What is the scholarship deadline?

Apply for admission by December 1 for priority scholarship consideration; the admission application is the merit application. Updated GPA/test scores are accepted through March 1. Separate applications for Emerging Leaders and First Scholars are due February 1, and the Honors College and Perryman scholarships are due February 1, 2026.

Is there a test-optional merit award?

Yes — the Trustee Award ($2,500/yr in-state; $5,000/yr out-of-state) is GPA-only at 3.80+, and the university offers a 'GPA-Only Evaluation' pathway for certain scholarships.

What does renewal require?

Minimum 12 credit hours per semester, good academic standing, and completion of required service hours; scholarships renew for up to three additional years (fall/spring only). Emerging Leaders adds a 3.00 GPA, campus involvement, ten service hours per semester, and reflections.

University of Memphis· Renewal Rules

Keeping University of Memphis’s Merit Aid for Four Years

What the financial-aid office actually requires after freshman year: minimum GPA, credit-hour pace, and the cliffs that quietly downgrade families mid-degree.

Verified Jun 20264 days ago· COWORK

At a glance

Renewable tiers: 7 of 7
One-time tiers: 0
Tiers with published renewal terms: 7
Renewal risk profile: low

Renewal risk profile

University of Memphis's published renewal rules cluster around a 3.0 floor with no major-GPA gating, which is survivable for the typical freshman with steady study habits. The risk is non-renewal due to enrollment status (dropping below full-time), not GPA.

In-State Merit-Based Scholarships (Cecil C. Humphreys Presidential / Provost / Deans / Academic Achievement / Trustee Award): See notes
Out-of-State Merit-Based Scholarships (Cecil C. Humphreys Presidential / Provost / Deans / Academic Achievement / Trustee Award): See notes
National Merit Finalist & Semi-Finalist (High Achievement Scholarship): See notes
Valedictorian Scholarship: See notes
Emerging Leaders: 3.00 GPA
First Scholars Program: See notes
Tennessee HOPE Scholarship (state lottery scholarship, hosted criteria): See notes

Renewal terms by tier

In-State Merit-Based Scholarships (Cecil C. Humphreys Presidential / Provost / Deans / Academic Achievement / Trustee Award)
$2,500-$7,000 per year ($10,000-$28,000 total)
Entry requirements: 3.25+ (merit grid rows); 3.80+ (Trustee Award, GPA only) GPA · 1390+ (Presidential); 1300-1380 (Provost); 1160-1290 (Deans); 1100-1150 (Academic Achievement) SAT · 31+ (Presidential); 28-30 (Provost); 24-27 (Deans); 22-23 (Academic Achievement) ACT
To keep it: Academic scholarships are renewable for up to three (3) additional years; disbursed fall and spring only; recipients must enroll in a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester and maintain good academic standing; completion of required service hours is also necessary for scholarship renewal.
Source: https://www.memphis.edu/scholarships/ftf/
Out-of-State Merit-Based Scholarships (Cecil C. Humphreys Presidential / Provost / Deans / Academic Achievement / Trustee Award)
$5,000-$14,000 per year ($20,000-$56,000 total)
Entry requirements: 3.25+ (merit grid rows); 3.80+ (Trustee Award, GPA only) GPA · 1390+ / 1300-1380 / 1160-1290 / 1100-1150 by tier SAT · 31+ / 28-30 / 24-27 / 22-23 by tier ACT
To keep it: Same renewal rules: up to three additional years, 12+ credit hours/semester, good academic standing, required service hours.
Source: https://www.memphis.edu/scholarships/ftf/out-of-state.php
National Merit Finalist & Semi-Finalist (High Achievement Scholarship)
$15,000 per year ($60,000 total)
To keep it: Same renewal framework as other academic scholarships (up to three additional years, 12+ hours, good standing, service hours).
Source: https://www.memphis.edu/scholarships/ftf/
Valedictorian Scholarship
$1,000 per year ($4,000 total)
To keep it: Same renewal framework as other academic scholarships.
Source: https://www.memphis.edu/scholarships/ftf/
Emerging Leaders
$5,500 per year ($22,000 total)
Entry requirements: 3.0+ cumulative high school GPA GPA · 1060+ SAT · 21+ ACT
To keep it: Recipients must maintain a minimum 3.00 cumulative GPA, acquire and maintain involvement in at least one campus-affiliated entity, complete ten community service hours each semester, and submit reflections for co-curricular experiences each semester.
Source: https://www.memphis.edu/scholarships/ftf/
First Scholars Program
$5,000 per year ($20,000 total)
To keep it: Renewable for a total award of $20,000 over four years; ongoing criteria not detailed on the page opened.
Source: https://www.memphis.edu/scholarships/ftf/
Tennessee HOPE Scholarship (state lottery scholarship, hosted criteria)
$2,250 per semester (Fr/So) / $2,850 per semester (Jr/Sr) at 12+ credit hours
Entry requirements: 3.0 unweighted high school GPA (alternative to test score) GPA · 1060 (alternative to GPA) SAT · 21 (alternative to GPA) ACT
To keep it: Administered under Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation (TSAC) rules; FAFSA required as specified by TSAC.
Source: https://www.memphis.edu/scholarships/ftf/

How families lose this aid

Ignoring the service-hours requirement after winning
Renewal is not GPA-only: 'Completion of required service hours is also necessary for scholarship renewal,' and the Honors College page notes Dean's, Provost and Presidential awards 'require a service obligation to the institution of 25-50 hours per academic year.'
Assuming the scholarship continues automatically below 12 credit hours
Recipients 'must enroll in a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester and maintain good academic standing'; awards run fall/spring only and renew for at most three additional years.
Counting summer terms or a fifth year
'All scholarships are awarded for the academic year (fall and spring semesters only)' and renew 'for up to three (3) additional years' — eight semesters maximum, no summer disbursement.
TN residents skipping the FAFSA and losing HOPE
HOPE (up to $2,250/semester early years, plus Aspire/Merit supplements) requires completing the FAFSA as specified by TSAC — and HOPE stacks with a UofM merit award, so missing it leaves state money on the table.
Submitting final test scores too late
'Updated GPA and test scores may be submitted through March 1' — superscores count, but only if they arrive by the cutoff.

Renewal questions families ask

What is the scholarship deadline?: Apply for admission by December 1 for priority scholarship consideration; the admission application is the merit application. Updated GPA/test scores are accepted through March 1. Separate applications for Emerging Leaders and First Scholars are due February 1, and the Honors College and Perryman scholarships are due February 1, 2026.
Is there a test-optional merit award?: Yes — the Trustee Award ($2,500/yr in-state; $5,000/yr out-of-state) is GPA-only at 3.80+, and the university offers a 'GPA-Only Evaluation' pathway for certain scholarships.
What does renewal require?: Minimum 12 credit hours per semester, good academic standing, and completion of required service hours; scholarships renew for up to three additional years (fall/spring only). Emerging Leaders adds a 3.00 GPA, campus involvement, ten service hours per semester, and reflections.

How University of Memphis compares across our verified dataset

669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
University of Memphis 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.
133 of 751 verified schools publish a dedicated National Merit Finalist package.
University of Memphis is one of them. NMF packages typically carry their own stacking and renewal carve-outs separate from the standard automatic merit ladder; confirm those before assuming the headline NMF value is final.

Sources used on this page

Every renewal claim is checked against University of Memphis’s own published materials.