UMPI's one published automatic merit award is a $5,000 New Student Scholarship (1100+ SAT/25 ACT plus a 3.3 GPA, or a 3.7 GPA on its own), renewable across eight semesters with a 3.0 GPA — but it is explicitly NOT available to students in UMPI's flat-rate online YourPace program.
Verified Jun 20264 days ago· CC
Merit tiers32 automatic on stats
Last verifiedJun 2026Analyst CC
Common merit-aid mistakes at UMaine Presque Isle
Both awards state in bold 'Your Pace students are not eligible for this scholarship.' UMPI's flagship flat-rate online competency-based program (YourPace, $1,800 per 8-week session) is explicitly excluded from these merit scholarships, and the catalog adds that students who matriculate in YourPace are not eligible for certain tuition waivers either.
It is renewable for up to eight total semesters, but only if you complete at least 12 credit hours each semester that are delivered by UMPI and keep a 3.0 or greater GPA each semester. Dropping below 12 UMPI credits or under a 3.0 in any semester can end the award.
For 2026-2027 that in-state figure is tuition ($8,370) + mandatory fees ($1,728) + housing and food ($11,400). Indirect costs are added on top: books/course materials ($1,000), miscellaneous ($1,100), and travel ($1,350). Out-of-state/international direct costs are higher at $27,348.
UMPI publishes one automatic merit amount ($5,000 new student / $2,000 transfer). It is not UMaine Orono — there is no large GPA-banded scholarship grid. Most other named awards are local foundation or donor scholarships without published amounts.
Per UMPI's Financial Aid Policy, an outside scholarship first fills unmet need, then replaces your loan and/or Work-Study before it ever touches your UMPI grant or scholarship. That order is favorable, but total aid still cannot exceed your Cost of Attendance, so a large outside award can trigger a package adjustment. Report all outside aid to Student Financial Services.
Who this school is for
Traditional first-year and transfer students attending UMPI's on-campus (not YourPace online) program who hit a 3.3+/test or 3.7 GPA bar and want a modest, predictable, automatic award stacked on a low public-college sticker price. A poor fit for anyone counting on a big merit grid or for YourPace online learners, who are excluded from these merit awards.
Tuition / cost of attendance: Approximately $21,498 for 2026-2027. Source
Institutional merit aid tiers
Every tier below is sourced to the school’s own published financial aid pages. Renewal terms apply only if the student maintains the stated GPA.
$5000
New Student (Traditional) Scholarship
AutomaticRenewable
GPA
3.3 HS GPA (with test score) OR 3.7 HS GPA (no test). Catalog program also allows a 3.5 HS GPA with no test scores needed.
Awarded at the time of acceptance. Canadian students must have an academic average of 90 or above. NOT available to YourPace (flat-rate online) students.
Renewal terms
The underlying Student Academic Scholarship Program (John F. Hill Scholarship) is 'renewable for six additional continuous semesters for a total of eight semesters,' contingent on 'successfully completing a minimum of 12 credit hours each semester, which are delivered by the University of Maine at Presque Isle, and maintaining a 3.0 or greater GPA each semester.'
Notes
This is the only institutional merit award with a published dollar figure. The scholarships page states the award amount ($5,000) and the qualifying stats; the academic catalog describes the same award as the 'Student Academic Scholarship Program' / 'John F. Hill Scholarship' and supplies the renewal terms (8 semesters, 12 credits/semester delivered by UMPI, 3.0 GPA) but does not restate the dollar amount. The two paths to qualify are an SAT 1100+/ACT 25 combined with a 3.3 GPA, OR a 3.7 GPA on its own (catalog phrases the no-test path as 3.5+).
3.0 transfer GPA (scholarships page); 2.75 cumulative GPA in the catalog's Transfer Achievement Scholarship description
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
Must transfer directly from another institution with 15 transferable credit hours to UMPI. NOT available to YourPace (flat-rate online) students.
Renewal terms
The catalog's Transfer Achievement Scholarship is 'renewable for four additional continuous semesters and is dependent on certain criteria; maintaining a 3.0 cumulative grade point average per semester at UMPI, and successfully completing 12 semester hours of credit delivered by UMPI each semester.' Catalog renewal eligibility cites a 2.75 entering GPA / 15 credits; the scholarships page states a 3.0 GPA / 15 transferable credits to earn it.
Notes
Awarded at the time of acceptance to direct transfers. The public scholarships page and the academic catalog give slightly different entering-GPA figures (3.0 vs. 2.75) — flagged for the aid office in Section C. Only the $2,000 figure on the scholarships page is treated as the published amount.
Applicant must be the son, daughter, grandchild, or spouse of a UMPI alumnus; full-time, second-semester freshman, sophomore, or junior in any major. Separate application required.
Renewal terms
Renewal terms not stated; described as awarded annually.
Notes
A small, application-based legacy award — not an automatic admissions scholarship. Included because it is one of the only named foundation/institutional awards with a published dollar amount.
UMPI's official Financial Aid Policy uses self-help-first displacement for outside scholarships: an outside award is first applied to unmet need, then replaces loan and/or Work-Study BEFORE it reduces a University grant or scholarship. Total aid (including outside resources) may not exceed the Cost of Attendance; if it does, the aid office reduces self-help (loans and work) before reducing scholarship or grant aid. Separately, the Level Up / certain tuition-waiver awards cannot be combined with any other UMS or UMPI waiver/merit award.
Outside scholarships do not automatically reduce UMPI's own merit award — loans and Work-Study absorb the displacement first, and the institutional grant/scholarship is reduced only if the package would otherwise exceed COA. This is favorable to students. Note one carve-out: a specific tuition-waiver award (the Level Up at UMPI transfer waiver) 'cannot be combined with any other waiver/merit award offered by the University of Maine System or the University of Maine at Presque Isle.' That non-stacking rule applies to that waiver, not to the $5,000/$2,000 merit scholarships.
Named awards that don’t always surface on the main financial aid page. Each one has its own eligibility rules.
AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityVarious local/criteria-based awards, e.g. Allen Scholarship (a Caribou-area high-school graduate, full-time); Baker Scholarship (Aroostook County, preference for Presque Isle); Christie Scholarship (Aroostook County students with leadership and a good academic record); Corey Scholarship (a fairly recent Caribou High School graduate with high academic achievement).
Foundation/donor scholarships awarded annually; the official pages do not publish dollar amounts for these named awards. Most are tied to local residency or specific donor criteria rather than open automatic merit.
AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityFull-time student demonstrating leadership in campus and/or community activities; cumulative GPA of 3.30 or better.
Established by the Student Senate; merit/leadership-based, separate application via the Foundation Scholarship Application. No dollar amount published.
AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityBFA (Bachelor of Fine Arts) major with a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher and involvement in campus and/or community organizations.
Departmental/major-restricted award; no dollar amount published.
Is the UMPI merit scholarship automatic, and how much is it?
Yes for traditional (non-YourPace) students: a $5,000 New Student Scholarship is awarded at the time of acceptance to students who score 1100+ on the SAT (25 ACT) with a 3.3 high-school GPA, OR have a 3.7 GPA (the catalog also allows a 3.5 GPA with no test scores). Direct transfers with a 3.0 GPA and 15 transferable credits receive $2,000.
Can YourPace students get these scholarships?
No. Both the $5,000 New Student and $2,000 Transfer scholarships state in bold that 'Your Pace students are not eligible.' YourPace is UMPI's flat-rate, fully online competency-based program billed at $1,800 per 8-week session, and it is excluded from these merit awards.
How do I renew the scholarship?
The award is renewable for up to eight total semesters. You must complete at least 12 credit hours each semester delivered by UMPI and maintain a 3.0 or greater GPA each semester (the transfer version renews for four additional semesters under the same 3.0 GPA / 12-credit rule).
Will winning an outside scholarship reduce my UMPI award?
Not first. UMPI applies an outside scholarship to unmet need, then replaces your loan and/or Work-Study before reducing any University grant or scholarship. But your total aid (including outside resources) cannot exceed your Cost of Attendance, so a large outside award can still force an adjustment. You must report all outside aid to Student Financial Services.
Is there a scholarship deadline?
New-student merit awards are determined at the time of acceptance, so the practical deadline is your admission. UMPI's separate Foundation/returning-student scholarship application deadline is 4:30 pm on January 30th, 2026.
How UMaine Presque Isle compares across our verified dataset
99 of 751 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.
UMaine Presque Isle is in the modest minority (99 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
UMaine Presque Isle 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 claim is checked against UMaine Presque Isle’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
