McNeese State University: merit scholarships by ACT score
McNeese State University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 21 and reach $9,000 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
Roughly half of every published figure is a campus-housing component that only pays if the student lives in university-managed housing. A commuter in the top band receives $5,000, not $9,000. Awards are also made first-come until funding is exhausted, and they do not stack — McNeese offers the single highest-value scholarship a student qualifies for.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
University Scholars Award
$8,000 — $2,250/semester fees and books plus $1,750/semester campus housing / year
About $32,000 over four years, if it renews.
What the next points are worth
1 more point (a 30) moves you to Presidential Award — $9,000 — $2,500/semester fees and books plus $2,000/semester campus housing a year. That is $1,000 more a year, or $4,000 over four years.
The question isn't whether a point is worth having. It's whether they can move it — which starts with knowing exactly which questions they're missing, and why.
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The published McNeese merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from McNeese 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.
First-year academic scholarships
The GPA is the six-semester GPA on a 4.00 scale, taken at the end of junior year — not the final transcript GPA.
$9,000 — $2,500/semester fees and books plus $2,000/semester campus housing
Presidential Award
ACT 30–36 · 3.25+
$8,000 — $2,250/semester fees and books plus $1,750/semester campus housing
University Scholars Award
ACT 27–29 · 3.50+
$7,500 — $2,000/semester fees and books plus $1,750/semester campus housing
University Scholars Award
ACT 27–29 · 3.25–3.49
$5,500 — $1,750/semester fees and books plus $1,000/semester campus housing
John McNeese Award
ACT 24–26 · 3.50+
$5,000 — $1,500/semester fees and books plus $1,000/semester campus housing
John McNeese Award
ACT 24–26 · 3.25–3.49
$3,500 — $1,000/semester fees and books plus $750/semester campus housing
Academic Excellence Award
ACT 21–23 · 3.50+
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Presidential Award | ACT 30–36 · 3.25+ | $9,000 — $2,500/semester fees and books plus $2,000/semester campus housing |
| University Scholars Award | ACT 27–29 · 3.50+ | $8,000 — $2,250/semester fees and books plus $1,750/semester campus housing |
| University Scholars Award | ACT 27–29 · 3.25–3.49 | $7,500 — $2,000/semester fees and books plus $1,750/semester campus housing |
| John McNeese Award | ACT 24–26 · 3.50+ | $5,500 — $1,750/semester fees and books plus $1,000/semester campus housing |
| John McNeese Award | ACT 24–26 · 3.25–3.49 | $5,000 — $1,500/semester fees and books plus $1,000/semester campus housing |
| Academic Excellence Award | ACT 21–23 · 3.50+ | $3,500 — $1,000/semester fees and books plus $750/semester campus housing |
Source: Freshman Academic Scholarships — Fall 2027 · verified 2026-10-24
Does McNeese superscore for scholarships?
Not stated. The word does not appear on McNeese's freshman academic scholarship page, so a student planning a retake should ask in writing whether a superscore is used for these awards.
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 McNeese’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.
McNeese scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Priority application deadline (as printed on the page) | December 15, 2027 |
| Last ACT or SAT date for a qualifying score | May 1, 2027 |
| Awarding begins and continues until funding is exhausted | October 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 McNeese 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.
- About half of each award is a campus-housing component. It pays only to students living in university-managed housing, so a commuter in the Presidential band receives $5,000 rather than $9,000.
- The GPA is the six-semester GPA at the end of junior year, not the final high school GPA.
- Awards do not stack — McNeese offers the single highest-value scholarship a student qualifies for.
- Funding is finite: awarding begins on a stated date and continues only until the money runs out, so meeting a band is necessary rather than sufficient.
- There is no award at an ACT 21–23 with a GPA between 3.25 and 3.49, and nothing at all below a 3.25 GPA. Both gaps are the school's own shape.
- The page's dates contradict each other — it is headed Fall 2027 while printing a December 15, 2027 priority deadline and both October 1, 2026 and October 1, 2027 as the awarding start. They are recorded exactly as published.
- The Distinguished Achievement Award ($250–$1,250 a semester at a 2.50 GPA) is leadership-based rather than keyed to a score, so it is not part of this grid.
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 McNeese State University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at McNeese?
Automatic merit aid at McNeese State University starts at an ACT composite of 21, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $9,000 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 McNeese test-optional?
McNeese lists official ACT or SAT scores among the required items for first-time freshman admission, with no test-optional alternative on the page. For merit aid the answer is different: every band on the grid names an ACT or SAT range, and McNeese publishes no GPA-only route to any of them. The qualifying score has its own deadline — it must be earned by a stated test date, not merely sat. 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 McNeese?
On McNeese's published grid for Fall 2027 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Presidential Award at $9,000 a year, about $36,000 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at McNeese?
The most valuable single point on McNeese's published grid is 26 to 27, at a 3.25 GPA: it moves the award by $2,500 a year, or $10,000 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 McNeese superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated. The word does not appear on McNeese's freshman academic scholarship page, so a student planning a retake should ask in writing whether a superscore is used for these awards.
When are McNeese scholarship deadlines?
Priority application deadline (as printed on the page): December 15, 2027. Last ACT or SAT date for a qualifying score: May 1, 2027. Awarding begins and continues until funding is exhausted: October 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 McNeese scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from McNeese State University's own published pages and last verified on 2026-10-24. 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
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