Merit based scholarships are awarded to eligible, first-time freshmen upon admission to Rider. These scholarships are annually renewable for up to four consecutive years, provided you maintain continuous, full-time enrollment and the minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) specified in your acceptance letter.
*CGPA requirements for maintaining a merit-based scholarship awarded as a first-time freshman apply to students enrolled prior to Fall 2021.
CGPA requirements for maintaining your freshman merit scholarship:
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Presidential Scholarship:
Renewable up to four years if recipient maintains a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.20 -
Provost Scholarship:
Renewable up to four years if recipient maintains a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.80 -
Deans Scholarship:
Renewable up to four years if recipient maintains a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.50 -
Founders Scholarship:
Renewable up to four years if recipient maintains a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.25
For other scholarships and awards not listed here, the requirements are as specified in your acceptance letter or award notification.
If you do not meet the CGPA requirement at the end of the academic year, your scholarship will be discontinued until the CGPA requirement is satisfied. For example, if you subsequently achieve the required CGPA at the conclusion of the fall semester, one-half of the annual scholarship amount will be awarded for the spring semester.
Enrollment in summer session classes may be used to help satisfy the scholarship renewal requirements for the academic year. If you meet the required CGPA by the end of Summer Session II, you will continue to receive the scholarship for the fall and spring semesters, provided you meet all other eligibility requirements.
If lost or discontinued for any reason, the Presidential, Provost, Deans and Founders Scholarships may be reinstated only once. One-time reinstatement is not an automatic process. Students must appeal in writing to have their scholarships reinstated. Keep in mind scholarships are funded for a defined--and limited--budget period. This time frame (i.e., original window of potential scholarship eligibility) is fixed and cannot be extended due to appeals and reinstatements.
This is only a summary of policy applicable to the above-named scholarships. Comprehensive scholarship awarding and renewal policies, including requirements for awards not shown here, are maintained in the Office of Financial Aid.
Note: A scholarship is a financial aid award to an individual student (a scholar) for the purposes of furthering their education. Merit-based scholarships are primarily awarded based on the students’ prior academic performance. Merit scholarships are renewable as long as the student maintains the minimum criteria to retain the award. Scholarships and grants do not get repaid.
Upon admission to Rider University, students that meet the criteria and qualifications for a scholarship automatically receive the award; no additional scholarship application is required. Awards are subject to change.