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Merit Award Policy (11/2023)
- Merit award eligibility is determined at the time of admission to the University. Degree-seeking candidates applying as a first-time freshman or transfer student are automatically reviewed for a merit award at the time of admission. No additional merit award review occurs after enrollment and there is no appeal process to request a review.
- Recipients must be admitted to CCU as an initial undergraduate, degree‐seeking student. Readmitted students and Coastal Carolina University Second-Degree seeking students are not eligible for merit awards. Readmitted students who had a break in enrollment due to extenuating circumstances may appeal through Financial Aid and Scholarships at scholar@coastal.edu.
- Recipients must enroll as full‐time students (12-18 credit hours) each fall and spring semester. Merit awards are not offered during summer terms. Students enrolled in less than full-time credit (11 or less credit hours), who are in their final semester of enrollment, can contact Financial Aid and Scholarships at scholar@coastal.edu to request a proration of their merit award.
- Merit awards may be renewed up to four continuous years of enrollment (a total of eight semesters) with exception to the transfer merit awards. Each transfer student’s semesters of eligibility vary depending on the number of credit hours transferred to CCU for a maximum of seven semesters. See the following chart for eligibility.
Number of transferred hours:
30 ‐ 44 transferred hours = 7 semesters eligibility; 45 ‐ 59 transferred hours = 6 semesters eligibility;
60 ‐ 74 transferred hours = 5 semesters eligibility; 75 ‐ 89 transferred hours = 4 semesters eligibility;
90+ transferred hours = 3 semesters eligibility.
- To maintain eligibility for a CCU merit award, recipients are required to meet annual renewal requirements, defined as 30 credits and a 3.0 CCU cumulative GPA.
- Recipients enrolling in a spring term are eligible for half of the annual award amount during their initial semester. Subsequent eligibility will be determined by standard annual renewal requirements.
- Recipients who lose eligibility or do not retain eligibility after attending the summer term(s) will not be able to regain award eligibility. Students with extenuating circumstances may appeal through Financial Aid and Scholarships at scholar@coastal.edu upon the first term of enrollment after the loss of the scholarship.
- If a grade change or a finalized incomplete grade results in meeting the renewal requirements, the recipient must contact the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office to reinstate the award. Conversely, incomplete grade resolution may result in the loss of an award if the required cumulative CCU GPA or credit hours are not satisfied.
- CCU’s Repeat Forgiveness Option only allows course credits to be counted once for graduation requirements, as well as for fulfillment of any University merit award credit requirement.
- For out‐of‐state awards only: Out‐of‐state recipient’s awards are applied to their accounts as a minimum of $500 in the named award and a University Tuition Waiver for the remaining value (the combined amount will equal the specified tuition discount or award amount).
- Tuition discount percentages are calculated using the base full-time tuition cost, as well as the required technology fee only. Awards may, however, be applied towards a student’s account up to the allowable cost of attendance, which is determined annually by the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office. Awards are not prorated for coursework taken that exceeds full-time tuition (more than 18 credit hours).
- The total of all financial aid, including merit awards, may not exceed a student’s annual cost of attendance as determined by the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office.
- Any combination of University tuition waivers may not exceed the difference between in‐state and out‐of‐state tuition.
- If a student is determined to be an in‐state resident after being offered an out‐of‐state award, the award will convert to the in‐state equivalent.
- Students may only receive tuition assistance from one of the following programs: Presidential Scholarship, President’s Scholar Award, Provost’s Scholar Award, Coastal Scholar Award, Teal Scholar Award, South Carolina Scholar Award, Coastal Transfer Award (all levels), PGA Golf Management Program Awards, Visual and Performing Arts Award, CCU‐HGTC Bridge Award, Chanticleer Grant, Coastal Choice Award, Bronze Award, or the Academic Common Market tuition savings program.
- Students receiving discounted tuition from a tuition incentive program (military tuition rate, e-rate, etc.) are not eligible to receive additional tuition assistance from the following: Presidential Scholarship, President’s Scholar Award, Provost’s Scholar Award, Coastal Scholar Award, Teal Scholar Award, South Carolina Scholar Award, Coastal Transfer Award (all levels), PGA Golf Management Program Awards, Visual and Performing Arts Award, CCU‐HGTC Bridge Award, Chanticleer Grant, Coastal Choice Award, Bronze Award, HTC Honors College Scholarship, Dean’s Excellence Award, SC Waiver of Tuition for Dependents of Certain War Veterans, or the Academic Common Market tuition savings program.
- The Financial Aid and Scholarships Office reserves the right to adjust or cancel an award at any time due to changes in the recipient’s enrollment, academic status, or upon learning of any irregularities in the recipient’s initial or ongoing eligibility.
- Student-athletes must meet one of the following criteria to receive this award: Rank in top 10% of high school graduating class; achieve a cumulative GPA of at least 3.5 (on a 4.0 scale); present a minimum ACT sum score of 105 or minimum SAT score of 1200 (critical reading and math) for tests taken before March 2016 or a minimum SAT score of 1270 (evidence-based reading and writing plus math) for tests taken in or after March 2016.
- For the most current information, go to coastal.edu/meritawards. Information may change without notification.
- For questions and more information, new students should contact the Office of Admissions and Merit Awards, admissions@coastal.edu or 800.277.7000. Returning students should contact the Financial Aid and Scholarships Office, finaid@coastal.edu, or 843.349.2313.