state program.
Yes — tiered academic awards by high school GPA: up to $13,000 (3.6+), $11,000 (3.0-3.59), $9,000 (2.99 or below).
STU (Miami) is in a recognizable cluster (235 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
STU (Miami) 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.
Every claim is checked against STU (Miami)’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
