Bowling Green State University: merit scholarships by ACT score
Bowling Green State University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid keyed to the ACT alone, with no GPA criterion. Awards start at an ACT of 20. 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
BGSU publishes criteria without amounts. Its two automatic ACT-keyed awards are both OUT-OF-STATE ONLY and their value is stated as a share of the non-resident fee rather than a dollar figure, so no amount is recorded here. The threshold is an OR — a 20 ACT alone qualifies, and so does a 3.0 GPA alone. BGSU's largest automatic award, the BGSU Merit Scholarship, publishes neither an amount nor a threshold because it rests on a comprehensive application review. A separate BGSU page does state a $1,000-$9,500 range, but it is stamped 'Updated: 09/10/2025' against a live Feb. 18, 2027 deadline, so that range is noted and not imported. Firelands Pathway students are excluded from both awards.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
BG Success Scholarship (score route)
Covers half of BGSU's non-resident fee
There is no higher band to reach at this GPA — more points would not change the award here. They may still matter for admission, for honours programmes, or at other schools on the list.
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The published BGSU merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Bowling Green State University’s own pages for Fall 2027 entry. Nothing here is estimated: where the school states a benefit rather than a figure, that is what the table says.
Out-of-state students
Both awards are based on the admission application with no additional application required, and both are listed twice because BGSU writes the criterion as OR: the score route needs no GPA, and the GPA route needs no score. Ohio residents have no equivalent published grid.
Covers half of BGSU's non-resident fee
BG Success Scholarship (score route)
ACT 20–36 · for full-time non-Ohio residents
Without a score: not available
Covers half of BGSU's non-resident fee
BG Success Scholarship (GPA route)
No score needed · GPA 3.00
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| BG Success Scholarship (score route) | ACT 20–36 · for full-time non-Ohio residents | not available | Covers half of BGSU's non-resident fee |
| BG Success Scholarship (GPA route) | — | GPA 3.00 | Covers half of BGSU's non-resident fee |
Source: Scholarships — new freshman scholarships · verified 2026-10-21
Monroe, Lenawee and Wayne county, Michigan
Same criteria as the BG Success Scholarship above and double the benefit — the whole non-resident fee rather than half — but open only to full-time residents of three Michigan counties. A separate track because it is a different eligibility population, not a higher tier.
Covers all of BGSU's non-resident fee
Michigan Out-of-State Scholarship (score route)
ACT 20–36 · for full-time residents of Monroe, Lenawee and Wayne counties in Michigan
Without a score: not available
Covers all of BGSU's non-resident fee
Michigan Out-of-State Scholarship (GPA route)
No score needed · GPA 3.00
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Michigan Out-of-State Scholarship (score route) | ACT 20–36 · for full-time residents of Monroe, Lenawee and Wayne counties in Michigan | not available | Covers all of BGSU's non-resident fee |
| Michigan Out-of-State Scholarship (GPA route) | — | GPA 3.00 | Covers all of BGSU's non-resident fee |
Source: Scholarships — new freshman scholarships · verified 2026-10-21
Does BGSU superscore for scholarships?
Not stated. The criterion is written as a single '20 ACT composite' and BGSU does not say whether sittings may be combined to reach it.
With nothing published, plan for the stricter reading: look up your best single sitting in the grid above, work out your superscore as well, and ask BGSU’s financial aid office which one they read before you count on the higher band.
Comparing schools? See which colleges superscore for scholarships — 66 of 501 commit to it, 52 say they do not, and the rest never say.
BGSU scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Admission application for the BG Success and Michigan Out-of-State scholarships | Feb. 18, 2027 |
| Scholarship application opens | Oct. 1 |
| Priority deadline for the general scholarship application | Mid- to late February |
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 Bowling Green 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.
- Scholarships — new freshman scholarshipsverified 2026-10-21
- Test Optional at BGSU — scholarship FAQverified 2026-10-21
- A 20 ACT alone clears the threshold for both out-of-state awards. So does a 3.0 GPA alone. Neither requires the other.
- Both awards are out-of-state only. BGSU publishes no criteria-based automatic grid for Ohio residents.
- Neither award has a dollar amount — the value is a share of BGSU's non-resident fee, which BGSU does not state on this page.
- The BGSU Merit Scholarship is automatic and renewable for four years with no essay, letter or interview, but publishes no amount and no threshold.
- BGSU's test-optional FAQ states a University Freshman Academic Scholarship range of $1,000-$9,500 with consideration starting at a 3.0 GPA and 20 ACT. That page is stamped Updated: 09/10/2025, so the range is not treated as current.
- On the test-optional path BGSU keys scholarship consideration to the GPA alone, which means a student without a score is not shut out of the Freshman Academic Scholarship.
- Firelands Pathway students are explicitly ineligible for the BG Success, Michigan Out-of-State and Thompson awards.
- The Thompson Working Families Scholarship pays up to $12,000 a year on financial need plus high school community service, but half of it is a match that reduces an existing Freshman Academic Scholarship above $6,000 — so the headline figure overstates the gain for a strong student.
- BGSU awards about $39 million in scholarships to incoming freshmen, with amounts 'from hundreds of dollars to full tuition'.
- BGSU is silent on the Enhanced ACT.
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 Bowling Green State University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at BGSU?
Automatic merit aid at Bowling Green State University starts at an ACT composite of 20, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches covers half of bgsu's non-resident fee at the top of the 2 grids it publishes. The bands are steps rather than a slope, so the only score that matters is the next threshold above where you are now.
Is BGSU test-optional?
Test-optional for admission, and BGSU honours the choice strictly — a score sent by mistake is discarded rather than used. The catch is on the scholarship side, where BGSU warns that some departments require a score for their awards and that the Honors College's full-tuition scholarships are not competitive without one. For merit aid the answer is different: a 20 ACT is one of two routes to the out-of-state awards, and BGSU states a separate test-optional scholarship floor — 3.0 GPA with a 20 ACT on the regular path, GPA only on the test-optional path. Some departmental awards and the Honors College's top scholarships do effectively need a score. Being admitted without a score and qualifying for money without a score are two separate questions.
Does BGSU superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated. The criterion is written as a single '20 ACT composite' and BGSU does not say whether sittings may be combined to reach it.
When are BGSU scholarship deadlines?
Admission application for the BG Success and Michigan Out-of-State scholarships: Feb. 18, 2027. Scholarship application opens: Oct. 1. Priority deadline for the general scholarship application: Mid- to late February. 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 BGSU scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Bowling Green 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.
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What to do next
You know what a score is worth at BGSU. The question is whether you can move it.
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