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University of New Hampshire · New Hampshire

New Hampshire scholarships and merit aid

New Hampshire's public flagship runs a fully automatic five-tier GPA-banded merit ladder where non-residents get materially larger awards (up to $20,000/yr) than residents (up to $11,000/yr) — but the awards never come close to closing the $63k non-resident sticker price.

Verified Jul 20262 months ago

The short answer

Is New Hampshire worth a closer look?

New Hampshire is worth checking if your student has strong grades or scores. We found 5 published awards, and 5 are based on those numbers.

Merit tiers55 based on grades or scores
First-year students with school awards33%First-year students, CDS 2023-2024
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team

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Published scholarships

These amounts and requirements come from the school’s own published pages. Open an award to see who qualifies and how to keep it.

Up to $11,000/yr…Up to $11,000/yr (NH resident) / Up to $20,000/yr (non-resident)

Trustee's Scholarship

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
4.01
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Top GPA band (4.01+ weighted). Awarded automatically upon admission; no separate scholarship application. Non-resident award is larger than the resident award.

How to keep it

Renewable for up to 4 years (8 consecutive semesters). Recipient must reach a 3.20 cumulative GPA by the end of the fourth semester and maintain 3.2+ thereafter, stay continuously enrolled full-time at 12+ credits, and make appropriate degree progress.

Source

Up to $9,000/yr…Up to $9,000/yr (NH resident) / Up to $15,000/yr (non-resident)

Chancellor's Scholarship

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
3.90
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Awarded automatically on admission to students in the 3.90-4.00 weighted GPA band. No separate application.

How to keep it

Renewable for up to 8 consecutive semesters with a 3.20 cumulative GPA by the fourth semester, continuous full-time enrollment (12+ credits), and degree progress.

Source

Up to $7,000/yr…Up to $7,000/yr (NH resident) / Up to $12,000/yr (non-resident)

Presidential Scholarship

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
3.70
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Awarded automatically on admission to students in the 3.70-3.89 weighted GPA band. No separate application.

How to keep it

Renewable for up to 8 consecutive semesters with a 3.20 cumulative GPA by the fourth semester, continuous full-time enrollment (12+ credits), and degree progress.

Source

Up to $5,000/yr…Up to $5,000/yr (NH resident) / Up to $10,000/yr (non-resident)

Dean's Scholarship

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
3.50
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Awarded automatically on admission to students in the 3.50-3.69 weighted GPA band. No separate application.

How to keep it

Renewable for up to 8 consecutive semesters with a 3.20 cumulative GPA by the fourth semester, continuous full-time enrollment (12+ credits), and degree progress.

Source

Up to $2,000/yr…Up to $2,000/yr (NH resident) / Up to $7,500/yr (non-resident)

Director's Scholarship

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
3.00
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Entry GPA band (3.00-3.49 weighted). Awarded automatically on admission; no separate application. Non-resident award ($7,500) is more than triple the resident award ($2,000).

How to keep it

Renewable for up to 8 consecutive semesters with a 3.20 cumulative GPA by the fourth semester, continuous full-time enrollment (12+ credits), and degree progress.

Source

See what could change an award

Rules that could change the answer

These are the rules we would flag for your family. Each comes from New Hampshire's published information.

  • Renewal ruleTrustee's Scholarship: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

    Renewable for up to 4 years (8 consecutive semesters). Recipient must reach a 3.20 cumulative GPA by the end of the fourth semester and maintain 3.2+ thereafter, stay continuously enrolled full-time at 12+ credits, and make appropriate degree progress. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

What families often miss

  1. Every UNH merit band pays a materially larger amount to non-residents than to NH residents. The Trustee's band is up to $11,000/yr for residents but up to $20,000/yr for non-residents; the Director's band is up to $2,000 for residents but up to $7,500 for non-residents. The award is built to discount the high non-resident tuition, not to make UNH cheap for out-of-state families on net.

  2. Even the top $20,000/yr Trustee's band covers a little over half of the $37,996 non-resident tuition and leaves roughly $43,000 of the $62,862 published cost of attendance. New England students should also price the NERSP regional rate (tuition $28,532), which can be the larger lever than the GPA-banded award.

  3. The award is not guaranteed for four years just by enrolling. Recipients must reach a 3.20 cumulative GPA by the end of the fourth semester, hold 3.2+ afterward, and stay continuously full-time at 12+ credits. A weak first two years can cost the scholarship for the back half of the degree.

See award cutoffs and special programs

Trustee's Scholarship — UNH's top automatic GPA tier

The Trustee's Scholarship is UNH's highest published merit band, reserved for entering first-year students with a 4.01+ weighted GPA. It pays up to $11,000 per year for NH residents and up to $20,000 per year for non-residents, and it is awarded automatically on admission with no separate application. The non-resident award is nearly double the resident award, which reflects UNH's strategy of discounting its high $37,996 non-resident tuition to compete for out-of-state students. Even at the top $20,000 band, a non-resident still faces roughly $43,000 per year of remaining cost against the published $62,862 cost of attendance, so families should not treat the Trustee's award as a tuition-killer. The award renews for up to four years (eight consecutive semesters) as long as the student keeps a 3.20 cumulative GPA by the end of the fourth semester and stays continuously full-time at 12+ credits.

Source

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Out-of-state and New England regional students with a 3.0+ GPA who want a public research university where merit is awarded automatically off GPA with no separate application. Strongest value for high-GPA non-residents stacking the GPA-banded award with the NERSP regional tuition discount.

Cost of attendance$40,920–$62,862 for 2026-2027Each bar is the full published cost for that scenario, sized against the highest figure so totals compare at a glance.
Out-of-state, on-campus$62,862
In-state, on-campus$40,920
  • Tuition & fees
  • Housing & food
  • Books
  • Travel
  • Personal
  • Loan fees

UNH Durham. Both NH-resident and non-resident on-campus published with full itemization including loan fee.

New Hampshire cost-of-attendance source

Cost and graduation facts

Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at New Hampshire, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.

Average annual net price by family income at New Hampshire, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$16,523
$30,001–$48,000$17,476
$48,001–$75,000$19,446
$75,001–$110,000$22,815
$110,001+$28,588
All income levels (average)$23,805

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$19,202
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$39,852
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$23,805

That works out to roughly a 33% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $35,537 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

New Hampshire is a public school; Scorecard's net price figure covers in-state, Title-IV-aid-recipient payers only — there is no comparable federal figure for out-of-state students.

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
76%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
87%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$26,814 (~$284/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$66,479
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
19%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
56%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Outside scholarships reduce loans and/or work-study first; institutional grants are only reduced if required to prevent an over-award.

Verified policy language (2026-07-02): If you are receiving federal aid, regulations state that a student's resources cannot exceed a student's need. If you already have an aid package and your need is fully being met, your scholarship may require a reduction to your need-based award. In many cases, this will reduce the amount of the loans or federal work-study that you were awarded.

Source

More school data

From the New Hampshire Common Data Set 2023-2024:

Merit penetrationHow likely is merit aid here?From New Hampshire’s Common Data Set: the share of first-year students who receive institutional merit and the average dollar amount when they do.
33%of admitsget merit
Average award$7,189Covers ~11% of $62,862 cost of attendance

At New Hampshire, roughly 1 in 3 first-year admits receive institutional merit aid. The average award is $7,189 — about 11% of total cost.

As filed in New Hampshire's CDS Section H2A: of 2,605 first-time, full-time degree-seeking freshmen, 852 had no financial need and received institutional merit (non-need) scholarship or grant aid, averaging $7,189. Across all full-time degree-seeking undergraduates: 3,117 of 11,042, averaging $7,206. Athletic awards are excluded per the CDS definition.

Receive institutional merit33%First-year students, Common Data Set 2023-2024
Average merit award$7,189Across recipients, Common Data Set 2023-2024

Source: Common Data Set 2023-2024 (verified 2026-07-23)

Other New Hampshire scholarships worth checking

These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.

AmountHamel Scholarship of $9,000/yr, layered with the Trustee's ScholarshipEligibilityBy invitation; primarily for New Hampshire residents admitted to the UNH Honors College. Invited students are also offered the UNH Trustee's Scholarship, so a Hamel Scholar can reach roughly $20,000/yr in combined merit aid.

Source

New Hampshire merit aid FAQ

  • Do I have to apply separately for UNH merit scholarships?

    No. UNH states that 'no additional application is required for the university's merit scholarships' and that 'students will automatically be considered for these scholarships upon admission.' The tier you receive is set by your weighted GPA band.

  • How much merit aid will I get from UNH?

    It depends on your weighted GPA and your residency. The five bands run: Trustee's (4.01+) up to $11,000 resident / $20,000 non-resident; Chancellor's (3.90-4.00) up to $9,000 / $15,000; Presidential (3.70-3.89) up to $7,000 / $12,000; Dean's (3.50-3.69) up to $5,000 / $10,000; Director's (3.00-3.49) up to $2,000 / $7,500.

  • What GPA do I need to keep my UNH merit scholarship?

    UNH says recipients 'must achieve a cumulative GPA of 3.20 or higher (based on a 4.0 scale) by the end of their fourth semester and maintain a GPA of 3.2 or higher during the remainder' of their undergraduate career, plus stay continuously enrolled full-time at 12+ credits. The award lasts up to 8 consecutive semesters.

  • Is UNH affordable for out-of-state students with merit aid?

    Less than the sticker suggests, but not cheap. Non-resident cost of attendance is about $62,862 for 2026-27. Even the top $20,000/yr Trustee's award leaves roughly $43,000 a year. New England residents should also check the NERSP discounted tuition of $28,532, which can lower the bill more than the GPA-banded award.

  • Will an outside scholarship reduce my UNH aid?

    UNH's public pages do not publish a displacement formula. They explain the automatic GPA-banded merit ladder but not how a private/outside award interacts with it. Contact the Financial Aid Office (603-862-3600, financial.aid@unh.edu) to confirm whether an outside scholarship reduces loans, institutional aid, or unmet need before counting on stacking.

See sources and other schools

How New Hampshire compares

  • 145 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.

    New Hampshire is in a recognizable cluster (145 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

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

    New Hampshire is one of them. The cohort minority (84 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 New Hampshire’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

Keep exploring New Hampshire merit aid