Middle Tennessee State University: merit scholarships by ACT score
Middle Tennessee State University publishes merit aid criteria as a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 22 and reach $8,000 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
MTSU calls these Guaranteed Scholarships and requires no application, but its own page says awards are offered 'as long as funding is available'. It refuses superscores entirely — the award is set by your highest single composite on file by December 1.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
Presidential Scholarship
$4,500/year / year
About $18,000 over four years, if it renews.
What the next points are worth
1 more point (a 30) moves you to Trustee Scholarship — $5,000/year a year. That is $500 more a year, or $2,000 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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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 MTSU merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Middle Tennessee 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 (award is the same in-state and out-of-state)
Residency changes the tuition rate, not the scholarship. Regional Scholars from neighbouring states get roughly 48% off the out-of-state rate and are automatically considered for these same awards.
$8,000/year
Centennial Scholarship
ACT 34–36 · 3.50
$5,000/year
Trustee Scholarship
ACT 30–33 · 3.50
$4,500/year
Presidential Scholarship
ACT 25–29 · 3.50
$3,500/year
True Blue Scholarship
ACT 22–24 · 3.50
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Centennial Scholarship | ACT 34–36 · 3.50 | $8,000/year |
| Trustee Scholarship | ACT 30–33 · 3.50 | $5,000/year |
| Presidential Scholarship | ACT 25–29 · 3.50 | $4,500/year |
| True Blue Scholarship | ACT 22–24 · 3.50 | $3,500/year |
Source: Freshman Guaranteed Scholarships, Fall 2027 · verified 2026-10-21
Does MTSU superscore for scholarships?
No. An unusually emphatic refusal, stated in capitals on the scholarship page itself. The award uses the highest single composite on file at the December 1 deadline.
“MTSU does NOT accept ACT or SAT Super-Scores. A Super-score is when the student's sub-scores from multiple tests are combined to form the highest composite score.”
This matters more than it sounds. A student whose superscore crosses a band but whose best single sitting does not will be paid on the lower band. Look up your best single sitting in the grid above, then find what is costing you points on one test.
Comparing schools? See which colleges superscore for scholarships — 66 of 501 commit to it, 52 say they do not, and the rest never say.
MTSU scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Everything on file with Admissions, including the official score | December 1, 2026 |
| Scholarship notification | February |
| Student must accept the award | May 1 |
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 Middle Tennessee 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 GPA used is through the END OF JUNIOR YEAR — a sixth-semester transcript. A seventh-semester GPA is only considered if that transcript is on file by December 1.
- MTSU accepts a weighted GPA as the high school provides it and does not recalculate.
- Awards are never upgraded once made, and MTSU scholarships do not stack with each other — you receive the higher of the two.
- Tennessee lottery scholarships (HOPE/TELS) CAN stack on top of an MTSU award.
- Recipients must be US citizens or permanent residents and must be EVEA verified.
- The Buchanan Fellowship covers full tuition for up to 16 credits a semester but is separately competitive, requiring a 30 ACT and an application by December 1.
- MTSU is silent on the Enhanced ACT despite keying every band to an ACT composite.
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 Middle Tennessee State University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at MTSU?
Automatic merit aid at Middle Tennessee State University starts at an ACT composite of 22, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $8,000 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 MTSU test-optional?
MTSU is not test-optional. Every applicant under 21 must submit a valid ACT or SAT score to be considered for admission. For merit aid the answer is different: a qualifying official score must be on file by December 1 — postmarked, not merely taken. Students graduating with a GED or HiSET are ineligible for these awards entirely, because there is no high school GPA. 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 MTSU?
On MTSU's published grid for 2027-28 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Trustee Scholarship at $5,000 a year, about $20,000 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at MTSU?
The most valuable single point on MTSU's published grid is 33 to 34, at a 3.5 GPA: it moves the award by $3,000 a year, or $12,000 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 MTSU superscore the ACT for scholarships?
No. An unusually emphatic refusal, stated in capitals on the scholarship page itself. The award uses the highest single composite on file at the December 1 deadline. MTSU does NOT accept ACT or SAT Super-Scores. A Super-score is when the student's sub-scores from multiple tests are combined to form the highest composite score.
When are MTSU scholarship deadlines?
Everything on file with Admissions, including the official score: December 1, 2026. Scholarship notification: February. Student must accept the award: May 1. 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 MTSU scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Middle Tennessee 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 MTSU. 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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