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UCSB award rules

Will the scholarship last four years at UCSB?

We pulled the school’s grade, credit, and time limits into one place so you can see what it takes to keep the award.

Verified Jul 20262 months ago· CA-1

The short answer

2 of 2 published awards are listed as renewable.

The exact rule can change by award. Check the award your student may receive before you count on the same amount every year.

What to do

Find the award name in the full research below. Save its grade, credit, and deadline rules with your college plan.

See every award rule, common mistake, and source

At a glance

Renewable tiers
2 of 2
One-time tiers
0
Tiers with published renewal terms
2
Renewal risk profile
moderate

Renewal risk profile

UCSB'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.

  • Regents Scholarship: Full-time enrollment
  • Domestic Nonresident Scholarship: 2.0 GPA

Renewal terms by tier

  • Regents Scholarship

    $5,000 per year for four years

    To keep it: Renewable contingent on maintaining both quarterly and cumulative GPA of 3.20. If cumulative falls below, students get two quarters to recover for first occurrence; quarterly is one quarter for first or second occurrence. Faculty review committee handles exceptional cases. Full-time enrollment required (12+ units/quarter, 36/year).

    Source: http://www.finaid.ucsb.edu/scholarships/regents-scholarship

  • Domestic Nonresident Scholarship

    $10,000 or $15,000 per year tuition reduction (up to 12 quarters)

    To keep it: Renewable up to 4 years (12 total quarters) contingent on Satisfactory Academic Progress (2.0 cumulative GPA minimum) and continued eligibility.

    Source: https://www.finaid.ucsb.edu/types-aid/scholarship-awards/domestic-nonresident-scholarship

Renewal questions families ask

What's the renewal GPA for the Regents Scholarship?
3.20 — both quarterly AND cumulative. UCSB allows two quarters to raise the cumulative GPA above 3.20 on first occurrence, and one quarter for quarterly GPA on first or second occurrence. Faculty review committees handle exceptional cases.
How much does the Domestic Nonresident Scholarship actually reduce tuition?
$10,000 or $15,000 per year — applied as a tuition reduction, not refundable cash. Tier ($10k vs $15k) is determined by criteria from the FAFSA. The award offsets a meaningful portion of UC nonresident tuition supplement (~$35,000 above resident tuition), but does not close the gap fully.

Rules that bite at UCSB

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

  • renewalRegents Scholarship: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

    Renewable contingent on maintaining both quarterly and cumulative GPA of 3.20. If cumulative falls below, students get two quarters to recover for first occurrence; quarterly is one quarter for first or second occurrence. Faculty review committee handles exceptional cases. Full-time enrollment required (12+ units/quarter, 36/year). A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

How UCSB compares across our verified dataset

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

    UCSB 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 UCSB’s own published materials.

More on UCSB merit aid