Southern Miss· Renewal Rules

Keeping Southern Miss’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 20261 day ago· HX-AUTO

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 Gpa325 Act31
$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 Gpa325 Act32 Fulltuition
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 Gpa325 Act20
$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 Gpa325 Act22
$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 Gpa325 Act21
$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 Gpa325 Act23
$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 Gpa325 Act27
$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 Gpa300 Act23
$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 Gpa300 Act26
$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 Gpa300 Act30
$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 Gpa300 Act32
$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 Gpa325 Act25
$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 Gpa325 Act30
$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

178 of 203 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Southern Miss is one of them. The cohort minority (25 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.
61 of 203 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.