Texas Southern University: merit scholarships by ACT score
Texas Southern University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 17 and reach $14,000 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.
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The top three tiers also require a CLASS RANK — top 5%, 10% and 20% — which this grid cannot filter on, so a student may clear the GPA and the score and still not qualify. Every amount is published as "up to", under a column headed "Maximum Award Amount", and TSU adds that offers are not guaranteed and depend on funds available at the time of offer. A FAFSA is required. Treat every figure here as a ceiling, not an entitlement.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
Presidents Transformation Scholarship
Up to $10,000 / year
About $40,000 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 TSU merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Texas Southern 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.
First-time freshmen
Each tier pairs a GPA with a score, and the top three add a class rank percentile that this grid cannot check. Published as maximums.
Up to $14,000
Regents Scholarship
ACT 30–36 · 3.75+ and the top 5% of the class (TSU prints ACT 30–36 with a 3.75–4.0)
Up to $10,000
Presidents Transformation Scholarship
ACT 26–36 · 3.50+ and the top 10% of the class (TSU prints ACT 26–29 with a 3.5–3.74)
Up to $7,000
Tiger Genesis Scholarship
ACT 19–36 · 3.00+ and the top 20% of the class (TSU prints ACT 19–25 with a 3.0–3.49)
Up to $1,000
Tiger P.A.W. Scholarship
ACT 17–36 · 2.50+ (TSU prints ACT 17–18 with a 2.5–2.99)
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Regents Scholarship | ACT 30–36 · 3.75+ and the top 5% of the class (TSU prints ACT 30–36 with a 3.75–4.0) | Up to $14,000 |
| Presidents Transformation Scholarship | ACT 26–36 · 3.50+ and the top 10% of the class (TSU prints ACT 26–29 with a 3.5–3.74) | Up to $10,000 |
| Tiger Genesis Scholarship | ACT 19–36 · 3.00+ and the top 20% of the class (TSU prints ACT 19–25 with a 3.0–3.49) | Up to $7,000 |
| Tiger P.A.W. Scholarship | ACT 17–36 · 2.50+ (TSU prints ACT 17–18 with a 2.5–2.99) | Up to $1,000 |
Source: Scholarships — first-time freshman tiers · verified 2026-10-24
Does TSU superscore for scholarships?
Not stated. TSU prints score windows but never addresses superscoring, so a student planning a retake should confirm in writing.
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 TSU’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.
Where these numbers came from
Every figure on this page was read from Texas Southern 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 top three tiers require a class rank — top 5%, 10% or 20% — in addition to the GPA and score. This grid cannot check rank, so it may show an award a student does not qualify for.
- Every amount is "up to", in a column TSU heads "Maximum Award Amount".
- TSU states that offers are not guaranteed and depend on the funds available when the offer is made.
- TSU prints closed windows on both axes. They are modelled as floors, because as printed a 3.0 with a 30 would fall out of Tiger Genesis without reaching Presidents Transformation and be paid nothing — less than the same student with a 25.
- The page's prose says offers are based on the transcript GPA, which sits awkwardly beside the ACT column in its own table.
- SAT equivalents are published alongside: 1370 and up, 1240–1369, 1050–1239 and 900–1049.
- A FAFSA is required, using school code 003642.
- The page prints no entry year and does not say whether the amounts are annual.
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 Texas Southern University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at TSU?
Automatic merit aid at Texas Southern University starts at an ACT composite of 17, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $14,000 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 TSU test-optional?
TSU's scholarship page does not state the admission testing requirement, so nothing is claimed about it here. For merit aid the answer is different: the grid publishes an ACT column at every tier, and the prose on the same page says offers are based on the GPA provided on the transcript. The two do not agree, so whether a score moves the award cannot be answered from what TSU publishes — but every tier does print one. 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 TSU?
On TSU's published grid for the current cycle, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Presidents Transformation Scholarship at $10,000 a year, about $40,000 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at TSU?
The most valuable single point on TSU's published grid is 18 to 19, at a 3.0 GPA: it moves the award by $6,000 a year, or $24,000 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 TSU superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated. TSU prints score windows but never addresses superscoring, so a student planning a retake should confirm in writing.
Is this TSU scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Texas Southern 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
You know what a score is worth at TSU. 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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