Arkansas State University: merit scholarships by ACT score
Arkansas State University publishes merit aid criteria as a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 19 and reach $18,000 a year. Because the bands are steps rather than a slope, one point is worth nothing inside a band and the whole step at the edge of one.
Enter a score and a GPA below to see which band it actually lands in, what that band pays, and exactly how many points the next one needs.
Read this first
The three lower awards are automatic with no application. A-State Scholar and Trailblazer sit under a heading reading 'competitive ACADEMIC Scholarships' and are not guaranteed. Every band is keyed to an ACT superscore, and A-State is not test-optional.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
A-State Trailblazer
$10,000 / year
About $40,000 over four years, if it renews.
What the next points are worth
2 more points (a 31) moves you to A-State Scholar — $18,000 a year. That is $8,000 more a year, or $32,000 over four years.
The question isn't whether 2 points is worth having. It's whether they can move them — which starts with knowing exactly which questions they're missing, and why.
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Want to know what one more point would change? The Merit Plan prices the next point at every school.
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The published Arkansas State merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Arkansas State University’s own pages for 2027-28 entry. Nothing here is estimated: where the school states a benefit rather than a figure, that is what the table says.
All students (out-of-state waivers stack separately)
One academic grid for everyone. Out-of-state students can additionally receive a waiver bringing them to in-state tuition, which is the only award here that combines with an academic scholarship.
$18,000
A-State Scholar
ACT 31–36 · 3.50 HS GPA
$10,000
A-State Trailblazer
ACT 28–30 · 3.50 HS GPA
$6,000
A-State Inspire
ACT 25–27 · 3.50 HS GPA
$4,000
A-State Enrichment
ACT 21–24 · 3.00 HS GPA
$2,000
A-State Endeavor
ACT 19–20 · 3.0 HS GPA
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| A-State Scholar | ACT 31–36 · 3.50 HS GPA | $18,000 |
| A-State Trailblazer | ACT 28–30 · 3.50 HS GPA | $10,000 |
| A-State Inspire | ACT 25–27 · 3.50 HS GPA | $6,000 |
| A-State Enrichment | ACT 21–24 · 3.00 HS GPA | $4,000 |
| A-State Endeavor | ACT 19–20 · 3.0 HS GPA | $2,000 |
Source: 2027-28 Scholarship Packages · verified 2026-10-21
Does Arkansas State superscore for scholarships?
Yes. The most explicit in the dataset — 'superscore' appears inside the published criteria of all five academic awards, both out-of-state waivers, and the admission minimum.
“Minimum 31 ACT superscore or 1400 new SAT and 3.50 HS GPA”
So the number that matters here is your superscore, not your best single test. Work out your superscore and look that score up in the grid above — it may sit a band higher than the one you have been planning around.
Comparing schools? See which colleges superscore for scholarships — 66 of 501 commit to it, 52 say they do not, and the rest never say.
Arkansas State scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Scholar and Trailblazer: admitted with required materials submitted | February 1, 2027 |
| Scholar and Trailblazer: offer must be accepted | March 1, 2027 |
| All other scholarships | July 1, 2027 |
Scores take roughly two to four weeks to arrive, and official reports sent to schools can take longer, so the last useful test date is several weeks before the printed deadline. Check which test dates still make it.
Where these numbers came from
Every figure on this page was read from Arkansas State University’s own published pages, linked below with the date we last confirmed them. We do not estimate a missing band or interpolate a value.
- The academic awards do NOT stack with each other — every one carries the footnote 'Cannot be combined with Academic Scholarships'. You receive one.
- On-campus students only. A-State Online students are not eligible, and the Scholar and Trailblazer amounts are explicitly 'for on-campus students'.
- Out-of-state students from Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas can receive a Mileage Waiver bringing them to in-state tuition, which DOES combine with an academic award.
- The A-State Scholar is administered by the Honors College and requires graduating in University Honors including a senior thesis, or the scholarship is revoked.
- Scholar also requires a resume, essay and two reference letters — it is not a pure grid award.
- A-State's own accordion links to 'guidelines' PDFs are mislabelled by a year and the 2026-2027 files do not exist; the HTML page is the only reliable current source.
- A-State is silent on the Enhanced ACT despite keying every award to an ACT superscore.
Check before you rely on it. Grids change by entry year and schools update them without notice. This page is a reproduction with a date on it, not a guarantee, and it is not financial aid advice. ClutchACT is not affiliated with Arkansas State University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Arkansas State?
Automatic merit aid at Arkansas State University starts at an ACT composite of 19, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $18,000 a year at the top. The bands are steps rather than a slope, so the only score that matters is the next threshold above where you are now.
Is Arkansas State test-optional?
Not test-optional. Automatic admission requires either a 3.00 cumulative GPA or an ACT superscore of 19, and minimum test scores are required either way. For merit aid the answer is different: every academic award carries an ACT superscore minimum, and official scores are part of the required materials due by the February 1 deadline for the two competitive awards. Being admitted without a score and qualifying for money without a score are two separate questions.
How much is a 30 on the ACT worth at Arkansas State?
On Arkansas State's published grid for 2027-28 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for A-State Trailblazer at $10,000 a year, about $40,000 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at Arkansas State?
The most valuable single point on Arkansas State's published grid is 30 to 31, at a 3.5 GPA: it moves the award by $8,000 a year, or $32,000 across a four-year degree. The same point is worth less at other GPAs, and most points move nothing at all — the grid steps rather than slopes, which is why the only score worth aiming at is the next threshold.
Does Arkansas State superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Yes. The most explicit in the dataset — 'superscore' appears inside the published criteria of all five academic awards, both out-of-state waivers, and the admission minimum. Minimum 31 ACT superscore or 1400 new SAT and 3.50 HS GPA
When are Arkansas State scholarship deadlines?
Scholar and Trailblazer: admitted with required materials submitted: February 1, 2027. Scholar and Trailblazer: offer must be accepted: March 1, 2027. All other scholarships: July 1, 2027. The application and the official score report are both due by that date, and ACT scores take roughly two to four weeks to arrive — so the last useful test date is several weeks earlier than the deadline suggests.
Is this Arkansas State scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Arkansas State University's own published pages and last verified on 2026-10-21. The sources are linked at the bottom of the page with that date. Grids change by entry year, so check the source before relying on a figure for a decision.
Other schools to check
What to do next
You know what a score is worth at Arkansas State. The question is whether you can move it.
A grid tells you the target. It does not tell you which questions are costing the points between here and there. That takes about three minutes to find out.
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