If you win a scholarship, will Truett McConnell lower other aid?
We checked the school’s published rule so you can decide whether an outside award is worth your time.
Verified Jul 20262 months ago
The short answer
The scholarship can add to the aid already offered.
Each student receives exactly ONE academic scholarship from the GPA grid, but TMU's other institutional scholarships (Christian school, home school, dual enrollment, Georgia Baptist, minister dependent, sibling discount, cross-cultural, music, athletic) are explicitly 'stackable with all other student financial aid.' Outside/private scholarship displacement is not addressed in the documents opened.
What to do
Use this rule to focus on awards that will lower what your family pays.
See the dollar example, school comparisons, and sources
Published policy type
No displacement
Truett McConnell doesn't displace institutional aid at all. In plain dollar terms, that means a $5,000 outside award lowers the family bill by the full $5,000.
truett.edu publishes the $40,932 cost-of-attendance worksheet the math is run against.
Expecting to combine two academic-grid awards (e.g., Presidential + Dean).
The institutional aid document states students 'will receive one Academic Scholarship based on unweighted GPA' — the grid awards are mutually exclusive, though the smaller institutional scholarships do stack on top.
Assuming the academic scholarship applies to online enrollment.
The document is headed 'Applicable to Full-time Students Enrolled in On-Campus Courses' — part-time and online students are outside the published grid.
Assuming the renewal rules for the GPA-grid scholarships are known.
The 2026-27 institutional aid document publishes awarding criteria but no renewal GPA — families should ask the aid office what college GPA keeps each award.
Displacement questions families ask
What is the scholarship deadline?
No scholarship deadline is published in the 2026-27 institutional aid document — academic scholarships are assigned from GPA at admission. The Scholarships & Aid page directs students to complete the FAFSA, acceptance, and aid steps; application-based awards (minister dependent, cross-cultural) require their own forms.
Aid-office script (copy & send)
The displacement rule is only binding when it's in writing. This script asks Truett McConnell's aid office the specific question that matters for no displacement.
Subject: Outside-scholarship treatment question, fall applicant
Dear Truett McConnell Financial Aid Office,
I'm a fall applicant reviewing how outside scholarships interact with my institutional aid package. I've read the public policy at https://truett.edu/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/TMU-Institutional-FA-26-27-INC.pdf and the $40,932 cost-of-attendance worksheet.
Can you confirm that a $5,000 private outside scholarship, added after my package is built, stacks on top of institutional merit and need-based aid up to COA, without reducing any institutional grant dollars?
Is there a specific reporting form I need to file when the outside award is confirmed?
A written answer (email is fine) is important because the outside-scholarship awarding bodies want confirmation before disbursing. Thank you for the time.
— [Student name], [Application ID if available]
How Truett McConnell compares across our verified dataset
14 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use no-displacement displacement.
Truett McConnell is in the small minority (14 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.
Truett McConnell 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 Truett McConnell’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
