Plymouth State University: merit scholarships by GPA
Plymouth State University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid keyed to GPA — the ACT is not used. Awards start at a 2.25 GPA and reach $16,000 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
Plymouth State is TEST-BLIND and says it will never use an SAT or ACT score for admission or scholarship consideration, so no score can affect anything here. The amounts depend on residency. The page prints the bottom rung as "<2.24" with no floor, and its renewal text calls that award "NH Strive", which hints it may be New Hampshire only even though an out-of-state figure is published for it.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — a 3.60 GPA
Dean's Scholarship
$7,000 a year / year
About $28,000 over four years, if it renews.
Plymouth 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 Plymouth State merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Plymouth 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.
New Hampshire residents
Awarded on the GPA held at the time of admission, with no application. Seven rungs and no floor — every admitted student receives something.
$10,000 a year
Chancellor Scholarship
No score needed
$8,000 a year
Presidential Scholarship
No score needed
$7,000 a year
Dean's Scholarship
No score needed
$6,000 a year
Aspire Scholarship
No score needed
$5,000 a year
Promise Scholarship
No score needed
$3,000 a year
Achieve Scholarship
No score needed
$2,000 a year
Strive Scholarship
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Chancellor Scholarship | — | $10,000 a year |
| Presidential Scholarship | — | $8,000 a year |
| Dean's Scholarship | — | $7,000 a year |
| Aspire Scholarship | — | $6,000 a year |
| Promise Scholarship | — | $5,000 a year |
| Achieve Scholarship | — | $3,000 a year |
| Strive Scholarship | — | $2,000 a year |
Source: Scholarships — Fall 2027 and Spring 2028 grid · verified 2026-10-24
Non-residents
Substantially larger and much flatter at the top: $3,000 separates a 2.75 from a 4.0.
$16,000 a year
Chancellor Scholarship
No score needed
$15,000 a year
Presidential Scholarship
No score needed
$14,000 a year
Dean's Scholarship
No score needed
$13,000 a year
Aspire Scholarship
No score needed
$9,000 a year
Promise Scholarship
No score needed
$5,000 a year
Achieve Scholarship
No score needed
$3,000 a year
Strive Scholarship
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Chancellor Scholarship | — | $16,000 a year |
| Presidential Scholarship | — | $15,000 a year |
| Dean's Scholarship | — | $14,000 a year |
| Aspire Scholarship | — | $13,000 a year |
| Promise Scholarship | — | $9,000 a year |
| Achieve Scholarship | — | $5,000 a year |
| Strive Scholarship | — | $3,000 a year |
Source: Scholarships — Fall 2027 and Spring 2028 grid · verified 2026-10-24
Does Plymouth State superscore for scholarships?
No. No, and permanently so. Plymouth State is test-blind: it will never use a score for admission or scholarship consideration, so there is no composite of any kind for a superscore to improve.
“Plymouth State is test-blind, meaning we will never use an SAT or ACT score for admission or scholarship consideration.”
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.
Plymouth State scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Spring entry | December 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 Plymouth 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 — Fall 2027 and Spring 2028 gridverified 2026-10-24
- First-year students — test-blind policyverified 2026-10-24
- Information for school counselorsverified 2026-10-24
- Plymouth State is test-blind. It states it will never use an SAT or ACT score for admission or for scholarship consideration.
- Every admitted student receives an award — the bottom rung has no GPA floor.
- The out-of-state ladder is nearly flat at the top: $16,000, $15,000, $14,000 and $13,000 across the four highest rungs.
- A non-resident gaining a full grade point and a quarter, from a 2.75 to a 4.0, gains $3,000 a year.
- The resident ladder is far smaller in absolute terms — $2,000 to $10,000 against $3,000 to $16,000.
- The steepest resident step is 2.24 to 2.25, worth $1,000, and the steepest non-resident step is 2.74 to 2.75, worth $4,000.
- The renewal GPA is 3.0 for the top three awards and 2.5 for Aspire.
- The renewal text names the bottom award "NH Strive", which suggests it may be New Hampshire only despite an out-of-state figure being published.
- Fall admission is rolling while space remains.
- The page does not say whether the GPA is weighted or unweighted.
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 Plymouth State University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Plymouth State?
Plymouth State University publishes a merit aid grid keyed to ACT score and GPA. See the tables on this page for the current bands.
Is Plymouth State test-optional?
Plymouth State is test-blind and will never use an SAT or ACT score for admission. For merit aid the answer is different: the same sentence covers the money: Plymouth State will never use an SAT or ACT score for scholarship consideration. This is the strongest form of the answer in this dataset — not optional, not merely unrequired, but never used. 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 Plymouth State?
On Plymouth State's published grid for Fall 2027 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for New Hampshire residents — Dean's Scholarship at $7,000 a year, about $28,000 over four years if it renews; Non-residents — Dean's Scholarship at $14,000 a year, about $56,000 over four years if it renews.
Does in-state or out-of-state change merit aid at Plymouth State?
Yes. Plymouth State publishes separate grids: New Hampshire residents run $2,000 to $10,000 a year, and Non-residents run $3,000 to $16,000 — a difference of $6,000 a year at the top. Check which grid applies to you before planning around a figure.
Does Plymouth State superscore the ACT for scholarships?
No. No, and permanently so. Plymouth State is test-blind: it will never use a score for admission or scholarship consideration, so there is no composite of any kind for a superscore to improve. Plymouth State is test-blind, meaning we will never use an SAT or ACT score for admission or scholarship consideration.
When are Plymouth State scholarship deadlines?
Spring entry: December 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 Plymouth State scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Plymouth 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.
Other schools to check
What to do next
Plymouth State awards on GPA — but the ACT still decides what you're worth elsewhere.
Most schools in this comparison are score-keyed even though Plymouth State is not, so the same test still moves the money everywhere else on the list.
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