South Dakota School of Mines and Technology: merit scholarships by ACT score
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology publishes merit aid criteria as a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 24 and reach $12,000 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
South Dakota Mines will NOT use an ACT superscore — a retake has to beat the earlier sitting outright. The 3.0 GPA is a flat gate, so the score decides the award. Mines describes what earns 'priority consideration' and never states that the award is automatic, so meeting a tier makes a student eligible rather than entitled.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
Mines Merit Scholarship
$4,000 / year
About $16,000 over four years, if it renews.
What the next points are worth
2 more points (a 31) moves you to Mines Merit Scholarship — $6,000 a year. That is $2,000 more a year, or $8,000 over four years.
The question isn't whether 2 points is worth having. It's whether they can move them — 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 South Dakota Mines merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology’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.
Mines Merit Scholarships
The same figures apply in-state and out-of-state. Every tier needs a 3.0 unweighted GPA and a Bachelor of Science programme.
$12,000
Mines Merit Scholarship
ACT 35–36 · 3.00+ unweighted
$9,000
Mines Merit Scholarship
ACT 34 · 3.00+ unweighted
$6,000
Mines Merit Scholarship
ACT 31–33 · 3.00+ unweighted
$4,000
Mines Merit Scholarship
ACT 28–30 · 3.00+ unweighted
$3,000
Mines Merit Scholarship
ACT 25–27 · 3.00+ unweighted
$2,000
Mines Merit Scholarship
ACT 24 · 3.00+ unweighted
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Mines Merit Scholarship | ACT 35–36 · 3.00+ unweighted | $12,000 |
| Mines Merit Scholarship | ACT 34 · 3.00+ unweighted | $9,000 |
| Mines Merit Scholarship | ACT 31–33 · 3.00+ unweighted | $6,000 |
| Mines Merit Scholarship | ACT 28–30 · 3.00+ unweighted | $4,000 |
| Mines Merit Scholarship | ACT 25–27 · 3.00+ unweighted | $3,000 |
| Mines Merit Scholarship | ACT 24 · 3.00+ unweighted | $2,000 |
Source: Scholarships — 2027-2028 incoming freshman merit · verified 2026-10-24
Does South Dakota Mines superscore for scholarships?
No. No, and Mines says so explicitly — one of very few schools in this dataset to rule it out in writing. A retake must beat the earlier sitting outright rather than topping up individual sections.
“Please note that ACT Superscores (as calculated by ACT) will not be considered.”
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.
South Dakota Mines scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Acceptance deadline for priority scholarship consideration — fall start | 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 South Dakota School of Mines and Technology’s own published pages, linked below with the date we last confirmed them. We do not estimate a missing band or interpolate a value.
- Mines will NOT consider an ACT superscore. A retake has to beat the earlier sitting outright.
- The ACT Science subsection is not required for admission or scholarship consideration.
- The 3.0 GPA is a flat gate — above it, only the score moves the award.
- One point at the top is worth $3,000 a year: a 34 pays $9,000 and a 35 pays $12,000.
- The same figures apply to in-state and out-of-state students.
- The awards are for students pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree.
- The 2027-28 amounts are roughly double the 2026-27 set, so an older chart will badly understate them.
- Mines never states that the award is automatic — it describes requirements for priority consideration.
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 South Dakota School of Mines and Technology.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at South Dakota Mines?
Automatic merit aid at South Dakota School of Mines and Technology starts at an ACT composite of 24, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $12,000 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 South Dakota Mines test-optional?
The scholarship page does not state the admission testing requirement, so nothing is claimed about it here. For merit aid the answer is different: every tier is keyed to the ACT or SAT and Mines publishes no GPA-only route. Admissions evaluates the highest composite by test date, and the ACT Science subsection is not required for scholarship consideration. 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 South Dakota Mines?
On South Dakota Mines's published grid for 2027-28 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Mines Merit Scholarship at $4,000 a year, about $16,000 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at South Dakota Mines?
The most valuable single point on South Dakota Mines's published grid is 33 to 34, at a 3.0 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 South Dakota Mines superscore the ACT for scholarships?
No. No, and Mines says so explicitly — one of very few schools in this dataset to rule it out in writing. A retake must beat the earlier sitting outright rather than topping up individual sections. Please note that ACT Superscores (as calculated by ACT) will not be considered.
When are South Dakota Mines scholarship deadlines?
Acceptance deadline for priority scholarship consideration — fall start: 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 South Dakota Mines scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology'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
You know what a score is worth at South Dakota Mines. 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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