DRAFT: Mount Union posts a clean four-band GPA merit grid ($18,000-$23,000/year, floor of a $15,000 'UMU Gift') awarded automatically at admission — but awards drop $3,000 if you live off campus, multiple awards don't stack (you get the highest), and the ceiling on all aid is full tuition.
Verified Jun 20264 days ago· COWORK
Merit tiers72 automatic on stats
Last verifiedJun 2026Analyst COWORK
Rules that bite at Mount Union
The trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook. Each is derived from Mount Union's own published policy, not generic advice.
renewalFirst-Year Merit Scholarships (Trustee / Founder's / Dean's / Hartshorn): renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Scholarships are renewable each year at the amount originally awarded (maximum of eight semesters). Students must be full time (12 credit hours) and remain in good academic standing. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.
displacementDifferent aid types are displaced differently
Mount Union treats loans, work-study, and institutional grant under different rules. The same $5,000 outside award can land against any of them depending on category.
Common merit-aid mistakes at Mount Union
The first-year merit section states: 'Scholarships/awards are reduced by $3,000 if students choose to live off campus.' Housing changes must be reported, and Financial Aid checks housing status two weeks into the semester and revises offers.
The Multiple Merit Awards policy says students eligible for several awards 'will receive at least the value of the highest scholarship or award' — extra amounts beyond the highest award are need-based and require the FAFSA. The ceiling is full tuition, and full-tuition winners get no additional Mount Union awards.
Those stats only qualify you to register for an on-campus competition day (interview + timed essay) on Dec 6, 2025, Jan 17, 2026, or Feb 14, 2026; only eight students win, and registration closes a week before each date.
The 2026-2027 Choose Ohio First application deadline is February 15, 2026 — this STEMM award ($2,000-$8,000/yr) needs a separate application, unlike the automatic merit grid.
The FAFSA Filer Grant pays simply for filing (renewable if filed yearly), and any second-award stacking beyond your highest merit award is need-based and requires the FAFSA.
First-year scholarships are 'renewable each year at the amount originally awarded' while the Presidential full-tuition award is the exception ('based upon the tuition rate each year').
For full-tuition ROTC recipients, 'All other Mount Union grants or scholarships awarded at the time of admission become honorary,' the room/board benefit is reduced by federal/state grants, and private outside scholarships exceeding direct costs reduce the room-and-board scholarship.
Who this school is for
DRAFT: Students with a 2.67+ GPA who plan to live on campus — everyone admitted lands somewhere on the grid (even sub-2.67 students get a $15,000 UMU Gift); 3.85+/28 ACT students should enter the Presidential competition for one of eight full-tuition awards.
Tuition / cost of attendance: Approximately $55,344 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.
Awarded at the time of admission based on a review of academic credentials; no separate application. Scholarships/awards are reduced by $3,000 if students choose to live off campus.
Renewal terms
Scholarships are renewable each year at the amount originally awarded (maximum of eight semesters). Students must be full time (12 credit hours) and remain in good academic standing.
Notes
Amounts stated for the fall 2025 semester (one cycle behind target aid year). Students who don't qualify for the grid may receive the $15,000 UMU Gift.
Must be admitted, then register for one of three on-campus competition dates (Dec 6, 2025; Jan 17, 2026; Feb 14, 2026 — registration closes one week prior); interview by campus community members plus a timed essay. Eight awarded annually; results by February 23, 2026.
Renewal terms
The awards are based upon the tuition rate each year and are renewable for up to a total of four years (eight semesters), provided the recipient maintains a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or higher.
Notes
Stats make you eligible to COMPETE, not to win. Recipients also get automatic acceptance into the Honors Program.
Minimum 3.0 GPA in the seventh semester of high school study
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
Top 15 students of each Alliance High School graduating class as identified by the district; eligibility determined as of the sixth semester; continuous traditional enrollment at Alliance HS for four full years and an Alliance HS diploma required (excludes home-schooled and transfer students)
Notes
Hyper-local full-tuition pipeline award for Alliance, Ohio students.
Awarded at time of admission based on review of academic credentials (no published GPA bands): Transfer Achievement $18,000; Transfer University $16,000; Transfer Opportunity $14,000; UMU Gift $12,000 if not eligible for a merit award; plus $3,000 Student Life Grant for students who live on campus
Renewal terms
Renewable each year (maximum of eight semesters); full time (12 credit hours) and good academic standing required.
Notes
Fall 2025 amounts. Transfer extras include the Phi Theta Kappa Scholarship (up to $2,500, 3.25 GPA), Stark State Honors Pathway ($2,500), and two 50%-of-tuition regional transfer scholarships (Learn Local: Choose Mount; Stronger Stark) where students get the HIGHER of the 50% award or a traditional package.
International First-Year and Transfer Merit Scholarships
AutomaticRenewable
View requirements+
Eligibility
International students; automatic consideration upon admission, no separate application: International Distinction $23,000; International Fellow $22,000; International Academic $21,000; International Ambassador $18,000; plus all first-year and transfer international students get the $1,000 Hall International Award
Choose Ohio First Scholarship Program - Undergraduate
ApplicationRenewable
GPA
3.5 unweighted HS GPA or class rank in the top 15%
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
Ohio resident; four years of math and/or computer science; four years of HS science (or STEMM Career Academy at Akron North HS); majoring in an approved STEMM major (Biology, Biochemistry, Chemistry, Computer Science, Environmental Science, Engineering, Mathematics, Nursing, Physics); separate application; 2026-2027 deadline February 15, 2026
Renewal terms
Renewable for four years of undergraduate study
Notes
Includes a dedicated mentor. The page publishes both cycles' deadlines: 2025-2026 (Feb 15, 2025) and 2026-2027 (Feb 15, 2026).
Students eligible for multiple Mount Union awards receive at least the value of the highest single award — not the sum. Any portion of a second award is based on financial need and requires the FAFSA. The maximum total award equals full tuition; full-tuition recipients get nothing additional. For ROTC full-tuition recipients, all other Mount Union awards become honorary, and private outside scholarships that exceed direct costs reduce the ROTC room-and-board benefit.
Highest-award rule with a full-tuition ceiling (Multiple Merit Awards policy); first-year merit awards cut by $3,000 for living off campus; ROTC room/board benefit reduced by federal/state grants and by outside scholarships exceeding direct costs. A fuller stacking policy lives in the Financial Aid Handbook (not opened in this extraction).
Named awards that don’t always surface on the main financial aid page. Each one has its own eligibility rules.
Amount$1,000/year ($4,000 total)EligibilityFirst-year and transfer students admitted Fall 2024 or later who schedule and attend an on-campus visit through the Office of Admission
Renewable up to four years — literally money for visiting campus.
Amount$1,000/year ($4,000 total) — page elsewhere says $500/year ($2,000 total); see Section C conflictEligibilityFirst-year and transfer students who complete the FAFSA; renewable if FAFSA filed each year
Two fetches of the same page showed different amounts ($500/yr vs $1,000/yr) — verify with aid office.
AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityStudents from high schools in Mahoning, Columbiana, or Trumbull County majoring in science, health/medical, education, or math (General) or engineering (Engineering)
Committee reviews all eligible students on acceptance; no separate application.
AmountFull tuition and technology feesEligibilityFive awards; Cleveland residents continuously enrolled in CMSD or partnering charter school grades 9-12, family income at or below $75,000; FAFSA required
AmountTuition and technology fees (gap coverage)EligibilityPell-eligible, family income $65,000 or less, 2.8+ HS GPA; in-state and out-of-state
Meets tuition+tech fees using grants/scholarships, Federal Loans, and Work Study (loans/work-study are part of the package). Renewable 8 semesters with continued FAFSA eligibility and SAP.
Amount$1,000 each (Esports open-tryout range $150-$1,000)EligibilityDependents of Mount Union graduates / cheer, dance team, mascot members / esports varsity recruits (2.5 GPA to keep Esports)
The automatic merit grid has no separate deadline (awarded at admission). Presidential Scholarship competition dates: December 6, 2025; January 17, 2026; February 14, 2026 (registration closes one week prior; results by February 23, 2026). Choose Ohio First (undergraduate) 2026-2027 deadline: February 15, 2026. Ohio Transfer Council Scholarship: June 30.
Do I need a separate application for merit scholarships?
No for the GPA grid — awards are made at the time of admission from your academic credentials. Yes for Presidential (competition), Choose Ohio First (application), and Visual/Performing Arts (audition or portfolio).
What keeps my scholarship renewed?
Grid scholarships renew at the original amount for up to eight semesters with full-time enrollment (12 credit hours) and good academic standing. The Presidential Scholarship requires a 3.0 cumulative GPA. Esports requires a 2.5.
What does Mount Union cost?
Per the 2026-2027 COA page: tuition $37,300, technology fee $500, on-campus food and housing $13,490, plus books, transportation, equipment, and personal allowances (no single total is printed; the on-campus line items sum to roughly $55,300). COA figures determine aid eligibility and are not the bill.
How Mount Union compares across our verified dataset
86 of 751 verified schools in our dataset use mixed displacement.
Mount Union is in the modest minority (86 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.
Mount Union 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 Mount Union’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
