Grants and Scholarships

So you have a respectable GPA and a solid ACT/SAT test score? Great! You’re eligible for the Renewable Academic Scholarship.

Freshman Criteria

If you’ve graduated from high school within the past nine months, or taken no more than 10 semester hours of college credit, and will be taking a full-time load (12 or more hours), this scholarship will automatically be awarded once transcripts and test scores are received. The Renewable Academic Scholarship renews at 100 percent each year if you maintain a 2.0 GPA and full-time student status. 

• Step 1: Multiply your high school GPA* by 1,000 
• Step 2: Multiply your ACT** test score by 100
• Step 3: Add all points from Step 1 and 2

Points	Scholarship	4 Year Total	Awarded Per Year
4,800 - 5,700	Honors	$8,000	$2,000
5,701 - 6,600	Dean	$16,000	$4,000
6,601 - 7,300	Presidential	$24,000	$6,000
7,301 and higher	50% Tuition	Over $45,000	50% Tuition for 12-16 Credit hours

*GPA is capped at a 4.0. 
**Superscoring is used for the Renewable Academic Scholarship. Call the Admissions office at 1.800.SOUTHERN for help converting an SAT score to an ACT Score for calculating this scholarship.

Full Tuition Scholarship Criteria

Eligibility Deadline April 1

Incoming first-time in college students can qualify for a full tuition scholarship by meeting one of the following high school GPA and ACT composite score combinations. The test score composite must be from a single test date (not superscored).

GPA Range	Minimum    ACT Composite	Minimum    SAT-R Total
4.000+	33	1450
3.900 - 3.999	34	1490
3.800 - 3.899	35	1530
3.700 - 3.799	36	1570

Scholarship	Awarded Per Year	4 Year Total
Full Tuition	Full-Tuition for 12-16 Credit hours	Over $95,000

The Full Tuition Scholarship amount includes full tuition plus the general fee. Lab fees are not covered by this scholarship.

The Full Tuition Scholarship renews at 100 percent each year if you maintain a 2.0 GPA and full-time student status. 

Call the Admissions office at 1.800.SOUTHERN for help converting an SAT score to an ACT Score for calculating this scholarship.

If your state of residence is in the Southern Union of Seventh-day Adventists and you would lose your state scholarship by choosing to attend Southern, you may qualify for $12,000 over four years (awarded $3,000 per year). The home address on your undergraduate application will be used to determine your state of residence. Students who receive employer tuition assistance through their parents employer are not eligible for this scholarship. 

Incoming freshmen will be eligible to renew this scholarship for up to four years if they maintain at least a 2.0 GPA and full-time student status.

Did you graduate from a public high school, home school, or private high school not run by an Adventist organization? If you attended for two or more years, you may qualify for an $8,000 freshman bridge scholarship (awarded $2,000 over four years) provided to encourage giving Adventist education a try.

Incoming freshmen will be eligible to renew this scholarship for up to four years if they maintain at least a 2.0 GPA and full-time student status.

Option 1: High School Leadership Scholarship

The High School Leadership Scholarship is for seniors at an Adventist Academy who held an elected leadership position. No application is required for the High School Leadership Scholarship. Each Adventist academy can nominate up to 9 individuals for this scholarship. 

Position	4 Year Total	Awarded Per Year
Senior Class President	$6,000	$1,500
Student Association President	$6,000	$1,500
All Other Positions	$4,000	$1,000

Option 2: Church Leadership Scholarship

The Church Leadership Scholarship is for students who provide a service to your church for a minimum average of two times per month, during the past 12 months prior to submitting the scholarship application. For example, serve as a leader in children’s programming, assist with media production, be involved in the church’s outreach programs, or participate in a Pathfinders TLT program.

Individuals eligible for the Church leadership Scholarship will receive $4,000 over four years (awarded $1,000 per year). A scholarship application is required.

Application Process 
In order to be considered for a Church Leadership Scholarship. To apply, login to your Application Status Page. An applicant must submit a leadership application listing the following information:

• Positions/Roles held  
• Responsibilities for each position/role 
• Contact name, phone, and email for verification of the position/role 

Deadline

• A priority deadline for submitting the Church Leadership Scholarship is April 1. 
• A limited number of Church Leadership scholarships are available. Awarding will continue until the application deadline or whenever the maximum number of recipients are selected, whichever occurs first.

Notifications and Selection Process

• Notifications to individuals selected for the scholarship will begin on November 1 and will continue on a monthly basis.
• It is highly recommended that you submit the FAFSA application. While the scholarship does not require financial need, it will be considered as part of the selection process.
  
  

Incoming freshmen will be eligible to renew their Leadership Scholarship for up to four years if they maintain at least a 2.0 GPA and full-time student status.

Note: Students can only receive one type of leadership scholarship. 

Taking the PSAT test your junior year of high school is the first step for entering the National Merit Program. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation notifies students qualifying as semi-finalists or PSAT commended scholars. The list is also sent to United States colleges and universities.

Scholarships for students qualifying as semi-finalists and for PSAT commended scholar placement are determined based on the Renewable Academic Scholarship criteria.

The semi-finalist may advance to finalist status by taking the SAT during the senior year and by meeting other requirements outlined by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation.

If you’re a National Merit Finalist you will receive a full-tuition scholarship for four years if you maintain at least a 2.0 GPA.

If you have been accepted in one of the National Recognition programs:


National Hispanic Recognition Program (Hispanic students)
National African American Recognition Program
National Indigenous Recognition Program
National Rural and Small Town Recognition Program

You will receive a 50% tuition scholarship for four years if you maintain at least a 2.0 GPA.

Hereare some FAQ's on this program.

The National Recognition Program Scholarship is awarded in place of the Renewable Academic Scholarship to incoming first-time-in-college students. 

Spend your summer working in ministry, either as a literature evangelist or at an Adventist conference-sponsored summer camp, and you’ll be rewarded with a scholarship when you return to Southern.

Literature Evangelism Scholarship

Summer earnings are matched 50 percent, with a scholarship cap of $2,000. Earnings must be applied to your account before the scholarship is applied. 

Summer Camp Scholarship

You will receive $175 per full week worked, with a scholarship cap of $2,100. (Your camp director must submit the number of weeks worked to Student Finance.)

At the end of each summer, Southern will contact your employing organization to verify that you met your contractual obligations. If you participate in multiple summer ministries, you’re eligible to receive only one of the summer ministry scholarships—whichever is larger.

• The Three-Way Scholarship is available for students currently enrolled more than six credit hours at Southern Adventist University.
  • Students enrolled in six to eleven credits in a semester will receive a maximum of $125 scholarship match by Southern for that semester.
  • Students enrolled in less than six credits are not eligible.

• The maximum scholarship match by Southern will be $500 per student per year, awarded at a maximum of $250 per semester, and will be applied only after the local church and conference funds have been received in full.

• Students receiving educational subsidy from a Seventh-Day Adventist institution are not eligible for these matching funds.

• Students receiving a full tuition scholarship will have their academic scholarship reduced dollar for dollar by any Southern Three-Way Scholarship award.

• This scholarship match is available to any undergraduate student seeking their first associate or bachelor’s degree, including international students.

• Georgia Cumberland Conference does not participate in this scholarship program. 

You can download the scholarship application - Apply here

The Transfer Academic Scholarship is awarded to students who have earned more than 10 hours of college credit and will be taking a full-time load (12 or more undergraduate hours) through the duration of the scholarship. This scholarship is based on a combination of the student’s ACT* score and cumulative college GPA. GPA is capped at a 4.0. This scholarship will automatically be awarded once all college transcripts and test scores are received.

Step 1: Multiply your cumulative college GPA by 1,000
Step 2: Multiply your ACT* test score by 100
Step 3: Add all points from Step 1 and 2

TOTAL POINTS	SCHOLARSHIP	YEARLY AMOUNT
4,800-5,700	Bronze	$2,000
5,701-6,600	Silver	$4,000
6,601 & higher	Gold	$6,000

* Transfer students who do not have an ACT score can qualify for a scholarship based on their cumulative GPA only. The GPA is capped at a 4.0.  

CUMULATIVE GPA	SCHOLARSHIP	YEARLY AMOUNT
3.00-3.39	Bronze	$1,000
3.40-3.79	Silver	$2,000
3.80 & higher	Gold	$3,000

Transfer students can receive this scholarship each year by maintaining a cumulative GPA of 2.0. The cumulative GPA is determined after the first semester at Southern and then yearly after the fall semester. Southern does not round up numbers for this scholarship.

Southern Adventist University is blessed with a growing endowment fund created by donors interested in helping students like you achieve your educational goals.

Eligibility for scholarships from the Southern endowment fund is determined by filling out the FAFSA, which uses a nationally recognized formula to determine a family's financial need. The Student Finance Office will automatically award this scholarship and contact you if you are eligible.