Southern Miss award rules

Will the scholarship last four years at Southern Miss?

We pulled the school’s grade, credit, and time limits into one place so you can see what it takes to keep the award.

Verified Jul 20262 months ago

The short answer

21 of 22 published awards are listed as renewable.

The exact rule can change by award. Check the award your student may receive before you count on the same amount every year.

What to do

Find the award name in the full research below. Save its grade, credit, and deadline rules with your college plan.

See every award rule, common mistake, and source

At a glance

Renewable tiers: 21 of 22
One-time tiers: 1
Tiers with published renewal terms: 16
Renewal risk profile: low

Renewal risk profile

Southern Miss'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.

Academic Excellence Gpa325 Act31: 2.5 GPA
Academic Excellence Gpa325 Act32 Fulltuition: 2.5 GPA
Academic Excellence Gpa325 Act20: 2.5 GPA
Academic Excellence Gpa325 Act22: 2.5 GPA
Academic Excellence Gpa325 Act21: 2.5 GPA
Academic Excellence Gpa325 Act23: 2.5 GPA
Academic Excellence Gpa325 Act27: 2.5 GPA
Academic Excellence Gpa300 Act23: 2.5 GPA
Academic Excellence Gpa300 Act26: 2.5 GPA
Academic Excellence Gpa300 Act30: 2.5 GPA
Academic Excellence Gpa300 Act32: 2.5 GPA
Academic Excellence Gpa325 Act25: 2.5 GPA
Academic Excellence Gpa325 Act30: 2.5 GPA
Designation Valedictorian Salutatorian: 2.5 GPA
Designation Associate Achievement: 2.5 GPA
Designation Other Awards 8yr: 2.5 GPA

Renewal terms by tier

Academic Excellence — GPA 3.25, ACT 31
$10,000
Entry requirements: 3.25 GPA · 1390 SAT · 31 ACT
To keep it: Maintain 2.5 GPA; 15 credits/year
Source: https://www.usm.edu/scholarships-financial-wellness/freshman_scholarships/academicexcellence.php
Academic Excellence Full Tuition — GPA 3.25, ACT 32
Full tuition
Entry requirements: 3.25 GPA · 1420 SAT · 32 ACT
To keep it: Maintain 2.5 GPA; 15 credits/year
Source: https://www.usm.edu/scholarships-financial-wellness/freshman_scholarships/academicexcellence.php
Academic Excellence — GPA 3.25, ACT 20
$1,500
Entry requirements: 3.25 GPA · 1030 SAT · 20 ACT
To keep it: Maintain 2.5 GPA; 15 credits/year
Source: https://www.usm.edu/scholarships-financial-wellness/freshman_scholarships/academicexcellence.php
Academic Excellence — GPA 3.25, ACT 22
$3,000
Entry requirements: 3.25 GPA · 1100 SAT · 22 ACT
To keep it: Maintain 2.5 GPA; 15 credits/year
Source: https://www.usm.edu/scholarships-financial-wellness/freshman_scholarships/academicexcellence.php
Academic Excellence — GPA 3.25, ACT 21
$2,500
Entry requirements: 3.25 GPA · 1060 SAT · 21 ACT
To keep it: Maintain 2.5 GPA; 15 credits/year
Source: https://www.usm.edu/scholarships-financial-wellness/freshman_scholarships/academicexcellence.php
Academic Excellence — GPA 3.25, ACT 23
$4,500
Entry requirements: 3.25 GPA · 1130 SAT · 23 ACT
To keep it: Maintain 2.5 GPA; 15 credits/year
Source: https://www.usm.edu/scholarships-financial-wellness/freshman_scholarships/academicexcellence.php
Academic Excellence — GPA 3.25, ACT 27
$6,000
Entry requirements: 3.25 GPA · 1260 SAT · 27 ACT
To keep it: Maintain 2.5 GPA; 15 credits/year
Source: https://www.usm.edu/scholarships-financial-wellness/freshman_scholarships/academicexcellence.php
Academic Excellence — GPA 3.00, ACT 23
$1,500
Entry requirements: 3 GPA · 1130 SAT · 23 ACT
To keep it: Maintain 2.5 GPA; 15 credits/year
Source: https://www.usm.edu/scholarships-financial-wellness/freshman_scholarships/academicexcellence.php
Academic Excellence — GPA 3.00, ACT 26
$2,500
Entry requirements: 3 GPA · 1230 SAT · 26 ACT
To keep it: Maintain 2.5 GPA; 15 credits/year
Source: https://www.usm.edu/scholarships-financial-wellness/freshman_scholarships/academicexcellence.php
Academic Excellence — GPA 3.00, ACT 30
$3,000
Entry requirements: 3 GPA · 1360 SAT · 30 ACT
To keep it: Maintain 2.5 GPA; 15 credits/year
Source: https://www.usm.edu/scholarships-financial-wellness/freshman_scholarships/academicexcellence.php
Academic Excellence — GPA 3.00, ACT 32
$4,500
Entry requirements: 3 GPA · 1420 SAT · 32 ACT
To keep it: Maintain 2.5 GPA; 15 credits/year
Source: https://www.usm.edu/scholarships-financial-wellness/freshman_scholarships/academicexcellence.php
Academic Excellence — GPA 3.25, ACT 25
$5,250
Entry requirements: 3.25 GPA · 1200 SAT · 25 ACT
To keep it: Maintain 2.5 GPA; 15 credits/year
Source: https://www.usm.edu/scholarships-financial-wellness/freshman_scholarships/academicexcellence.php
Academic Excellence — GPA 3.25, ACT 30
$9,000
Entry requirements: 3.25 GPA · 1360 SAT · 30 ACT
To keep it: Maintain 2.5 GPA; 15 credits/year
Source: https://www.usm.edu/scholarships-financial-wellness/freshman_scholarships/academicexcellence.php
Designation Valedictorian Salutatorian
$2,000
To keep it: Maintain 2.5 GPA; 15 credits/year
Source: https://www.usm.edu/scholarships-financial-wellness/freshman_scholarships/frdesignationbased.php
Designation Associate Achievement
$3,000
Entry requirements: 3 GPA
To keep it: Maintain 2.5 GPA; 15 credits/year
Source: https://www.usm.edu/scholarships-financial-wellness/freshman_scholarships/frdesignationbased.php
Designation Other Awards 8yr
$2,000
To keep it: Maintain 2.5 GPA; 15 credits/year
Source: https://www.usm.edu/scholarships-financial-wellness/freshman_scholarships/frdesignationbased.php

How Southern Miss compares across our verified dataset

665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Southern Miss 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.
132 of 749 verified schools publish a dedicated National Merit Finalist package.
Southern Miss 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 Southern Miss’s own published materials.

Policy pageSouthern Miss stacking policy
Cost of attendanceSouthern Miss cost-of-attendance worksheet
Merit tiersAcademic Excellence Gpa325 Act31
Merit tiersDesignation Valedictorian Salutatorian
Merit tiersKeystone Scholar Award
Merit tiersNational Merit Semifinalist