Scholarships & Financial Aid
Did you know 93% of our students receive some kind of grant and or scholarship? This means we have a variety of financial aid options available to help you make your college education more affordable. We help you understand your options and maximize the financial opportunities available to you.
The Cumberland Promise
With the CU Promise, you could earn up to $16,000 in scholarship dollars to finish your associate or bachelor’s degree at CU. Community college graduates and transfers are eligible for a $6,000 grant, regardless of achievement level or chosen field of study.
Students who graduate with a University-parallel associate degree may be eligible for the “Cumberland Promise”, depending upon his or her chosen field of study. This scholarship is based upon major, community college graduation GPA, and level of need.
The sizes of the available awards are as follows:
3.75 and above
3.50 to 3.75
3.00 to 3.49
2.50 to 2.99
< 2.49
*The Cumberland Promise applies to all baccalaureate degree programs except the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. BSN students are eligible for up to $6,000 through the Cumberland Grant.
It is the program underwriters’ intention to provide financial aid to those successful students who need it most. Financial need, therefore, will be a consideration in determining the amount of any award.
Application for these awards is automatic when an eligible community college graduate (or prospective graduate) applies to Cumberland University and completes the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Awards will be made monthly.
Cumberland awards $300,000 in private and endowed scholarships every year.
There are a variety of ways you can pay for your college education and receive financial assistance including scholarship opportunities unique to transfer students.
-
Alma and Fannie Baird Scholarship
The late Senator William D. Baird, BA, LL.B (1930, 1931) established this scholarship in memory of his mother, Fannie Baird, and wife, Alma Counts Baird. The awards are need-based and awarded to deserving young men and women of Wilson County, Tennessee. Transfer students must have a minimum 2.00 cumulative GPA, and entering freshmen must also have a minimum 18 composite on the ACT or equivalent on the SAT.
-
Bascom and Alice Cooksey, Sr. Endowed Scholarship
This scholarship is awarded to an undergraduate student from Wilson County, Tennessee with a minimum entering ACT score of 20 or a high school GPA of 2.5 or if enrolled in Cumberland or as a transfer student shall have a GPA of 2.5 based on a 4.0 scale.
-
Jeanette Cantrell Rudy Scholarship for Excellence in Nursing
Mrs. Jeanette C. Rudy, former University Board Chair, and namesake of the Rudy School of Nursing & Health Professions established this scholarship in 2010. This award will benefit undergraduate students in nursing and admitted to the upper level nursing program at Cumberland University. Preference will be given to recipients who are returning Cumberland students. Transfer students will also be eligible. Continuing Cumberland students must have maintained a minimum GPA of 3.5 during freshman and sophomore years at CU and had an entering ACT score of 22 with equivalent SAT. Students transferring into Cumberland must have a minimum GPA of 3.5 for all college-level work. Recipients must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.5 to continue receiving the scholarship.
-
Shelby Glisson Memorial Scholarship
This scholarship was established in Memory of Shelby Glisson to support new, transfer, and/or current full-time undergraduate or graduate students attending Cumberland University during any semester who has had or does have medical adversities. First time recipients must have either minimum GPA 3.0 and transfer students must have a minimum GPA of 2.75. If a student chooses to renew this scholarship, they must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 and be in Good standing with Cumberland. Recipients from Wilson County will be given priority with students from other Middle Tennessee Counties as a second preference.
Financial Aid
Financial aid is money to help you pay for educationally-related expenses. Aid can be loans, part-time employment, grants or scholarships, and can come from federal, state, institutional or private agencies. You can combine these types of aid to help offset the costs of your education.
Your next step
If CU sounds like the college for you, you can take your next step today and apply. Our application opens every year August 1 and we send decisions out four times a year.
Contact Us. We’re Here to Help.
If you have any questions or need any help through your next steps, please don’t hesitate to reach out. We’re here to help guide you through this process and discuss your future at Cumberland University.
The Admissions Office is open Monday through Friday from 8am to 4:30pm CST. Please contact the Admissions Office at 615-547-1246 locally or 800-467-0562 to speak with our Transfer Enrollment Specialist or email admissions@cumberland.edu.