Jacksonville University Scholarships (2026–2027)
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Last Updated on September 2, 2026- Tuition, housing, and average family net price
- Automatic merit ranges and qualifier benchmarks
- Flagship and hidden-gem awards
- Honors and stacking strategy
📊 Admissions Snapshot
- Acceptance Rate: ~57%
- Middle 50% ACT: 22-27
- Middle 50% SAT: 1130-1280
- Average GPA: 3.73
Here is the thing families miss about Jacksonville University: the sticker price and the actual price are almost never the same number, and that is by design. JU publishes a tuition figure near $50,000 and then says out loud that 100% of its full-time undergraduates receive a scholarship, with the average institutional award landing around $34,435. The discount is not a negotiation. It is a published ladder, and your student’s unweighted high school GPA decides which rung they land on the day they are admitted.
That makes JU unusually easy to price out in advance compared to most private universities. It also makes JU unusually easy to get wrong, because the automatic money is only half the picture. The other half is a set of rules about what happens when you stack Florida Bright Futures, the EASE grant, and a JU scholarship on top of each other. Those rules have a hard ceiling, and knowing where the ceiling sits is the difference between an accurate budget and an ugly surprise in July.
Comparing multiple schools? Try the Scholarship Tool to search by GPA, test scores, and state →
📌 Jacksonville University at a Glance
- There is a hard ceiling on stacking. JU will reduce its own scholarships if your total gift aid exceeds direct costs, which JU defines as tuition plus on-campus room and board. Bright Futures plus EASE plus JU merit can hit that wall fast, and the award that gets trimmed is JU’s.
- JU offers no institutional need-based grants. That is JU’s own language. Need-based help comes from federal and state programs only. If your family’s aid strategy depends on a school digging into its own pocket for need, JU is not that school.
- The scholarship-matching portal is locked until you pay. Scholarship Universe, JU’s matching platform, only opens after the $500 enrollment deposit. You cannot browse it while comparison shopping, so do not count on it when you are choosing between schools in April.
- Test-optional for admission, test-required for Honors. JU does not need scores to admit your student. The Cost Honors College does, and so do the 4+1 program and the Freshman Direct-Entry Nursing program. No score means no Honors application, full stop.
- Superscoring is split. JU superscores the SAT. It does not superscore the ACT or the CLT. If your student is an ACT kid, only the single best sitting counts.
- Rolling admission with no early plans. There is no early decision and no early action at JU. Decisions start going out September 1 and continue until the class fills, which means applying early is purely about getting your money number sooner and beating the seats running out.
- Aviation families, add a second budget. Flight training is billed separately from tuition, plus a $500-per-semester flight operations program fee. The four-year flight total runs into the tens of thousands. See the cost section below.
- Institutional aid is fall and spring only. Not summer, not study abroad. And if your student drops below full time for anything other than summer break, JU terminates the institutional award.
FAQ
Is this college test-optional? Yes — Jacksonville University is test-optional.
What is the middle 50% ACT/SAT? ACT: 22-27; SAT: 1130-1280.
Average net price? About $26,255/year after aid.
Does this school use waivers/reciprocity? No — private school; same rate for all.
Funding Your Future – Undergraduate Tuition & Academic Scholarships (Transfer): https://www.ju.edu/financialservices/tuition/undergraduate-affordability.php
University Programs & Scholarships – Sibling Scholarship: https://www.ju.edu/financialservices/aid/programs/programs.php
JU News – JU & Brooks Rehabilitation Launch Workforce Partnership for Nursing Students: https://www.ju.edu/news/2026-1-28-jacksonville-university-and-brooks-rehabilitation-launch-workforce-partnership-for-nursing-students.php
JU Experiential Learning Scholarships: https://www.ju.edu/experientiallearning/scholarships.php
CollegeScorecard / Admissions: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
💰 Cost of Attendance at Jacksonville University 2026-2027
📅 2027–2028 Planning Note: The costs below reflect the most recently published figures (2026–2027). Universities typically finalize the next year’s rates in the spring, and we’ll update this page once official 2027–2028 numbers are released.
Planning tip: At large public universities, tuition, fees, and housing usually increase modestly each year (often in the 2–5% range). For early budgeting, families may want to plan for roughly $1,000–$1,500 more in-state or $2,000–$3,000 more out-of-state in total direct costs once new rates are published.
| Category (2026–2027) | In-State | Out-of-State |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition & Mandatory Fees (2 semesters) | $50,000 | $50,000 |
| Housing & Meals (typical) | $18,130 | $18,130 |
| Total (Direct Costs) | $68,130 | $68,130 |
Average Federal Net Price: $26,255 — this is what families actually paid after grants and scholarships (no loans), based on the most recent federal data. Your specific cost could be significantly lower or higher depending on your financial aid eligibility and merit scholarships. New to Net Price & SAI? Read our guide.
📌 Regional Tuition & Waiver Options
JU’s School of Aviation is one of the best reasons to look at this school, and it is also the single biggest budget trap on the page. Flight training is billed as a separate non-tuition cost, on top of everything in the table. There is also a $500 per semester Aviation Flight Operations program fee. JU’s own aviation cost pages have put the four-year total for a student going from Private Pilot through Certificated Flight Instructor in the $75,000 to $82,000 range, and JU notes the number moves with each student’s ability and pace plus FAA and vendor price changes.
Before you commit, pull the current flight cost sheet: 2026 Flight Course Non-Tuition Costs (PDF). Ask financial aid directly whether any JU scholarship dollars can be applied to flight fees, because merit awards are written against tuition.
- Book Bundle, $750/year. Charged automatically to full-time students. JU has a waiver form if you would rather buy or rent books yourself.
- Student health insurance, $4,010/year. Also automatic, also waivable if your student is covered by another policy. Two waiver forms, two real savings.
- Nursing subscription fee, $2,000. One time, at the start of the BSN, ABSN, or DEMSN program. Covers course and testing materials plus a new student kit.
- Engineering program fee, $500 per semester. Same structure as the aviation fee.
- Admissions deposit, $500. Non-refundable after the May 1 deadline, and it is also the key that unlocks the Scholarship Universe portal.
Every college files a Common Data Set, a standardized report that is far more honest than a viewbook. JU’s most recent complete filing tells you things the marketing pages will not:
- Average aid package for a first-year student: $40,397. Average need-based grant on its own: $38,370.
- JU meets about 78% of demonstrated need for first-year students who get need-based aid. Roughly one in five of those students had need fully met. Plan for a gap.
- For students with no financial need at all, the average merit award was $37,646. That is the GPA ladder plus stackers, working as advertised.
- Books and supplies: about $700/year. Transportation: about $1,800 for residents, $3,415 for commuters. Neither is billed by JU, but both are real.
- Two different deposits. The $500 admissions deposit is not refundable after May 1. The separate $100 housing deposit is fully refundable if your student does not enroll. Do not confuse them.
- The application fee is $30 and can be waived for financial need. Ask, do not assume.
In JU’s most recent graduating class, about 55% of students borrowed, and the average federal loan debt at graduation was roughly $25,673. That is a normal, manageable number. Here is the one that should get your attention: about 15% of that class also took private loans, and those students averaged $67,941 in private debt.
Private loans are what families reach for when the merit award plus federal loans still does not close the gap. If your projected net price leaves a hole you would have to fill with a private lender, that is the moment to widen your list, not the moment to sign. Run the numbers before your student falls in love with the campus, not after.
A private university in Florida is not the same math as a private university anywhere else, because the state hands you money to spend there.
- Florida Prepaid works at JU. JU applies Florida Prepaid benefits at the same rate as state public institutions. You can take it restricted (per credit hour each semester) or unrestricted (lump sums until the benefit is exhausted).
- EASE pays you to choose private. The Effective Access to Student Education grant is a Florida program for residents attending eligible independent nonprofit colleges. It is not need-based. You must be a Florida resident for a year, enroll full time, and keep a 2.0.
- Bright Futures travels. Florida Academic Scholars and Florida Medallion Scholars both pay per enrolled credit at JU, same as they would at a state school.
Stack all three with a JU Academic Scholarship and you can knock a serious hole in that $68,000 figure. Just remember the ceiling: JU trims its own award if the total goes past tuition plus room and board.
FAQ — Cost of Attendance at Jacksonville University
Why is there no separate in-state and out-of-state price?
JU is private, so there is one tuition rate for everyone. A student from Ohio and a student from Jacksonville see the same number on the bill. That also means there is no residency waiver to chase and no reciprocity program to qualify for. The way out-of-state families lower the cost here is merit, and merit alone.
What exactly is the “comprehensive fee”?
It is $1,500 a year, charged to all full-time undergraduates, and it bundles student wellness programs, health services access, academic support, and campus activities into one line instead of a dozen small fees. We fold it into the tuition figure above because it is not optional and you will pay it.
Is the housing number in the table what my student will actually pay?
It reflects a standard double room with the all-access meal plan and $500 flex, which is the typical setup. A single room runs higher, and apartment-style housing sits in between. Meal plans also vary. If your student ends up in a single with an apartment plan, budget above the table.
What does the average net price of about $26,255 actually mean?
It is the federal figure for what families paid after grants and scholarships, no loans. Roughly speaking, the average JU family pays a bit more than a third of the sticker. Your number depends almost entirely on where your student lands on the GPA ladder and whether Florida state aid is in play.
Will tuition go up every year?
JU says out loud that tuition, room, and board rates are set annually and typically increase 3% to 5%. Your scholarship dollar amount generally holds steady, which means the gap you cover grows a little each year. Budget for that on the front end rather than being surprised as a sophomore.
Can I get a real estimate before applying?
Yes, and you should. JU’s net price calculator is public and does not require an application or a deposit. Run it with your actual numbers before you fall in love with the campus. Then run it again with the GPA ladder in front of you to sanity check the merit piece.
https://www.ju.edu/financialservices/tuition/undergraduate.php
https://www.ju.edu/financialservices/tuition/undergraduate-affordability.php
https://www.ju.edu/financialservices/aid/programs/programs.php
📅 The JU Timeline (Simple Version)
- August 1 of senior year: Application opens. JU accepts both the Common Application and its own application, so this is a low-friction add to a list your student is already building.
- September 1: Decisions start going out on a rolling basis. Merit is attached to the admission offer, so an early application means an early scholarship number.
- Before February 1: Priority deadline for Honors review. Miss it and your student can still be admitted to Honors, just later and against a thinner pool.
- March 15: Annual FAFSA deadline for keeping an Honors Scholarship alive. Every year, not just freshman year.
- May 1: Reply deadline, or within two weeks if notified after that. The $500 admissions deposit is not refunded after this date, and paying it is what unlocks the Scholarship Universe portal.
- Before June 1: JU’s soft deadline for fall applications. Rolling admission, but seats close when the class fills.
Parent rule of thumb: rolling admission is not permission to relax. There is no early decision or early action here, so the only lever your student has is applying early in the fall. Do that, get the number in September, and spend the winter comparing real offers instead of guessing.
Automatic Merit Scholarships — Jacksonville University
📊 The GPA Ladder, Band by Band
| Band | Unweighted GPA | Annual Award |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3.8 and up | $30,000 – $33,000 |
| 2 | 3.50 – 3.799 | $26,000 – $29,999 |
| 3 | 3.25 – 3.499 | $23,000 – $25,999 |
| 4 | 3.00 – 3.249 | $20,000 – $22,999 |
| 5 | 2.75 – 2.999 | $17,000 – $19,999 |
| 6 | 2.50 – 2.749 | $14,000 – $16,999 |
Parent translation: each band is worth roughly $3,000 a year, or about $12,000 across four years. A junior sitting at a 3.47 who pushes to a 3.52 by graduation moves up a full band. That is real money for one semester of effort, and it is the highest-leverage thing a JU-bound student can do with their spring.
The Legacy and Sibling awards stack on top of your Academic Scholarship. So does Bright Futures. So does EASE. So does Pell. But JU reserves the right to reduce its own scholarships and grants if your total gift aid exceeds direct costs, which JU defines as tuition plus on-campus room and board. That is roughly $68,000 for a residential student.
In practice this rarely bites a typical family, because $33,000 in merit plus state aid still lands short of $68,000. It absolutely bites a high-stat Florida student who lands a top band, maxes Bright Futures, adds EASE, and picks up an outside scholarship. If that is your student, ask financial aid to model the stack before you deposit, and ask them in writing which award gets trimmed first.
Automatic Merit — FAQs (Jacksonville University)
Does my student need to apply for the Academic Scholarship?
No. JU determines it automatically at admission based on the transcript. There is no separate form, no essay, and no deadline beyond applying for admission itself.
Common App or JU’s own application?
Either one. JU accepts both and treats them the same, on rolling admission. If your student is already assembling a Common App list, adding JU costs almost nothing in extra effort, and there is a real merit number waiting on the other side. The application fee is $30 and JU will waive it for financial need if you ask.
Is there an early decision or early action deadline to worry about?
No. JU offers neither. Decisions release on a rolling basis starting September 1 and continue until enrollment closes. That is good news for procrastinators and better news for early birds, since the students who apply in the fall get their scholarship number months before anyone else and can use it as leverage while comparing schools.
Weighted or unweighted GPA?
Unweighted for the first-year ladder. This catches Florida families off guard constantly, because Bright Futures and most Florida public universities lean on weighted GPA. A student who reads “3.9 weighted” on their transcript may be sitting at a 3.5 unweighted, which is a two-band difference at JU.
Do test scores affect the automatic award?
Not for the Academic Scholarship. JU is test-optional and the merit ladder runs on GPA alone. Scores matter for Honors, the 4+1 program, and Freshman Direct-Entry Nursing, which are separate doors.
What about transfer students?
There is a parallel transfer track based on prior college performance. JU advertises awards up to $25,000 a year in one place and describes an average of up to $23,000 in another, so treat $25,000 as the ceiling and $23,000 as the realistic middle. Community college transfers with Phi Theta Kappa membership should also flag that, since JU runs a separate PTK award.
Do the Legacy and Sibling awards really stack?
Yes, and they are the easiest free money on this page. Legacy pays $1,000 a year for a JU alumni parent, sibling, or grandparent. Sibling pays $2,500 a year if an older sibling is currently enrolled full time, and it goes to the youngest qualifying sibling. Both require only that you check the box on the admissions application. No form, no essay. Families forget to check the box.
Are these renewable?
Yes, for up to four years or 120 earned credits, whichever comes first. Your student needs to stay full time at 12 or more credit hours, keep a 2.0 cumulative GPA, and complete 67% of attempted classes. Drop below full time for anything other than summer break and JU terminates the institutional aid.
Does everyone really get something?
JU reports that 100% of its full-time undergraduates receive scholarships, with an average institutional award of about $34,435. The 2.50 GPA floor on the ladder is low enough that most admitted students clear it.
https://www.ju.edu/financialservices/tuition/undergraduate-affordability.php
https://www.ju.edu/financialservices/aid/programs/programs.php
https://www.ju.edu/admissions/undergraduate/faq.php
🏆 Flagship Scholarships (Competitive Scholarships)
✅ Can You Stack Scholarships at JU?
| Aid Type | Stacks with JU Merit? | Parent Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Academic Scholarship | This is the base | One award, set by unweighted GPA at admission. Everything else layers on or replaces it. |
| Legacy & Sibling | Yes | True add-ons. $1,000 and $2,500 a year, sitting right on top of the base. |
| Honors Scholarship | Replaces | Sits in the merit slot rather than beside it. Leave Honors and JU can swap it down to a smaller award. |
| Jacksonville Commitment | Replaces | It is already a full ride covering tuition, room, meals, and books. Nothing needs to stack on it. |
| Florida state aid (Bright Futures, EASE) | Yes, up to the cap | Stacks freely until total gift aid passes tuition plus room and board. Then JU trims its own award. |
| ROTC room & board | Replaces | JU says plainly this replaces any other JU scholarship awarded before the ROTC scholarship is confirmed. |
| Athletic grants-in-aid | Yes, within NCAA limits | Coach-controlled. Total aid cannot exceed JU direct-cost limits or NCAA Bylaw 15.1 caps. |
If your student is the kind of applicant who wins essay-driven, interview-heavy national scholarship competitions, JU is not where that talent gets rewarded. Point them at the automatic ladder, get them into the Cost Honors College, and then spend the essay energy on outside scholarships instead. That is the honest read.
This is the marquee award on the page and almost nobody reading this will get it. JU funds it jointly with the City of Jacksonville and Duval County Public Schools, and it covers two students per year. Full tuition, a standard double room, a full meal plan, and books. To be eligible your student must attend a Duval County public high school, qualify for the federal Pell grant, be accepted to JU, apply to Jacksonville Commitment directly, and submit an additional essay to JU. It is awarded in the spring before freshman year.
If you are a Duval County public school family with Pell eligibility, chase it hard. If you are not, do not let this award shape your expectations of what JU pays. Build your budget on the GPA ladder.
❓ Competitive Scholarship FAQs
Is there a big competitive scholarship weekend at JU?
No. There is no finalist event, no interview day, no scholars competition. JU decides merit from the transcript at admission. The only separate applications that matter are the Honors application and the two competitive awards described here.
How do the Brooks nursing tiers work?
JU and Brooks Rehabilitation launched this partnership for accelerated and traditional BSN students, and the award scales with how long your student agrees to work at Brooks after licensure. A 12-month commitment pays $10,000, an 18-month commitment pays $18,000, and a 24-month commitment pays $25,000. Funds go straight to tuition, and the package comes with an employment offer at Brooks Rehabilitation Hospital University Campus or the Halifax Health Brooks Rehabilitation Center.
Is the Brooks work agreement a good trade?
That depends on whether your student wants to stay in Jacksonville. Twenty-five thousand dollars against two years of committed employment is a strong deal for a new nurse who was going to work locally anyway. It is a real constraint for a student who might want to travel-nurse or move home after graduation. Read the agreement before signing, not after.
How does my student apply for the Brooks scholarship?
They must first be admitted to one of JU’s BSN tracks, which includes the 12-month second-degree accelerated program, the 16-month accelerated program, or the traditional BSN. The scholarship application runs through Scholarship Universe, which means the $500 deposit has to be paid first.
Does JU participate in National Merit, QuestBridge, or Stamps?
No to all three. JU is not a National Merit sponsor, not a QuestBridge partner, and not a Stamps school. If your student is a National Merit Finalist, that recognition will not produce a special package here the way it does at some large publics.
Where do students who want essay-based money go instead?
Outside scholarships. JU points students to Scholarship Universe once enrolled and to Scholarship America before that. Our Essay Toolkit and Brag Sheet Builder are built for exactly this kind of application push.
https://www.ju.edu/financialservices/aid/programs/programs.php
https://www.ju.edu/news/2026-1-28-jacksonville-university-and-brooks-rehabilitation-launch-workforce-partnership-for-nursing-students.php
The Cost Honors College at Jacksonville University
JU ran an honors program for more than three decades before turning it into a full honors college. The transition was funded by a $10 million gift from President Tim Cost and First Lady Stephanie Cost, and the Cost Honors College launched in 2025 with the first cohort graduating in spring 2026. That timing matters for families reading this now: the program is young, it is well funded, and it is actively building its reputation, which usually means it is recruiting harder than an established honors college would.
Admission is separate from admission to JU and it is competitive. What your student gets in return is a living-learning residential community, dedicated honors advising, priority class registration, honors seminars, curated internship access, and a scholarship that sits above the standard merit ladder.
- Automatic invitation: 4.3 GPA with a 1250 SAT or 28 ACT. Your student still has to accept the invitation to be fully admitted.
- Priority review: apply to JU and Honors before February 1.
- Decisions: released by email on a rolling basis starting in December, running until May 1.
- Application: submitted through the JU or Common Application, with two essays chosen from four prompts.
- Test scores are required even though JU is test-optional for general admission.
- Freshmen enter in fall only. There is no spring entry point for incoming first-year students.
Honors Scholarships
- FAFSA by March 15, every single year. Not just freshman year. Miss it as a sophomore and the award is at risk.
- Stay in Honors or lose value. The award renews for eight consecutive semesters as long as your student stays in good standing and enrolled in the Honors program. If they exit Honors, JU can replace it with an alternative award of lesser value. That is JU’s own wording.
- No books, no overloads. The scholarship does not cover the book bundle or credits beyond a standard full-time load.
- Honors Laureate: 3.5 cumulative GPA, the JU-169H first-year experience, 24 honors credits, a research project in the major with a public presentation, an internship, and an honors seminar. Dual enrollment and AP, IB, or AICE credits do not count toward the 24.
- Honors: 3.3 cumulative GPA, JU-169H (sometimes waived depending on how the student was admitted), 15 honors credits, and either a research project with presentation or an internship. Seminar strongly recommended.
Both designations show up in the commencement bulletin and on the academic transcript, which is what matters for graduate school and employers.
Honors — FAQs (Jacksonville University)
What does the Honors cohort actually look like?
JU reports 51% of honors students come from outside Florida, the average high school GPA is 4.15, and 27% are first-generation college students. They come from 34 states and 8 countries, and about one in five is a Division I scholar-athlete. It is not a room full of students who only study.
Can my student apply after they are already at JU?
Yes. There is a pathway for current JU students with fewer than 75 credit hours. First-year students can apply once their first semester GPA is on the record. That application opens December 1 and closes March 1, and admitted students start in Honors the following fall. The bar is a 3.3 cumulative GPA, with competitive applicants at 3.7 and above.
Do transfer students have a route in?
Yes, transfers apply through the same general admission or Common Application process as incoming first-year students.
How competitive is it really?
JU calls the process highly competitive and describes readers evaluating course rigor, grades, the essays, extracurricular involvement, and demonstrated curiosity. They explicitly say they weigh quality of engagement over quantity and look for self-awareness in how a student reflects on their activities. A student with three years of real commitment to one thing reads better here than one with twelve clubs.
Is there honors housing?
Yes. The Honors living-learning community is housed in North Hall with a faculty principal in residence.
Who do we contact with questions?
The Honors office sits in the Council Building and the coordinator and academic advisor handles prospective family questions. Contact details are on JU’s Honors pages, linked below.
https://www.ju.edu/honors/index.php
https://www.ju.edu/honors/eligibility.php
https://www.ju.edu/financialservices/aid/programs/programs.php
https://www.ju.edu/admissions/undergraduate/faq.php
⭐ College Specialty
Jacksonville University is a small private university, founded in 1934, sitting on the St. Johns River on the north side of Jacksonville. Roughly 4,000 students, a 13 to 1 student-faculty ratio. What makes it worth a look is not size or prestige. It is that JU built a handful of genuinely unusual programs that a school this size has no business having, and those programs are the reason to pay private tuition here instead of heading to a Florida public.
JU trains commercial pilots, and it has been doing it since 1996. Both the Aviation Management and the Aviation Management & Flight Operations degrees are accredited by the Aviation Accreditation Board International, and JU is one of a small group of universities selected by the FAA to train future air traffic controllers under the Collegiate Training Initiative. Flight students start training within the first weeks of freshman year, three activities a week, on the ground or in the air. Graduates can qualify for a Restricted Airline Transport Pilot certificate at 1,000 flight hours rather than the standard 1,500. Both aviation degrees run through the Davis College of Business & Technology, so students come out with a business degree attached to the certificates. Just remember the flight fees are billed separately and they are substantial.
- Marine Science Research Institute: JU sits on the water, and the MSRI is not a classroom with an aquarium in it. It is a working research facility on the St. Johns River, which means undergraduates get on boats and into fieldwork early instead of waiting for a graduate program. This is the classic case of a small school punching above its weight because of geography.
- Nursing, through the Brooks Rehabilitation College of Healthcare Sciences: the college carries the name of a major regional health system, which is unusual and tells you something about the clinical pipeline. There are accelerated tracks at 12 and 16 months for second-degree students plus a traditional BSN, and a scholarship program that pairs tuition dollars with a guaranteed job offer.
- NROTC: JU hosts a Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps unit, which very few private universities of this size do. It also runs institutional room and board scholarships layered onto federal NROTC awards, plus matching aid for Navy Seaman to Admiral 21 participants. Aviation students can even choose Navy or Marine military career tracks inside the flight operations degree.
- College of Law: JU opened a law school, giving Jacksonville its own law program and giving undergraduates a visible pipeline for pre-law students.
- Linda Berry Stein College of Arts & Sciences: home of the fine arts programs. Music, dance, and theatre applicants audition, and art, computer art, and design applicants submit portfolios. Auditions and portfolio reviews get scheduled in the fall of senior year, so that calendar runs separately from the admissions calendar.
- Davis College of Business & Technology: the largest academic home at JU, covering business alongside aviation and technology programs.
JU also reports 91% career placement within six months of graduation, 80% of students completing at least one internship, and an average graduate salary around $68,099. Those are self-reported figures, so weigh them accordingly, but the internship number in particular lines up with how the school talks about experiential learning everywhere else on its site.
🔗 Official Jacksonville University Links
Every link below was checked live before publishing. Use JU’s own pages for final numbers, deadlines, and award terms, because a private university’s rates and scholarship rules can shift between our updates.
-
Undergraduate Tuition & Costs (full 2026-2027 fee schedule):
https://www.ju.edu/financialservices/tuition/undergraduate.php -
Funding Your Future (academic scholarship tiers):
https://www.ju.edu/financialservices/tuition/undergraduate-affordability.php -
University Programs & Scholarships (the master aid page):
https://www.ju.edu/financialservices/aid/programs/programs.php -
Additional & Outside Scholarships:
https://www.ju.edu/financialservices/aid/programs/scholarships.php -
Net Price Calculator:
https://www.ju.edu/admissions/undergraduate/net-price-calculator.php -
Undergraduate Admissions FAQ (deadlines, superscore policy, middle 50%):
https://www.ju.edu/admissions/undergraduate/faq.php -
Admissions Important Dates:
https://www.ju.edu/admissions/important-dates.php -
Cost Honors College:
https://www.ju.edu/honors/index.php -
Honors Admission Requirements:
https://www.ju.edu/honors/eligibility.php -
Apply to JU (Common App and JU application both accepted):
https://www.ju.edu/apply/index.php -
Common Data Set & Institutional Research (the unvarnished numbers):
https://www.ju.edu/institutionalresearch/datasources.php
Note: as of this update, JU’s posted 2025-2026 CDS file is a blank template. The 2024-2025 file on that page is the most recent complete one.
✅ Wrapping It Up
Jacksonville University is one of the most straightforward private schools to price out that you will find. The GPA ladder is published, it is unweighted, it runs from $14,000 to $33,000 a year in six bands, and your student’s number is decided the day they are admitted. No essay, no competition, no waiting. If you can find your student’s unweighted GPA, you can find their JU offer before you ever visit campus.
What you have to watch is the other side of the ledger. There are no institutional need-based grants here, the scholarship portal stays locked until you have deposited $500, and JU will trim its own award if your total gift aid climbs past tuition plus room and board. Aviation families have an entirely separate five-figure flight budget that the cost table does not show. None of that is hidden, but none of it is on the brochure either.
Where JU earns the private price is the programs it has no business having at this size. A working marine science institute on the St. Johns River. A commercial pilot pipeline with an FAA controller training designation attached. An NROTC unit. A nursing college carrying a regional health system’s name and a scholarship that comes with a job offer. And a brand-new, well-funded Cost Honors College that is still building its reputation, which usually means it is recruiting harder than it will in ten years.
The playbook is simple. Push the unweighted GPA up before graduation, because each band is worth about $12,000 across four years. Take the SAT or ACT junior year even though JU does not require it, because Honors, nursing direct-entry, and 4+1 all do. Check the legacy and sibling boxes on the application. Apply in October, deposit in April, and open Scholarship Universe the same week you deposit. Then run the net price calculator with real numbers before anybody falls in love with the river view.
Most families build a college list first and think about scholarships second, which is backwards. This free four-part series shows you where the money actually comes from, and how to build a list around it. After the series, about once a month, sometimes twice during application season. No drip funnels, no affiliate pitches, and we never sell your information. Unsubscribe anytime.Your kid did everything right. That does not mean the money follows.
Leo Dimilo
Leo built CollegeReadyParent after getting tired of watching families make six-figure decisions off marketing brochures. He reads the fine print on scholarship terms, cost sheets, and aid policies so parents do not have to, and translates it into plain English at the kitchen table level.