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William Carey scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$32,810per year · 2025-2026 · cost of attendance
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

William Carey is worth checking if your student has strong grades or scores. We found 5 published awards, and 2 are based on those numbers.

Where does your student land?

Verified Jul 2026
2 school sources to explore

Published rules, with the school sources close at hand. Confirm the details before you count on an award.

The award collection

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.

Where does your student land?

  1. Academic Scholarships — First-Time Freshmen and First-Time International Students (Trustee / Presidential / Dean / Opportunity)$2,900-$10,100AutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Academic Scholarships — First-Time Freshmen and First-Time International Students (Trustee / Presidential / Dean / Opportunity)

    $2,900-$10,100

    Published rangeAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    SAT
    1030 minimum (Opportunity); 1260+ for top Trustee tier
    ACT
    20 minimum (Opportunity); 27+ for top Trustee tier
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Academic Scholarships — First-Time Freshmen and First-Time International Students (Trustee / Presidential / Dean / Opportunity)

    Who qualifies

    CLT accepted (66 minimum; 91+ for Trustee). Only one eligible test score required; WCU uses the highest scored test. Undergraduate, first bachelor's degree, full-time. Amounts differ for on-campus vs off-campus students.

    How to keep it

    Students must be full-time and maintaining the required cumulative GPA to retain their scholarship. GPA to Maintain: Trustee 3.20, Presidential 3.00, Dean 2.75, Opportunity 2.50.

    Worth knowing

    No application: 'Students need not apply. Academic scholarships will be determined and awarded by the institution upon review of the student's academic record.' Amounts are for the 2026-2027 academic year, split between semesters.

  2. Academic Scholarships — Transfer Students (PTK Distinction / Presidential / Dean / Opportunity)$2,900-$9,800AutomaticRenewable
    Published awardAcademic thresholds

    Academic Scholarships — Transfer Students (PTK Distinction / Presidential / Dean / Opportunity)

    $2,900-$9,800

    Published rangeAll published eligibility conditions still apply. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    Transfer GPA 2.50 minimum (Opportunity); 3.50 for PTK Distinction/Presidential
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Academic Scholarships — Transfer Students (PTK Distinction / Presidential / Dean / Opportunity)

    Who qualifies

    PTK Distinction additionally requires proof of PTK Membership; students must transfer to WCU from the institution where PTK Membership was obtained. Students with 12+ hours of dual credit in high school, a 3.5+ cumulative GPA, and proof of PTK Membership can also qualify.

    How to keep it

    Students must be full-time and maintaining the required cumulative GPA to retain their scholarship. GPA to Maintain: PTK Distinction 3.20, Presidential 3.00, Dean 2.75, Opportunity 2.50.

    Worth knowing

    Same no-application policy as the freshman grid; amounts split between on-campus and off-campus.

  3. Carey Scholar AwardTuition for up to 30 credit hours/year + $1,800/year room waiverNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Carey Scholar Award

    Tuition for up to 30 credit hours/year + $1,800/year room waiver

    Variable or qualified amountNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    SAT
    1360+ (EBRW + Math)
    ACT
    30+ composite
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Carey Scholar Award

    Who qualifies

    99+ CLT also accepted. Competitive: requires 2 letters of recommendation, a 500-700 word MLA essay, and a 3-5 minute video. Fifteen students selected each academic year. Selected students must pay a $300 nonrefundable seat deposit and register at the March Carey Bound event.

    How to keep it

    Students must be enrolled in at least 12 credit hours per semester and must maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.50. Students must complete the FAFSA every year to maintain eligibility.

    Worth knowing

    Award covers only hours actually enrolled, max 30/year — front-loading 18 hours in fall leaves only 12 covered in spring. If the student qualifies for a Pell Grant, the award is reduced by 50% of the qualifying Pell Grant. Includes Honors College acceptance.

  4. Mission Scholarships — Church-Related Vocation (CRV) Scholarship and Ministry-Related Vocation (MRV) Scholarship$4,200-$9,800Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Mission Scholarships — Church-Related Vocation (CRV) Scholarship and Ministry-Related Vocation (MRV) Scholarship

    $4,200-$9,800

    Published rangeNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    Transfer GPA 2.00+ (transfers)
    SAT
    1030+ (first-time freshmen)
    ACT
    20+ (first-time freshmen)
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Mission Scholarships — Church-Related Vocation (CRV) Scholarship and Ministry-Related Vocation (MRV) Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    CLT 66+ also accepted. Both require a letter from the student's church declaring a public commitment to ministry; the church must be part of the Southern Baptist Convention for the CRV Scholarship. CRV: $9,800 on-campus / $6,800 off-campus. MRV: $6,800 on-campus / $4,200 off-campus.

    How to keep it

    GPA to Maintain: 2.00 (both CRV and MRV).

    Worth knowing

    Faith/vocation-gated awards that exceed several tiers of the academic grid.

  5. Educator Preparation Scholarship$9,000Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Educator Preparation Scholarship

    $9,000

    Published amountNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Educator Preparation Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Full-time undergraduates seeking a first bachelor's degree who completed two years of the Educator Preparation Program while in high school. Application required. Transfer students may still qualify.

    How to keep it

    Students must remain full-time and maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.75 to retain the Educator Preparation Scholarship.

    Worth knowing

    Will not stack with any other major scholarship offered by William Carey. Pell-eligible students have this scholarship reduced by 50% of the qualifying Pell Grant amount.

Lights up against William Carey's published cutoffs. Not an award offer; confirm with the financial aid office. Award terms and residency rules change; some awards differ for in-state and out-of-state students. Always confirm at the school’s source page.

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  • “it told me what to ask and what the renewal GPA looked like, which I was not going to find on my own”Melissa

The fine print

Renewal ruleAcademic Scholarships — First-Time Freshmen and First-Time International Students (Trustee / Presidential / Dean / Opportunity): renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

Students must be full-time and maintaining the required cumulative GPA to retain their scholarship. GPA to Maintain: Trustee 3.20, Presidential 3.00, Dean 2.75, Opportunity 2.50. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

Outside awardsDifferent aid types are displaced differently

William Carey treats loans, work-study, and institutional grant under different rules. The same $5,000 outside award can land against any of them depending on category.

What makes William Carey different

DRAFT: William Carey publishes a fully automatic, test-score-driven academic scholarship grid (no application needed) with explicitly different on-campus vs off-campus amounts, plus a competitive Carey Scholar Award covering up to 30 hours of tuition per year.

Merit tiers52 based on grades or scores
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team

More than one award path

Separate the two paths.

Some awards use published academic thresholds. Others have different selection criteria. A score chart does not describe every award at this school.

  1. Match the published criteria

    Use all requirements together, including residency and the entering class.

  2. Check the application dates

    Confirm the current admission and scholarship deadlines directly with the school.

  3. Know what happens next year

    Check renewal, credit requirements and how other aid affects the award.

The fine print / Three questions to carry forward

Before you count on it.

Does it apply to us? Confirm the entering year, residency and every eligibility condition.

Can we keep it? Check renewal GPA, credits and how long the award lasts.

Can we combine it? Ask how outside scholarships and other school awards change the offer.

Take William Carey's decision sheet

A printable research summary, source links and room for your questions.

See what could change an award

What families often miss

  1. The page states: 'Scholarships are not packaged together or considered "stackable" unless otherwise noted.' Only Add-On scholarships, Endowed scholarships, cheerleading, RA, and most talent scholarships are listed as stackable with a major award; the Educator Preparation Scholarship explicitly 'will not stack with any other major scholarship.'

  2. Institutional aid is capped at actual charges: 'If a student receives an amount of institutional aid that exceeds the student's charges on their ledger, the institutional aid will be reduced down to the same amount as the student's charges to equal a zero balance.'

  3. The page states: 'If a student qualifies for a Pell Grant, the Carey Scholar Award will be reduced by 50% of the qualifying Pell Grant.' The same 50%-of-Pell reduction applies to the Educator Preparation and Teacher Assistant scholarships.

  4. The award covers a maximum of 30 hours per academic year: 'If a student enrolls in 18 hours in the Fall semester, they will only have 12 hours of eligible coverage for the Spring semester.'

  5. Every academic grid tier pays substantially less off-campus (e.g., Trustee is $10,100 on-campus but $7,100 off-campus; freshman Opportunity drops to $2,900). The Carey Scholar room waiver also 'will not be applied' if the student is approved to live off-campus.

  6. The Trustee scholarship requires maintaining a 3.20 cumulative GPA (and the Carey Scholar Award requires 3.50 plus an annual FAFSA); falling below means losing the scholarship, not sliding to a lower tier — the page lists a single 'GPA to Maintain' per award.

  7. All Carey Scholar documentation (essay, video, recommendations) 'must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on January 16, 2026' — months before typical enrollment deposit timelines, and only fifteen students are selected each year.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

DRAFT: Strong test-takers (ACT 20+) who plan to live on campus get the best automatic awards; a 30+ ACT student willing to compete for one of 15 Carey Scholar slots can win tuition coverage for 30 hours/year plus a room waiver.

Published yearly cost: Approximately $32,810 for 2025-2026. Source

Cost and graduation facts

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

Average annual net price by family income at William Carey, academic year 2021-22
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$12,224
$30,001–$48,000$12,411
$48,001–$75,000$15,320
$75,001–$110,000$18,436
$110,001+$19,701
All income levels (average)$14,258

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$15,480
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$14,258

That works out to roughly a 52% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $29,651 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
60%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
78%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$20,832 (~$221/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$43,087
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
47%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
22%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Major institutional scholarships do not stack with each other unless explicitly noted; only designated 'Add-On' scholarships (and certain awards like Endowed, cheerleading, RA, and most talent scholarships) stack with a major award. Institutional aid is also capped at the student's actual charges — it can never generate a refund — and certain awards (Carey Scholar, Educator Preparation, Teacher Assistant) are reduced by 50% of any qualifying Pell Grant.

Page states scholarships are not 'stackable' unless otherwise noted; Add-On Scholarships 'are used to compliment other major forms of institutional aid.' Endowed Scholarships 'are eligible for stacking with other major scholarships.' Institutional aid exceeding ledger charges is reduced to a zero balance; a refund is only possible with aid from an outside source (federal aid, state aid, external grant, etc.). The page does not state that outside scholarships reduce institutional aid.

Source

Other William Carey scholarships worth checking

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

Amount$2,100 per yearEligibilityProof of earning the rank of Eagle Scout or the Girl Scout Gold Award; requires 20 ACT / 1030 SAT / 66 CLT or 2.50 transfer GPA; full-time, first bachelor's degree.

Stacks on top of a major academic scholarship (Add-On category).

Source

Amount$2,000 per yearEligibilityCompleted the JROTC program during BOTH junior and senior year of high school; same test/GPA floor as other Add-Ons.

Add-On: stacks with major institutional aid.

Source

Amount$2,000 per yearEligibilityStudents selected as a member of a Color Guard.

Add-On: stacks with major institutional aid.

Source

Amount$1,000 (first term of enrollment only)EligibilityParticipated in William Carey's Dual Credit or Step Ahead program in high school. Not applicable for transfer students.

One-term award, not annual.

Source

Amount$400 per yearEligibilityChildren, grandchildren, siblings, and spouses of WCU Alumni.

Add-On: stacks with major institutional aid.

Source

Amount$400 per yearEligibilityStudents recommended by a pastor of a Southern Baptist Church.

Add-On: stacks with major institutional aid.

Source

Amount$500-$1,000EligibilityProof of serving as a ranking member within Phi Theta Kappa: President $1,000, Vice President $800, Officer $500.

Distinct from the PTK Distinction major award in the transfer grid.

Source

Amount$500-$9,000EligibilityPlacement in MBCB Bible Drill or Student Speakers' Tournament. Major versions ($3,000-$9,000) do NOT stack with other major institutional aid; Add-On versions ($500-$2,500) do stack. The student receives whichever form is more advantageous.

Speakers Tournament 1st place: $9,000 (Major) or $2,500 (Add-On).

Source

AmountAmount not published (varies by fund/market value)EligibilityApplication open January 1 - April 1 of the prior academic year; graduate and undergraduate students eligible.

Explicitly stackable with other major WCU scholarships; not guaranteed year to year. Awards announced by June 30.

Source

William Carey merit aid FAQ

  • Do I need to apply for William Carey's academic merit scholarships?

    No. The institutional aid page states: 'Students need not apply. Academic scholarships will be determined and awarded by the institution upon review of the student's academic record.' Add-On scholarships and the Carey Scholar Award do require separate applications.

  • What is the Carey Scholar application deadline?

    All documentation must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. on January 16, 2026 (for the 2026 entering class); selected students are notified by February 13, 2026.

  • How much is the top automatic freshman scholarship?

    The Trustee scholarship is $10,100/year on-campus ($7,100 off-campus) for ACT 27+, SAT 1260+, or CLT 91+ — amounts stated for the 2026-2027 academic year.

  • Does the Carey Scholar Award cover housing and food?

    No — it covers up to 30 hours of tuition per academic year plus a $900-per-semester room waiver ($1,800/year). It is not a full ride; food and remaining housing charges are the student's responsibility.

  • Is a FAFSA required?

    Carey Scholars 'must complete the FAFSA every year to maintain eligibility,' and Missionary Dependent Scholarship applicants must file the FAFSA. The page does not state a FAFSA requirement for the automatic academic grid.

See sources and other schools

How William Carey compares

  • 32 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use mixed displacement.

    William Carey is in the small minority (32 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.

    William Carey 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 William Carey’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

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