Louisiana State University: merit scholarships and what the school publishes
Louisiana State University publishes merit aid criteria as published criteria. 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 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
LSU publishes ranges, not a grid — no ACT minimum, no GPA band, no tier. Its own page says the review is holistic and that the factors weighed include family background and demonstrated financial need, in a merit award. No score can be converted into an amount here. The one firm rule: below a 3.5 weighted GPA, a score is required for scholarship consideration at all.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
Merit Scholarship
Award amounts range from $500 annually to $4,600 annually plus applicable TOPS award amount
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.
Knowing where a score sits is the easy part. Moving it starts with knowing exactly which questions they're being missed, and why.
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Is LSU test-optional?
For admission, largely yes. Conditional on GPA. A weighted GPA below 3.5 requires a score for both admission and scholarships; at 3.5 or above, submitting is the student's choice. LSU adds that there is no minimum score for admission.
For money, no. Required below a 3.5 weighted GPA and optional above it — and the opt-out is retroactive: LSU will disregard scores it already has if the student selects that option on the Common App. A family that reads “test-optional” and skips the ACT can be admitted and still walk away from every dollar on the grid below.
“Any first-year applicant whose cumulative weighted high school GPA is lower than 3.5 is required to submit either an ACT or SAT score to be considered for admission and merit-based scholarships.”
The published LSU merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Louisiana State University’s own pages for 2027 entry. Nothing here is estimated: where the school states a benefit rather than a figure, that is what the table says.
Louisiana residents
Stated as a range with no criteria attached, and sitting on top of whatever Louisiana TOPS award the student separately qualifies for.
Award amounts range from $500 annually to $4,600 annually plus applicable TOPS award amount
Merit Scholarship
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Merit Scholarship | — | Award amounts range from $500 annually to $4,600 annually plus applicable TOPS award amount |
Source: Incoming Student Scholarships · verified 2026-10-21
Non-Louisiana residents
A far wider range than the resident one, and still with no published criteria to place a student inside it.
Award amounts range from $13,000 annually to $23,000 annually
Merit Scholarship
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Merit Scholarship | — | Award amounts range from $13,000 annually to $23,000 annually |
Source: Incoming Student Scholarships · verified 2026-10-21
Does LSU superscore for scholarships?
Yes. Yes, and stated for scholarship evaluation specifically rather than only for admission.
“LSU considers super score for admission and scholarship evaluation.”
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.
LSU scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Priority deadline for scholarships | December 1 |
| Regular decision | February 1 |
| Stamps and Chancellor's Alumni Scholar Days | March 3-5 |
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 Louisiana 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.
- Incoming Student Scholarshipsverified 2026-10-21
- Freshman admission — test policy and superscoreverified 2026-10-21
- LSU lists family background and demonstrated financial need among the factors in its MERIT scholarship decision, which is why no score can be priced here.
- Below a 3.5 weighted GPA the ACT stops being optional and becomes the price of entry to scholarship consideration at all.
- The Stamps and Chancellor's Alumni awards cover full cost of attendance but require an essay, a resume and an in-person interview at Scholar Days.
- LSU publishes no renewal requirement for the general merit award.
- LSU's admitted-class profile shows a 24-29 ACT middle 50% with an average of 27, but that is an admissions statistic and excludes test-optional students — it is not a scholarship criterion.
- LSU warns that its scholarship amounts have historically been adjusted upward year over year, so a prior year's range understates the current one.
- International students are considered only if they attended a US high school or an American school abroad.
- LSU 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 Louisiana State University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at LSU?
Louisiana State University publishes a merit aid grid keyed to ACT score and GPA. See the tables on this page for the current bands.
Is LSU test-optional?
Conditional on GPA. A weighted GPA below 3.5 requires a score for both admission and scholarships; at 3.5 or above, submitting is the student's choice. LSU adds that there is no minimum score for admission. For merit aid the answer is different: required below a 3.5 weighted GPA and optional above it — and the opt-out is retroactive: LSU will disregard scores it already has if the student selects that option on the Common App. Being admitted without a score and qualifying for money without a score are two separate questions.
Does LSU superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Yes. Yes, and stated for scholarship evaluation specifically rather than only for admission. LSU considers super score for admission and scholarship evaluation.
When are LSU scholarship deadlines?
Priority deadline for scholarships: December 1. Regular decision: February 1. Stamps and Chancellor's Alumni Scholar Days: March 3-5. 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 LSU scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Louisiana 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 LSU. 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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