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Winthrop University · South Carolina

Winthrop scholarships and merit aid

Winthrop awards automatic, named merit scholarships (Premier/Gold/Garnet/Blue Line/Eagle Promise) on a published GPA-and-test grid the moment you're admitted — $2,000-$8,000/yr for SC residents, and a smaller stipend plus a full out-of-state tuition waiver for non-residents.

Verified Jul 20262 months ago

The short answer

Is Winthrop worth a closer look?

Winthrop is worth checking if your student has strong grades or scores. We found 11 published awards, and 10 are based on those numbers.

Merit tiers1110 based on grades or scores
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.

$8,000 per year…$8,000 per year ($32,000 four-year value)

Winthrop Premier Scholarship (In-State)

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
average SC GPA of 5.22 (Uniform Grading Scale), OR average SC GPA of 5.17 with test scores
SAT
1340 (with 5.17 GPA path)
ACT
29 (with 5.17 GPA path)
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

South Carolina resident; awarded automatically on admission, no separate scholarship application

How to keep it

Renewable for up to three (3) additional years as long as the student maintains financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Notes

Top in-state tier. GPA figures are on South Carolina's Uniform Grading Scale, which is weighted and can exceed 4.0. No separate scholarship application is required.

Source

$6,500 per year…$6,500 per year ($26,000 four-year value)

Winthrop Gold Scholarship (In-State)

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
average SC GPA of 4.97, OR average SC GPA of 4.85 with test scores
SAT
1240 (with 4.85 GPA path)
ACT
26 (with 4.85 GPA path)
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

South Carolina resident; automatic on admission

How to keep it

Renewable for up to three (3) additional years as long as the student maintains financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Notes

SC GPA is on the weighted Uniform Grading Scale.

Source

$5,000 per year…$5,000 per year ($20,000 four-year value)

Winthrop Garnet Scholarship (In-State)

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
average SC GPA of 4.65, OR average SC GPA of 4.48 with test scores
SAT
1150 (with 4.48 GPA path)
ACT
23 (with 4.48 GPA path)
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

South Carolina resident; automatic on admission

How to keep it

Renewable for up to three (3) additional years as long as the student maintains financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Notes

SC GPA is on the weighted Uniform Grading Scale.

Source

$3,500 per year…$3,500 per year ($14,000 four-year value)

Winthrop Blue Line Scholarship (In-State)

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
average SC GPA of 4.35, OR average SC GPA of 4.07 with test scores
SAT
1050 (with 4.07 GPA path)
ACT
20 (with 4.07 GPA path)
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

South Carolina resident; automatic on admission

How to keep it

Renewable for up to three (3) additional years as long as the student maintains financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Notes

SC GPA is on the weighted Uniform Grading Scale.

Source

$2,000 per year…$2,000 per year ($8,000 four-year value)

Winthrop Eagle Promise Scholarship (In-State)

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
average SC GPA of 3.95, OR average SC GPA of 3.69 with test scores
SAT
970 (with 3.69 GPA path)
ACT
18 (with 3.69 GPA path)
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

South Carolina resident; automatic on admission

How to keep it

Renewable for up to three (3) additional years as long as the student maintains financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Notes

Entry-level in-state tier. SC GPA is on the weighted Uniform Grading Scale.

Source

$6,000 per year plus an Out-of-Stat…$6,000 per year plus an Out-of-State Tuition Waiver ($80,160 four-year value)

Winthrop Premier Scholarship (Out-of-State)

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
average GPA of 4.0, OR average GPA of 3.85 with test scores
SAT
1340 (with 3.85 GPA path)
ACT
29 (with 3.85 GPA path)
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Out-of-state (non-resident) student; automatic on admission. Out-of-state GPAs use a standard 4.0 scale (not the SC Uniform Grading Scale).

How to keep it

Renewable for up to three (3) additional years as long as the student maintains financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Notes

Top non-resident tier. The waiver covers the out-of-state portion of tuition; total out-of-state grant/waiver from all Winthrop sources cannot exceed $468 per credit hour in 2026-2027. The $80,160 four-year value combines the $6,000/yr stipend and the waiver.

Source

$4,000 per year plus an Out-of-Stat…$4,000 per year plus an Out-of-State Tuition Waiver ($72,160 four-year value)

Winthrop Gold Scholarship (Out-of-State)

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
average GPA of 3.88, OR average GPA of 3.83 with test scores
SAT
1250 (with 3.83 GPA path)
ACT
26 (with 3.83 GPA path)
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Out-of-state (non-resident) student; automatic on admission

How to keep it

Renewable for up to three (3) additional years as long as the student maintains financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Notes

Waiver covers the out-of-state tuition portion (capped at $468 per credit hour in 2026-2027).

Source

$2,500 per year plus an Out-of-Stat…$2,500 per year plus an Out-of-State Tuition Waiver ($66,160 four-year value)

Winthrop Garnet Scholarship (Out-of-State)

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
average GPA of 3.65, OR average GPA of 3.61 with test scores
SAT
1130 (with 3.61 GPA path)
ACT
22 (with 3.61 GPA path)
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Out-of-state (non-resident) student; automatic on admission

How to keep it

Renewable for up to three (3) additional years as long as the student maintains financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Notes

Waiver covers the out-of-state tuition portion (capped at $468 per credit hour in 2026-2027).

Source

$1,500 per year plus an Out-of-Stat…$1,500 per year plus an Out-of-State Tuition Waiver ($62,160 four-year value)

Winthrop Blue Line Scholarship (Out-of-State)

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
average GPA of 3.40, OR average GPA of 3.24 with test scores
SAT
1120 (with 3.24 GPA path)
ACT
22 (with 3.24 GPA path)
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Out-of-state (non-resident) student; automatic on admission

How to keep it

Renewable for up to three (3) additional years as long as the student maintains financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Notes

Waiver covers the out-of-state tuition portion (capped at $468 per credit hour in 2026-2027).

Source

$1,000 per year plus an Out-of-Stat…$1,000 per year plus an Out-of-State Tuition Waiver ($60,160 four-year value)

Winthrop Eagle Promise Scholarship (Out-of-State)

Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
average GPA of 3.10, OR average GPA of 2.86 with test scores
SAT
1050 (with 2.86 GPA path)
ACT
20 (with 2.86 GPA path)
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Out-of-state (non-resident) student; automatic on admission

How to keep it

Renewable for up to three (3) additional years as long as the student maintains financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Notes

Entry-level non-resident tier. Waiver covers the out-of-state tuition portion (capped at $468 per credit hour in 2026-2027); the waiver is what makes the four-year value large despite the small cash stipend.

Source

$1,000 per year…$1,000 per year ($4,000 four-year value)

Palmetto Boys and Girls State Scholarship

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Completed the Palmetto Boys State or Palmetto Girls State program as a rising high school senior and listed as a participant by the program.

How to keep it

Stated as a $4,000 four-year value; renews alongside the primary Winthrop scholarship.

Notes

Stacks ON TOP of the primary Winthrop merit scholarship: 'awarded in addition to one of the Winthrop scholarships listed above.' Activity-based, not stats-based.

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 Winthrop's published information.

  • Aid capHard $37,340 cost-of-attendance ceiling

    Institutional aid at Winthrop cannot push the package past $37,340. Big outside wins can mathematically reduce institutional grant once the ceiling is reached.

What families often miss

  1. The in-state tiers use South Carolina's weighted Uniform Grading Scale, where an A in a weighted course can push the GPA above 5.0. A 'normal' unweighted 4.0 is NOT a 4.0 here — out-of-state students use a different, standard 4.0-scale grid with much lower numeric cutoffs (e.g., Premier at 4.0).

  2. The merit award is automatic, but only if the completed admission application reaches the Office of Admissions by February 1, 2026. There is no separate scholarship application, so the admission deadline IS the scholarship deadline.

  3. The headline value for non-residents is the Out-of-State Tuition Waiver bundled with the stipend (four-year values of $60,160-$80,160), which waives the non-resident tuition surcharge — capped at $468 per credit hour in 2026-2027. The cash stipend is the smaller piece.

  4. Winthrop requires you to report all outside aid and 'may be required to adjust your award.' The order of reduction (loans, grants, or institutional merit) is not published, so winning an outside scholarship could reduce other aid. Ask the aid office before counting on it as pure addition.

  5. The 2026-2027 in-state on-campus total cost of attendance is $37,340 (tuition $13,980 + fees $1,084 + housing/food $14,112 + books $1,200 + transportation $2,702 + personal $4,168 + loan fees $94). Even a top $8,000 Premier award covers only part of the full COA.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Students who want a transparent, automatic, stats-based merit award with no separate scholarship application — especially strong SC residents on the Uniform Grading Scale, and out-of-state students who want their non-resident tuition surcharge waived to pay close to in-state rates.

Published yearly cost: Approximately $37,340 for 2026-2027. Source

Cost and graduation facts

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

Average annual net price by family income at Winthrop, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$12,608
$30,001–$48,000$12,983
$48,001–$75,000$13,966
$75,001–$110,000$18,518
$110,001+$21,359
All income levels (average)$15,343

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$14,678
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$28,676
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$15,343

That works out to roughly a 50% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $30,710 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

Winthrop 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
57%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
74%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$26,975 (~$286/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$47,185
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
53%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
62%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Outside scholarships only trigger an aid adjustment if total aid would exceed the cost of attendance (or the student's aid eligibility cap); below that ceiling, awards are not displaced.

Verified policy language (2026-07-02): Awards from all sources cannot exceed a student's Cost of Attendance. The Office of Financial Aid reserves the right to adjust the value of scholarships as deemed necessary to comply with federal, state, and institutional guidelines. Separately, the school's own award-stacking rules: Internally, the Palmetto Boys/Girls State award explicitly stacks on top of the primary merit scholarship, and SC state scholarships (LIFE, HOPE, Palmetto Fellows) are awarded separately — but the pages do not state how they layer against the institutional merit award or the COA cap. (per https://www.winthrop.edu/finaid/financial-aid-policies.aspx)

Source

Other Winthrop scholarships worth checking

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

Amount$5,000/year for up to four consecutive yearsEligibilitySouth Carolina resident meeting two of three: High School GPA of at least 3.0 on the SC Uniform Grading Scale; 1100 SAT or 22 ACT; top 30% of class. Renewal requires earning an average 30 credit hours per year and a cumulative 3.0 LIFE GPA.

State lottery-funded award administered by the SC Commission on Higher Education; not a Winthrop institutional award. The Winthrop SC scholarships page lists it at $5,000/year. Whether it layers on top of the institutional merit award (vs. counting toward a resource cap) is not stated on Winthrop's pages — flag for aid office.

Source

Amount$2,800 for the freshman year onlyEligibilitySouth Carolina resident with a High School GPA of at least 3.0 on the SC Uniform Grading Scale who does not qualify for LIFE or Palmetto Fellows. First-year only; cannot be renewed.

State lottery-funded, freshman year only. Mutually exclusive with LIFE/Palmetto Fellows.

Source

Amount$6,700/year for the first year, $7,500/year for continuing students for up to three more yearsEligibilitySouth Carolina resident meeting the state's Palmetto Fellows criteria (the most selective SC lottery award); students work with their high school guidance counselors to apply.

State lottery-funded, most selective SC tier. Per SC CHE, Palmetto Fellows may receive up to $6,700 freshman year and up to $7,500 sophomore-senior years.

Source

AmountVariesEligibilityEnrolled/admitted students; applications typically available early in the spring term, by college or department.

Separate applications; amounts not published on a single grid. See /finaid/scholarships-by-college-or-department.aspx.

Source

AmountVariesEligibilityStudents in talent disciplines (interior design, athletics, theatre and dance, fine arts, etc.); audition/portfolio based.

Awarded by program; amounts not published centrally.

Source

Winthrop merit aid FAQ

  • Do I have to apply separately for a Winthrop merit scholarship?

    No. Entering first-time freshmen are automatically considered based on GPA and (optionally) SAT/ACT once admitted — 'No separate scholarship application is required.' Just get your completed admission application in by February 1, 2026.

  • What's the scholarship deadline?

    A completed admission application must be received by the Office of Admissions by February 1, 2026 to be considered for the automatic merit scholarships.

  • Are the scholarships renewable, and what GPA do I need to keep them?

    They renew for up to three additional years (four years total) as long as you maintain financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). Winthrop's pages cite SAP rather than a single named renewal GPA for the institutional merit award; confirm the exact SAP GPA/credit requirements with the aid office.

  • Do out-of-state students pay full non-resident tuition?

    If you earn a Winthrop merit tier as a non-resident, you also receive an Out-of-State Tuition Waiver that waives the non-resident tuition surcharge (capped at $468 per credit hour in 2026-2027), bringing your cost much closer to in-state — that waiver is the bulk of the four-year value ($60,160-$80,160).

  • Can I combine a Winthrop merit scholarship with SC LIFE or Palmetto Fellows?

    SC LIFE ($5,000/yr), Palmetto Fellows ($6,700 then $7,500/yr), and SC HOPE ($2,800, freshman year only) are separate state lottery awards for SC residents. The Palmetto Boys/Girls State award is explicitly 'awarded in addition to' the Winthrop merit scholarship. Winthrop's pages do not spell out how the state LIFE/Palmetto/HOPE awards layer against institutional merit or any resource cap, so confirm the combined package with the aid office.

See sources and other schools

How Winthrop compares

  • 235 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use cost-of-attendance cap displacement.

    Winthrop is in a recognizable cluster (235 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.

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

Compare with similar schools

  • Coastal Carolina merit aid. South Carolina public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • Charleston merit aid. South Carolina public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • Francis Marion merit aid. South Carolina public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • Lander merit aid. South Carolina public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.

Keep exploring Winthrop merit aid