Does UNG have automatic merit scholarships based on GPA or test scores?

Not as a published institutional dollar grid. For Georgia residents the automatic, stats-based aid is the state HOPE Scholarship (3.0 GPA, no test required) and the Zell Miller Scholarship (3.7 GPA plus 1200 SAT or 26 ACT) — both pay 100% of UNG bachelor tuition. UNG's own admissions scholarships are awarded through one application with no published amounts, and 'only students selected to receive a scholarship will receive a notification.'

What is the scholarship deadline?

For incoming students, the UNG scholarship priority window is roughly September 1 to February 1 (the Fall 2026 application is now closed). Honors one-time and study-abroad awards close November 15. The UNG Military Scholarship deadline is February 15. File the FAFSA and the Georgia GSFAPPS (for HOPE/Zell Miller) early.

Do I have to keep my grades up to renew?

Yes for the state awards: HOPE requires maintaining a 3.0 HOPE GPA and 67% completion rate; Zell Miller requires a 3.3 HOPE GPA and 67% completion. The honors Presidential Scholarship requires 12+ completed credit hours per semester and good standing in the Honors Program, renewable up to 12 semesters.

University of North Georgia· Renewal Rules

Keeping University of North Georgia’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· CC

At a glance

Renewable tiers: 5 of 5
One-time tiers: 0
Tiers with published renewal terms: 5
Renewal risk profile: low

Renewal risk profile

University of North Georgia'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.

Georgia HOPE Scholarship (state award): See notes
Georgia Zell Miller Scholarship (state award): See notes
Presidential Scholarships (UNG Honors Program — Choate Family, William P. Roberts, Alexander Brevard Russell): See notes
Presidential Tuition Waiver (PTW) — out-of-state & international: See notes
Georgia ROTC and Future Officer Grant (Corps of Cadets): See notes

Renewal terms by tier

Georgia HOPE Scholarship (state award)
100% of UNG bachelor on-campus / online tuition
Entry requirements: 3.0 HOPE GPA (initial eligibility from high school) GPA
To keep it: Recipients must maintain a 3.0 HOPE GPA and a 67% completion rate of all coursework; the HOPE GPA is checked at the end of every Spring Semester and after attempting 30, 60, and 90 semester hours.
Source: https://ung.edu/cost-aid/financial-aid/hope-faqs.php
Georgia Zell Miller Scholarship (state award)
100% of UNG bachelor on-campus / online tuition
Entry requirements: 3.7 high school GPA GPA · 1200 on the Math and Reading portions SAT · 26 composite ACT
To keep it: Zell Miller Scholarship recipients must maintain a 3.3 HOPE GPA and a 67% completion rate of all coursework; the Zell Miller (HOPE) GPA is checked at the end of every Spring Semester and after attempting 30, 60, and 90 semester hours.
Source: https://catalog.ung.edu/content.php?catoid=12&navoid=250
Presidential Scholarships (UNG Honors Program — Choate Family, William P. Roberts, Alexander Brevard Russell)
Up to $1,000 per year
Entry requirements: Honors Program admission (first-semester freshmen: minimum 3.5 high school GPA per the Honors apply page) GPA
To keep it: Renewable for up to four years of study; available for up to 12 semesters, renewed annually, provided recipients enroll in and complete a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester and maintain good standing in the Honors Program.
Source: https://ung.edu/honors-program/curriculum/scholarships.php
Presidential Tuition Waiver (PTW) — out-of-state & international
Up to $25,000 to $50,000 over four years
Entry requirements: Based on academic performance GPA · Considered SAT · Considered ACT
To keep it: Full PTW lets recipients pay tuition at the in-state rate for up to ten semesters if renewal criteria are met. Specific renewal GPA not published on the page.
Source: https://ung.edu/cost-aid/scholarships/new-students-scholarships.php
Georgia ROTC and Future Officer Grant (Corps of Cadets)
Up to $750 per semester; up to $2,000 per semester with a commissioning agreement
Entry requirements: Not specified GPA
To keep it: Paid at the end of each semester; continued participation in the Corps / ROTC required. Specific renewal GPA not published on the page.
Source: https://ung.edu/military-college-admissions/costs-financial-aid/scholarships-and-grants/index.php

How families lose this aid

Expecting an automatic institutional merit grid like other public flagships publish.
UNG does not publish a GPA/test dollar grid for its own institutional aid. The 'New Student Scholarship Application' is one form for all Undergraduate Admissions Academic and Leadership Scholarships, but no amounts or cutoffs are published and 'only students selected to receive a scholarship will receive a notification.' Your automatic merit at UNG effectively IS HOPE/Zell Miller (state).
Treating the '$25,000 to $50,000 over four years' PTW figure as cash you receive.
That number is the SAVINGS versus the out-of-state sticker tuition, realized by being charged the in-state (Full PTW) or in-state-plus-half (Half PTW) rate. It is a rate waiver, not a scholarship check, and it is competitive — not guaranteed.
Missing the incoming-student scholarship priority window or the cadet/military Feb 15 deadlines.
The incoming-student scholarship priority window runs roughly September 1 to February 1; the Honors one-time/study-abroad deadline is November 15; and the UNG Military Scholarship deadline is February 15. The Fall 2026 Undergraduate Admissions Scholarship Application is already closed as of this review — late applicants miss UNG-funded consideration.

Renewal questions families ask

Does UNG have automatic merit scholarships based on GPA or test scores?: Not as a published institutional dollar grid. For Georgia residents the automatic, stats-based aid is the state HOPE Scholarship (3.0 GPA, no test required) and the Zell Miller Scholarship (3.7 GPA plus 1200 SAT or 26 ACT) — both pay 100% of UNG bachelor tuition. UNG's own admissions scholarships are awarded through one application with no published amounts, and 'only students selected to receive a scholarship will receive a notification.'
What is the scholarship deadline?: For incoming students, the UNG scholarship priority window is roughly September 1 to February 1 (the Fall 2026 application is now closed). Honors one-time and study-abroad awards close November 15. The UNG Military Scholarship deadline is February 15. File the FAFSA and the Georgia GSFAPPS (for HOPE/Zell Miller) early.
Do I have to keep my grades up to renew?: Yes for the state awards: HOPE requires maintaining a 3.0 HOPE GPA and 67% completion rate; Zell Miller requires a 3.3 HOPE GPA and 67% completion. The honors Presidential Scholarship requires 12+ completed credit hours per semester and good standing in the Honors Program, renewable up to 12 semesters.

How University of North Georgia compares across our verified dataset

669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
University of North Georgia 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 University of North Georgia’s own published materials.