Mount Union· Renewal Rules
Keeping Mount Union’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.
At a glance
- Renewable tiers
- 7 of 7
- One-time tiers
- 0
- Tiers with published renewal terms
- 4
- Renewal risk profile
- moderate
Renewal risk profile
Mount Union'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.
- First-Year Merit Scholarships (Trustee / Founder's / Dean's / Hartshorn): Full-time enrollment
- Presidential Scholarship: See notes
- Transfer Merit Scholarships: Full-time enrollment
- Choose Ohio First Scholarship Program - Undergraduate: See notes
Renewal terms by tier
First-Year Merit Scholarships (Trustee / Founder's / Dean's / Hartshorn)
$18,000-$23,000Entry requirements: Trustee: 3.92+ ($23,000); Founder's: 3.6-3.91 ($22,000); Dean's: 3.2-3.59 ($21,000); Hartshorn Award: 2.67-3.19 ($18,000) GPA
To keep it: 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.
Source: https://www.mountunion.edu/admission/tuition-and-aid/scholarships-and-grants
Presidential Scholarship
Full tuitionEntry requirements: 3.85 minimum GPA · 1300 minimum SAT · 28 minimum ACT
To keep it: 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.
Source: https://www.mountunion.edu/admission/presidential-scholarship-program
Transfer Merit Scholarships
$12,000-$18,000To keep it: Renewable each year (maximum of eight semesters); full time (12 credit hours) and good academic standing required.
Source: https://www.mountunion.edu/admission/tuition-and-aid/scholarships-and-grants
Choose Ohio First Scholarship Program - Undergraduate
$2,000-$8,000Entry requirements: 3.5 unweighted HS GPA or class rank in the top 15% GPA
To keep it: Renewable for four years of undergraduate study
Source: https://www.mountunion.edu/admission/tuition-and-aid/scholarships-and-grants
How families lose this aid
- Moving off campus without re-running the numbers.
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.
- Assuming the 3.85/28 ACT stats win the Presidential Scholarship automatically.
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.
- Skipping the FAFSA because you only expect merit aid.
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.
- Expecting merit awards to rise with tuition.
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').
Renewal questions families ask
- What are the scholarship deadlines?
- 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.
Rules that bite at Mount Union
The renewal trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook, derived from Mount Union's own tier rules and 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.
How Mount Union compares across our verified dataset
- 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 renewal claim is checked against Mount Union’s own published materials.
More on Mount Union merit aid
- Mount Union merit aid overviewFull tier ladder, named scholarships, departmental awards, and how families decide.
- Mount Union scholarship stackingWhether outside awards land as upside or quietly displace institutional aid.
- Does Mount Union displace outside scholarships?The dollar math on a $5,000 outside award, plus peer schools that handle it differently.