Hastings College: merit scholarships by GPA
Hastings College awards automatic merit aid from a published grid keyed to GPA — the ACT is not used. Awards start at a 2.65 GPA and reach $19,000 a year. Because the bands are steps rather than a slope, a hundredth of a GPA point is worth nothing inside a band and the whole step at the edge of one.
Enter a GPA below to see which band it actually lands in, what that band pays, and what the next band needs.
Read this first
Hastings awards its academic scholarships off the high school GPA alone — the letters 'ACT' do not appear anywhere on its Types of Aid page, and its application page says 'no essay or test scores are required'. Five named awards, five dollar figures, no separate form: 'we'll automatically award the scholarship you're eligible for'. The floor is not zero — a GPA under 2.64 still earns $11,000 a year. The $33,000 Presidential Scholars award is a different animal: it needs a 3.75 GPA, a separate application with an essay and an activities resume, an interview, and selection, and it REPLACES the academic scholarship rather than adding to it. A score does touch money in one competitive place only: Scott Scholars, where 'ACT/SAT scores are also considered' for up to 15 students a year in Biology, Business, Chemistry, Math or Physics.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — a 3.60 GPA
Ringland Scholarship
$16,000 / year
About $64,000 over four years, if it renews.
Hastings awards this on GPA alone, so an ACT score does not change it. A higher score can still matter for admission, for honours programmes, and at other schools on the list — but not for this award.
The ACT doesn't move the money here — but it still decides admission, honours eligibility, and what they is worth at the other schools on the list, where most awards are score-keyed.
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Can you get merit aid at Hastings without an ACT score?
Yes. Not used on the automatic grid at all. All five academic awards are read off the high school GPA, and the word 'ACT' does not appear on the Types of Aid page. A score matters in exactly one place — the competitive Scott Scholars program, where students 'must major or double major in Biology, Business, Chemistry, Math or Physics and have a high school GPA of 3.75 or more. ACT/SAT scores are also considered.' That is up to 15 students a year, with no published score threshold, so it is a consideration rather than a lookup.
Read the two columns in the grid below as a trade. The same award is reachable either way — with a score at a lower GPA, or with no score at a higher one. A score is worth real money to a student whose GPA sits under the test-optional line, and worth little to one comfortably above it.
“Hastings College academic scholarships based on your high school grade point average. Since you provide this information on your admissions application, there’s no separate form fill out — we’ll automatically award the scholarship you’re eligible for!”
The published Hastings merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Hastings College’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.
First-year academic scholarships
Awarded automatically from the GPA on the admissions application — no separate scholarship form exists. These five are a ladder, not a menu: a student lands on one rung. Additive money sits outside this grid and carries its own processes: a Plus One / Talent Scholarship (music, art, theatre, athletics, media, speech, religious, service), which 'all students are eligible for', or instead an Academic Track / Department Scholarship 'ranging upward from $5,000' for students who decline the Plus One. The $33,000 Presidential Scholars award shown below is competitive and replaces both the academic and the Plus One award rather than stacking with them.
$19,000
Crimson Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 3.90
$17,000
Ambassador Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 3.75
$16,000
Ringland Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 3.00
$13,000
Pro Rege Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 2.65
$11,000
Student Success Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 0.00
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crimson Scholarship | — | GPA 3.90 | $19,000 |
| Ambassador Scholarship | — | GPA 3.75 | $17,000 |
| Ringland Scholarship | — | GPA 3.00 | $16,000 |
| Pro Rege Scholarship | — | GPA 2.65 | $13,000 |
| Student Success Scholarship | — | GPA 0.00 | $11,000 |
Competitive awards — not automatic
Meeting these makes you eligible to be reviewed, not to receive the award, so they are kept out of the calculator above.
- Presidential Scholars Program — : $33,000
Source: Types of Aid, Scholarships — academic scholarship amounts by GPA · verified 2026-10-23
Does Hastings superscore for scholarships?
Not stated, and on this grid it cannot matter. The word 'superscore' appears on none of Hastings' admissions or aid pages, and no automatic award uses a score, so the only place the question could bite is the competitive Scott Scholars program — where scores are 'also considered' with no policy published on how multiple sittings are read. Ask admissions before paying to re-test for Hastings money.
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 Hastings’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.
Hastings scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Academic scholarships — none published; awarded from the admissions application | Rolling (no separate scholarship form) |
| Presidential Scholars — first application review begins | October 15, 2026 |
| Presidential Scholars — second review period, only if scholarships remain | December 1, 2026 |
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 Hastings College’s own published pages, linked below with the date we last confirmed them. We do not estimate a missing band or interpolate a value.
- Types of Aid, Scholarships — academic scholarship amounts by GPAverified 2026-10-23
- Presidential Scholars Program — criteria, review dates and applicationverified 2026-10-23
- Scott Scholars — the one Hastings award that considers a test scoreverified 2026-10-23
- Apply to Hastings — application requirementsverified 2026-10-23
- The whole GPA ladder is worth $8,000 a year end to end — $11,000 at the bottom to $19,000 at the top. The single competitive award above it is worth $14,000 more than the top rung on its own, which makes the Presidential application the highest-value hour a 3.75+ applicant can spend here.
- The Presidential Scholars award does not stack. 'Because of the significant scholarship for this program, it replaces both the academic and plus one scholarships typically awarded.' A student receives $33,000, not $33,000 plus the Crimson award.
- Presidential funding runs until it is gone. Reviews begin October 15, 2026, 'scholarship offers will be made on a rolling basis, with a second review period beginning December 1, 2026, if scholarships remain' — so the December window exists only if the October round did not exhaust the money. Apply into the first review.
- Hastings prints '< 2.64' for Student Success and '2.65-2.999' for Pro Rege, which leaves a literal gap at exactly 2.64. It is modelled into the $11,000 floor award here rather than left as a hole, because a published '<' row is plainly the floor. A GPA sitting on that seam is worth confirming with an admissions counselor.
- Two full-ride programs on the same page are not in this grid because neither publishes a threshold a student can look themselves up against. Scott Scholars covers '100 percent of tuition, fees and room and board — plus $2,000 in annual educational and experiential enrichment funding' for up to 15 students a year, restricted to Biology, Business, Chemistry, Math or Physics majors with a 3.75 GPA, with ACT/SAT scores 'also considered'. Jackson Scholars covers '100% of tuition, general fees, room and meals' for aspiring artists. Both are selective, both have fall deadlines.
- Every student is also eligible for one 'plus one': either a Plus One / Talent Scholarship (music, art, theatre, athletics, media, speech, religious, service and community engagement) or, for students who decline it, an Academic Track / Department Scholarship 'ranging upward from $5,000'. These are additive to the academic award but each carries its own interest form and are not part of the published GPA ladder.
- The Nebraska Opportunity Grant is NOT Hastings money and is not on this grid. It is a need-based grant from the State of Nebraska, awarded off the FAFSA to Pell-eligible Nebraska residents at participating in-state colleges, with no ACT or GPA threshold of any kind. A family comparing offers should not count it as something Hastings decided to give them, and no score will move it.
- Hastings lists one genuinely full-tuition access award with a single criterion and no grid position: 'TeamMates member – one full-tuition scholarship awarded annually.' One per year, so it is a lottery rather than a plan.
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 Hastings College.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Hastings?
Hastings College publishes a merit aid grid keyed to ACT score and GPA. See the tables on this page for the current bands.
Is Hastings test-optional?
Not required, and Hastings says so in the same breath as the fee: the application is free 'and no essay or test scores are required'. The admissions application doubles as the scholarship application — 'Your application is also a one-stop form that gathers all of the information we need to submit your name for the Hastings scholarships you're eligible to receive' — and it asks for a transcript, not a score report. For merit aid the answer is different: not used on the automatic grid at all. All five academic awards are read off the high school GPA, and the word 'ACT' does not appear on the Types of Aid page. A score matters in exactly one place — the competitive Scott Scholars program, where students 'must major or double major in Biology, Business, Chemistry, Math or Physics and have a high school GPA of 3.75 or more. ACT/SAT scores are also considered.' That is up to 15 students a year, with no published score threshold, so it is a consideration rather than a lookup. 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 Hastings?
On Hastings's published grid for Fall 2027 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Ringland Scholarship at $16,000 a year, about $64,000 over four years if it renews.
Does Hastings superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated, and on this grid it cannot matter. The word 'superscore' appears on none of Hastings' admissions or aid pages, and no automatic award uses a score, so the only place the question could bite is the competitive Scott Scholars program — where scores are 'also considered' with no policy published on how multiple sittings are read. Ask admissions before paying to re-test for Hastings money.
When are Hastings scholarship deadlines?
Academic scholarships — none published; awarded from the admissions application: Rolling (no separate scholarship form). Presidential Scholars — first application review begins: October 15, 2026. Presidential Scholars — second review period, only if scholarships remain: December 1, 2026. 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 Hastings scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Hastings College's own published pages and last verified on 2026-10-23. 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
Hastings awards on GPA — but the ACT still decides what you're worth elsewhere.
Most schools in this comparison are score-keyed even though Hastings is not, so the same test still moves the money everywhere else on the list.
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