Tennessee State University: merit scholarships by ACT score
Tennessee State University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 20 and reach $8,500 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
TSU dates this programme 'Beginning Fall 2026' and publishes no separate 2027-28 figures, so the amounts below are the most recent TSU states and a later class should confirm them. Three limits matter more than the numbers: the awards are LAST-DOLLAR, so other aid reduces them rather than stacking; offers go out FIRST-COME, FIRST-SERVED, so clearing a threshold does not secure one; and renewal needs 15 credit hours every semester. TSU also contradicts itself on its own site — the scholarships page describes full-cost Presidential and Dr. Levi Watkins packages while the FAQ states the University no longer has full-cost or full-ride scholarships, and both applications read CLOSED, so neither is modelled here.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
TSU Renaissance Scholarship (score route)
$5,500 (in-state) annually / year
About $22,000 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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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 Tennessee State merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Tennessee State University’s own pages for Beginning Fall 2026 entry. Nothing here is estimated: where the school states a benefit rather than a figure, that is what the table says.
Tennessee residents
No scholarship application for these three — TSU notifies students by email through the Future Tiger portal. Each award is listed twice because TSU writes the criteria as OR: the score route needs no GPA, and the GPA route needs no score.
$5,500 (in-state) annually
TSU Renaissance Scholarship (score route)
ACT 28–36 · A composite ACT score of 28 or higher — no GPA required on this route
Without a score: not available
$5,500 (in-state) annually
TSU Renaissance Scholarship (GPA route)
No score needed · GPA 3.75
$4,500 (in-state) annually
1912 Heritage Scholarship (score route)
ACT 25–27 · no GPA required on this route
Without a score: not available
$4,500 (in-state) annually
1912 Heritage Scholarship (GPA route)
No score needed · GPA 3.25
$3,500 (in-state) annually
TSU Torch Scholars Scholarship (score route)
ACT 20–24 · no GPA required on this route
Without a score: not available
$3,500 (in-state) annually
TSU Torch Scholars Scholarship (GPA route)
No score needed · GPA 3.00
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| TSU Renaissance Scholarship (score route) | ACT 28–36 · A composite ACT score of 28 or higher — no GPA required on this route | not available | $5,500 (in-state) annually |
| TSU Renaissance Scholarship (GPA route) | — | GPA 3.75 | $5,500 (in-state) annually |
| 1912 Heritage Scholarship (score route) | ACT 25–27 · no GPA required on this route | not available | $4,500 (in-state) annually |
| 1912 Heritage Scholarship (GPA route) | — | GPA 3.25 | $4,500 (in-state) annually |
| TSU Torch Scholars Scholarship (score route) | ACT 20–24 · no GPA required on this route | not available | $3,500 (in-state) annually |
| TSU Torch Scholars Scholarship (GPA route) | — | GPA 3.00 | $3,500 (in-state) annually |
Source: Office of Institutional Merit Scholarships — award levels · verified 2026-10-21
Metro Nashville Public Schools graduates
A separate track, not a better version of the one above: this award is open ONLY to graduates of Metro Nashville Public Schools who are also Tennessee HOPE Scholarship-eligible as determined by TSAC. It pays the most of anything automatic at TSU, and it is unavailable to everyone else in the state.
Covers full tuition and mandatory fees
MNPS Trailblazer Scholarship (score route, Metro Nashville graduates)
ACT 21–36 · An ACT score of 21 or higher, for Metro Nashville Public Schools graduates who are also Tennessee HOPE eligible
Without a score: not available
Covers full tuition and mandatory fees
MNPS Trailblazer Scholarship (HOPE GPA route)
No score needed · GPA 3.00
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| MNPS Trailblazer Scholarship (score route, Metro Nashville graduates) | ACT 21–36 · An ACT score of 21 or higher, for Metro Nashville Public Schools graduates who are also Tennessee HOPE eligible | not available | Covers full tuition and mandatory fees |
| MNPS Trailblazer Scholarship (HOPE GPA route) | — | GPA 3.00 | Covers full tuition and mandatory fees |
Source: Office of Institutional Merit Scholarships — award levels · verified 2026-10-21
Out-of-state and international students
TSU pays more to non-residents on all three awards. The criteria are identical; only the figure changes. The MNPS Trailblazer award is in-state only and the Presidential and Watkins awards are limited to U.S. citizens.
$8,500 (out-of-state) annually
TSU Renaissance Scholarship (score route)
ACT 28–36 · A composite ACT score of 28 or higher — no GPA required on this route
Without a score: not available
$8,500 (out-of-state) annually
TSU Renaissance Scholarship (GPA route)
No score needed · GPA 3.75
$6,500 (out-of-state) annually
1912 Heritage Scholarship (score route)
ACT 25–27 · no GPA required on this route
Without a score: not available
$6,500 (out-of-state) annually
1912 Heritage Scholarship (GPA route)
No score needed · GPA 3.25
$4,500 (out-of-state) annually
TSU Torch Scholars Scholarship (score route)
ACT 20–24 · no GPA required on this route
Without a score: not available
$4,500 (out-of-state) annually
TSU Torch Scholars Scholarship (GPA route)
No score needed · GPA 3.00
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| TSU Renaissance Scholarship (score route) | ACT 28–36 · A composite ACT score of 28 or higher — no GPA required on this route | not available | $8,500 (out-of-state) annually |
| TSU Renaissance Scholarship (GPA route) | — | GPA 3.75 | $8,500 (out-of-state) annually |
| 1912 Heritage Scholarship (score route) | ACT 25–27 · no GPA required on this route | not available | $6,500 (out-of-state) annually |
| 1912 Heritage Scholarship (GPA route) | — | GPA 3.25 | $6,500 (out-of-state) annually |
| TSU Torch Scholars Scholarship (score route) | ACT 20–24 · no GPA required on this route | not available | $4,500 (out-of-state) annually |
| TSU Torch Scholars Scholarship (GPA route) | — | GPA 3.00 | $4,500 (out-of-state) annually |
Source: Office of Institutional Merit Scholarships — award levels · verified 2026-10-21
Does Tennessee State superscore for scholarships?
No. No, stated outright: 'OIMS does not accept super scores.' Since the ACT route alone can move a student two award levels, every point has to come from one sitting. TSU also no longer offers the on-campus or residual ACT.
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.
Tennessee State scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Scholarship notifications begin in the Future Tiger Portal | December 1, 2025 |
| Presidential Scholars and Dr. Levi Watkins applications | Applications have now CLOSED |
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 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.
- Office of Institutional Merit Scholarships — award levelsverified 2026-10-21
- OIMS Frequently Asked Questionsverified 2026-10-21
- Merit Scholarships — Office of Institutional Merit Scholarshipsverified 2026-10-21
- The three ACT bands do not overlap and carry no GPA requirement, so a score alone decides the level: 28+ earns the top award, 25-27 the middle, 20-24 the bottom.
- Last-dollar. TSU states that a recipient's total semester cost 'may be reduced or adjusted due to financial aid or additional forms of aid they receive' — other aid eats into the figure rather than adding to it.
- First-come, first-served, and not binding: a declined or withdrawn award is 'placed back in the pool for the next eligible candidate'.
- Renewal requires 15 credit hours a semester, heavier than the 12 hours most schools in this dataset ask for.
- The Torch Scholars criterion is printed as 'a weighted GPA between 3.0-3.24 ACT score of 20-24' with the OR missing — the other two awards both say OR, so that reads as a typo rather than a conjunction.
- TSU's FAQ says the University no longer has full-cost or full-ride scholarships, while its scholarships page still describes two of them. Both full-cost applications are closed.
- The Dr. Levi Watkins award is limited to biology, chemistry or related majors and renews on a 3.5 GPA, not 3.0.
- The Tiger Transfer Scholarship pays $3,000 a year on a 3.0 college GPA with no score, for transfers entering in the fall.
- GPA figures here are weighted, except the MNPS Trailblazer route which uses the Tennessee HOPE GPA.
- TSU 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 Tennessee State University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Tennessee State?
Automatic merit aid at Tennessee State University starts at an ACT composite of 20, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $8,500 a year at the top of the 3 grids it publishes. The bands are steps rather than a slope, so the only score that matters is the next threshold above where you are now.
Is Tennessee State test-optional?
TSU does not publish an admission test stance on its merit pages, and the merit office is a separate office from admissions. What it does publish is that a score alone places a student in a band, and that it will not combine sittings to get there. For merit aid the answer is different: a score is one of two routes to every dollar-paying award, and on its own it is enough — the 28+, 25-27 and 20-24 bands carry no GPA requirement. A student with neither a qualifying GPA nor a qualifying score gets nothing from this grid. 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 Tennessee State?
On Tennessee State's published grid for Beginning Fall 2026 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Tennessee residents — TSU Renaissance Scholarship (score route) at $5,500 a year, about $22,000 over four years if it renews; Out-of-state and international students — TSU Renaissance Scholarship (score route) at $8,500 a year, about $34,000 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at Tennessee State?
The most valuable single point on Tennessee State's published grid is 24 to 25, at a GPA of act score of 25-27 — no gpa required on this route: it moves the award by $2,000 a year, or $8,000 across a four-year degree on the Out-of-state and international students grid. 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 Tennessee State superscore the ACT for scholarships?
No. No, stated outright: 'OIMS does not accept super scores.' Since the ACT route alone can move a student two award levels, every point has to come from one sitting. TSU also no longer offers the on-campus or residual ACT.
When are Tennessee State scholarship deadlines?
Scholarship notifications begin in the Future Tiger Portal: December 1, 2025. Presidential Scholars and Dr. Levi Watkins applications: Applications have now CLOSED. 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 Tennessee State scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from 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 Tennessee 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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