Montana State University: merit scholarships by GPA
Montana State University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid keyed to GPA — the ACT is not used. Awards start at a 2.7 GPA and reach $18,000 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
No score is used. MSU is test-optional for the foreseeable future and says scores may be submitted only for math and writing placement — a self-reported cumulative GPA on the admission application is what drives every dollar here. Three things to plan around: the awards are designated for TUITION ONLY, so they cannot offset housing; renewal requires 15 credits per semester, not 12, so a light semester breaks the award even with a 4.0; and a non-resident must MAINTAIN non-resident status, meaning a student who establishes Montana residency to cut tuition forfeits the scholarship. WUE is separate, competitive (roughly 1,000 offers against 3,500 applications) and does not stack — MSU pays whichever is worth more.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — a 3.60 GPA
Achievement Award
$16,000 ($64,000 four-year value, renewable) / year
About $64,000 over four years, if it renews.
Montana State 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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The published Montana State merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Montana 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.
Non-residents, all states
Automatic for every non-resident freshman who submits an admission application with a self-reported high school GPA. Offers are specific to the 2027-2028 year and cannot be deferred to another term.
$18,000 ($72,000 four-year value, renewable)
Achievement Award
No score needed · GPA 4.00
$17,000 ($68,000 four-year value, renewable)
Achievement Award
No score needed · GPA 3.84
$16,000 ($64,000 four-year value, renewable)
Achievement Award
No score needed · GPA 3.59
$15,000 ($60,000 four-year value, renewable)
Achievement Award
No score needed · GPA 3.29
$11,000 ($44,000 four-year value, renewable)
Achievement Award
No score needed · GPA 3.10
$9,000 ($36,000 four-year value, renewable)
Achievement Award
No score needed · GPA 2.70
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Achievement Award | — | GPA 4.00 | $18,000 ($72,000 four-year value, renewable) |
| Achievement Award | — | GPA 3.84 | $17,000 ($68,000 four-year value, renewable) |
| Achievement Award | — | GPA 3.59 | $16,000 ($64,000 four-year value, renewable) |
| Achievement Award | — | GPA 3.29 | $15,000 ($60,000 four-year value, renewable) |
| Achievement Award | — | GPA 3.10 | $11,000 ($44,000 four-year value, renewable) |
| Achievement Award | — | GPA 2.70 | $9,000 ($36,000 four-year value, renewable) |
Source: Scholarships for non-residents — Achievement Awards · verified 2026-10-21
Montana residents
The Montana Premier Scholarship. Automatic for all Montana freshmen who submit an admission application with a cumulative high school GPA on the Self Report Form.
$4,000 ($16,000 four-year value, renewable)
Montana Premier Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 4.00
$3,000 ($12,000 four-year value, renewable)
Montana Premier Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 3.50
$2,000 ($8,000 four-year value, renewable)
Montana Premier Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 3.00
$1,000 ($4,000 four-year value, renewable)
Montana Premier Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 2.70
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montana Premier Scholarship | — | GPA 4.00 | $4,000 ($16,000 four-year value, renewable) |
| Montana Premier Scholarship | — | GPA 3.50 | $3,000 ($12,000 four-year value, renewable) |
| Montana Premier Scholarship | — | GPA 3.00 | $2,000 ($8,000 four-year value, renewable) |
| Montana Premier Scholarship | — | GPA 2.70 | $1,000 ($4,000 four-year value, renewable) |
Source: Scholarships for Montana residents — Premier Scholarship · verified 2026-10-21
Does Montana State superscore for scholarships?
Not stated, and moot — no MSU merit award uses a score, so there is no threshold for a superscore to reach.
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 Montana State’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.
Montana State scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| WUE scholarship consideration (separate, competitive) | January 7, 2027 at 11:59PM MST |
| Cat Scholarships, departmental | February 1st, 2027 |
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 Montana 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 for Montana residents — Premier Scholarshipverified 2026-10-21
- Scholarships for non-residents — Achievement Awardsverified 2026-10-21
- A 4.0 non-resident gets $18,000 a year; a 4.0 Montana resident gets $4,000. The 4.5x gap is the non-resident tuition differential, not extra generosity.
- All awards are designated for tuition only and cannot be applied to housing or food.
- Renewal needs 15 credits a semester. That is the single most likely way to lose one of these.
- Non-residents must maintain non-resident status to keep the award, which makes the usual advice to establish residency actively costly here.
- Both grids reach down to a 2.7 GPA, which is lower than most schools in this dataset publish.
- WUE does not stack with an Achievement Award and MSU pays the larger. WUE was worth roughly $21,000 off non-resident tuition in Fall 2026 but is competitive and capped near 1,000 offers.
- Only WUE recipients are notified, so silence on WUE is not an error.
- MSU's figures are self-reported GPA driven, so an inaccurate Self Report Form directly changes the award.
- Montana State 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 Montana State University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Montana State?
Montana State University publishes a merit aid grid keyed to ACT score and GPA. See the tables on this page for the current bands.
Is Montana State test-optional?
Test-optional for the foreseeable future. MSU still requires a self-reported cumulative GPA, and invites scores only so they can be used for math and writing placement. For merit aid the answer is different: not used. Both grids are published against a cumulative high school GPA, and MSU describes the awards as automatic and based upon GPA with no score criterion anywhere. 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 Montana State?
On Montana State's published grid for 2027-28 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Non-residents, all states — Achievement Award at $16,000 a year, about $64,000 over four years if it renews; Montana residents — Montana Premier Scholarship at $3,000 a year, about $12,000 over four years if it renews.
Does in-state or out-of-state change merit aid at Montana State?
Yes. Montana State publishes separate grids: Montana residents run $1,000 to $4,000 a year, and Non-residents, all states run $9,000 to $18,000 — a difference of $14,000 a year at the top. Check which grid applies to you before planning around a figure.
Does Montana State superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated, and moot — no MSU merit award uses a score, so there is no threshold for a superscore to reach.
When are Montana State scholarship deadlines?
WUE scholarship consideration (separate, competitive): January 7, 2027 at 11:59PM MST. Cat Scholarships, departmental: February 1st, 2027. 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 Montana State scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Montana 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
Montana State awards on GPA — but the ACT still decides what you're worth elsewhere.
Most schools in this comparison are score-keyed even though Montana State is not, so the same test still moves the money everywhere else on the list.
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