Northern State University: merit scholarships by ACT score
Northern State University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 20 and reach $4,000 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
Northern State publishes FOUR-YEAR TOTALS, not annual figures — the $16,000 headline is $4,000 a year. A 3.00 GPA is also a hard floor: nothing is published below it at any score, so a 35 with a 2.9 earns nothing from this grid. Northern State refuses superscores outright and says awards 'may be evaluated with or without the science section', which is one of the few direct Enhanced ACT statements anywhere. The grid page itself carries no cycle year.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
WolfPACT unleashed
$12,000 over four years ($3,000 a year) / year
About $12,000 over four years, if it renews.
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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Can you get merit aid at Northern State without an ACT score?
Yes. Optional and priced: the grid's own test-optional track states what no score is worth at four GPA bands, so a student can see exactly what testing would add.
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.
“Awards are based on high school GPA and ACT composite scores (not superscores) and may be evaluated with or without the science section.”
The published Northern State merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Northern State University’s own pages for the current cycle. Nothing here is estimated: where the school states a benefit rather than a figure, that is what the table says.
WolfPACT Scholarship
The top track. Against the test-optional column, a 28 is worth $6,000 to $8,000 more over four years at the same GPA. A 24 is the South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship threshold too, though that is state money rather than Northern State's. At the top GPA this track pays the same as submitting nothing, so the first real return on a score at a 3.75+ GPA starts at 24. Northern State publishes what no score is worth, at four GPA bands. This is the floor every other track improves on.
$16,000 over four years ($4,000 a year)
WolfPACT unleashed
ACT 28–36 · HS GPA 3.75-4.00
Without a score: not available
$12,000 over four years ($3,000 a year)
WolfPACT unleashed
ACT 28–36 · HS GPA 3.50-3.74
Without a score: not available
$10,000 over four years ($2,500 a year)
WolfPACT unleashed
ACT 28–36 · HS GPA 3.00-3.49
Without a score: not available
$9,000 over four years ($2,250 a year)
WolfPACT unleashed
ACT 24–27 · HS GPA 3.75-4.00
Without a score: not available
$8,000 over four years ($2,000 a year)
WolfPACT unleashed
ACT 24–27 · HS GPA 3.50-3.74
Without a score: not available
$7,000 over four years ($1,750 a year)
WolfPACT unleashed
ACT 24–27 · HS GPA 3.00-3.49
Without a score: not available
$8,000 over four years ($2,000 a year)
WolfPACT unleashed
ACT 20–23 · HS GPA 3.75-4.00
Without a score: not available
$6,000 over four years ($1,500 a year)
WolfPACT unleashed
ACT 20–23 · HS GPA 3.50-3.74
Without a score: not available
$5,000 over four years ($1,250 a year)
WolfPACT unleashed
ACT 20–23 · HS GPA 3.00-3.49
Without a score: not available
$8,000 over four years ($2,000 a year)
WolfPACT unleashed
No score needed · GPA 3.90
$6,000 over four years ($1,500 a year)
WolfPACT unleashed
No score needed · GPA 3.75
$5,000 over four years ($1,250 a year)
WolfPACT unleashed
No score needed · GPA 3.50
Show the other 1 published row
$4,000 over four years ($1,000 a year)
WolfPACT unleashed
No score needed · GPA 3.00
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| WolfPACT unleashed | ACT 28–36 · HS GPA 3.75-4.00 | not available | $16,000 over four years ($4,000 a year) |
| WolfPACT unleashed | ACT 28–36 · HS GPA 3.50-3.74 | not available | $12,000 over four years ($3,000 a year) |
| WolfPACT unleashed | ACT 28–36 · HS GPA 3.00-3.49 | not available | $10,000 over four years ($2,500 a year) |
| WolfPACT unleashed | ACT 24–27 · HS GPA 3.75-4.00 | not available | $9,000 over four years ($2,250 a year) |
| WolfPACT unleashed | ACT 24–27 · HS GPA 3.50-3.74 | not available | $8,000 over four years ($2,000 a year) |
| WolfPACT unleashed | ACT 24–27 · HS GPA 3.00-3.49 | not available | $7,000 over four years ($1,750 a year) |
| WolfPACT unleashed | ACT 20–23 · HS GPA 3.75-4.00 | not available | $8,000 over four years ($2,000 a year) |
| WolfPACT unleashed | ACT 20–23 · HS GPA 3.50-3.74 | not available | $6,000 over four years ($1,500 a year) |
| WolfPACT unleashed | ACT 20–23 · HS GPA 3.00-3.49 | not available | $5,000 over four years ($1,250 a year) |
| WolfPACT unleashed | — | GPA 3.90 | $8,000 over four years ($2,000 a year) |
| WolfPACT unleashed | — | GPA 3.75 | $6,000 over four years ($1,500 a year) |
| WolfPACT unleashed | — | GPA 3.50 | $5,000 over four years ($1,250 a year) |
| WolfPACT unleashed | — | GPA 3.00 | $4,000 over four years ($1,000 a year) |
Source: WolfPACT Scholarship · verified 2026-10-21
Does Northern State superscore for scholarships?
No. No, stated in parentheses inside the sentence that defines the whole award — and the same sentence says awards may be evaluated with or without the Science section, which makes Northern State one of the few schools to have written down an Enhanced ACT position at all.
“Awards are based on high school GPA and ACT composite scores (not superscores) and may be evaluated with or without the science section.”
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.
Northern State scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Priority deadline | March 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 Northern 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 figures are four-year totals divided equally per year — the grid's own header says 'Award total over four years'.
- A 3.00 GPA is a hard floor. No award is published below it at any score.
- Renewal suspension is not self-correcting: Northern State requires a reinstatement request once the GPA recovers.
- The Maroon and Gold award replaces WolfPACT rather than stacking — a student who qualifies for one is ineligible for the other.
- The South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship pays $7,500 over four years at a 24 ACT with a 3.0 GPA, but it is state money rather than Northern State's, and it is kept out of this grid.
- Dakota Corps covers full tuition and fees at a 27 ACT but carries a work-back commitment and a critical-need major requirement.
- The resident tuition rate is extended to students from eleven named states, which is a tuition programme rather than merit.
- No National Merit award is published.
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 Northern State University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Northern State?
Automatic merit aid at Northern State University starts at an ACT composite of 20, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $4,000 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 Northern State test-optional?
Test-optional for admission, with scores sent directly to Northern State if a student chooses to submit them. For merit aid the answer is different: optional and priced: the grid's own test-optional track states what no score is worth at four GPA bands, so a student can see exactly what testing would add. 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 Northern State?
On Northern State's published grid for the current cycle, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for WolfPACT unleashed at $3,000 a year, about $12,000 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at Northern State?
The most valuable single point on Northern State's published grid is 27 to 28, at a 3.75 GPA: it moves the award by $1,750 a year, or $7,000 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 Northern State superscore the ACT for scholarships?
No. No, stated in parentheses inside the sentence that defines the whole award — and the same sentence says awards may be evaluated with or without the Science section, which makes Northern State one of the few schools to have written down an Enhanced ACT position at all. Awards are based on high school GPA and ACT composite scores (not superscores) and may be evaluated with or without the science section.
When are Northern State scholarship deadlines?
Priority deadline: March 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 Northern State scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Northern 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 Northern State. 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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