Texas State University: merit scholarships by ACT score and class rank
Texas State University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 21 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
Texas State awards on ACT crossed with CLASS RANK, not GPA — so the GPA slider below does not affect the result here. Submitting a score moves you from the Merit track, where the amount 'Varies' and funding is limited, onto the Assured track, which Texas State calls guaranteed.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
← Drag either slider to your own numbers
Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
Texas State Achievement Scholarship
$8,000 Annual Award / year
About $32,000 over four years, if it renews.
What the next points are worth
3 more points (a 32) moves you to President's Honor Scholarship — $12,000 Annual Award a year. That is $4,000 more a year, or $16,000 over four years.
The question isn't whether 3 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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This page is one school. We have read the published grids at 501, and the email sends the ten that pay you most — five public, five private — with what each one awards. No account.
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The published Texas State merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Texas State University’s own pages for 2026-27 and forward entry. Nothing here is estimated: where the school states a benefit rather than a figure, that is what the table says.
All students — residents, non-residents and international
Texas State publishes one scale. The awards are explicitly guaranteed to qualified residents and non-residents alike, including international students.
$12,000 Annual Award
President's Honor Scholarship
ACT 32–36 · Top 25% of class, or IB/AP Capstone Diploma
$8,000 Annual Award
Texas State Achievement Scholarship
ACT 27–31 · Top 25% of class, or IB/AP Capstone Diploma
$8,000 Annual Award
Texas State Achievement Scholarship
ACT 24–26 · Top 5% of class, or IB/AP Capstone Diploma
$5,000 Annual Award
Texas State Distinguished Scholarship
ACT 24–36 · Top 26% - 30% of graduating class
$4,000 Annual Award
Texas State Distinguished Scholarship
ACT 21–23 · Top 25% of class, or IB/AP Capstone Diploma
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| President's Honor Scholarship | ACT 32–36 · Top 25% of class, or IB/AP Capstone Diploma | $12,000 Annual Award |
| Texas State Achievement Scholarship | ACT 27–31 · Top 25% of class, or IB/AP Capstone Diploma | $8,000 Annual Award |
| Texas State Achievement Scholarship | ACT 24–26 · Top 5% of class, or IB/AP Capstone Diploma | $8,000 Annual Award |
| Texas State Distinguished Scholarship | ACT 24–36 · Top 26% - 30% of graduating class | $5,000 Annual Award |
| Texas State Distinguished Scholarship | ACT 21–23 · Top 25% of class, or IB/AP Capstone Diploma | $4,000 Annual Award |
Source: Freshman scholarships — Assured and Competitive · verified 2026-10-21
Does Texas State superscore for scholarships?
No. No, by definition rather than by policy statement — Texas State defines the ACT score it uses as the best composite from one sitting.
“ACT score is defined as the best composite score from a single testing.”
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.
Texas State scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| No separate scholarship deadline — awards ride on the admission application | With admission |
| Merit recipients notified within two weeks of acceptance, from late September | Late September onward |
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 Texas 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.
- Class rank, not GPA, is the second axis. Students without a rank — homeschool, GED, some private schools — are assigned one by Texas State.
- Assured scholarships CANNOT be combined with a Texas State Merit Scholarship, though they stack with other aid up to cost of attendance.
- Out-of-state students qualifying for at least $1,000 in these awards may receive a non-resident tuition waiver for the difference — a far larger benefit than the scholarship itself.
- National Merit Finalists and semi-finalists receive $40,000 total ($10,000 a year) and must name Texas State with NMSC by May 31.
- Accelerated Online Degree Programs, TXST-LSCO Gateway and Local Co-Enrollment students are not eligible for institutional scholarships.
- Transfer students with fewer than 15 transferable hours are treated as freshmen for these awards.
- Texas State is silent on the Enhanced ACT, which matters because it pins awards to a single-sitting composite.
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 State University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Texas State?
Automatic merit aid at Texas State University starts at an ACT composite of 21, 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 Texas State test-optional?
Test-optional for anyone ranked in the top 75% of their class. Students in the fourth quartile must submit scores meeting assured-admission standards. For merit aid the answer is different: optional, but the difference is the whole point: without a score you are considered for the Merit award, whose published amount is 'Varies' and which is subject to available funding. With a score you qualify for an Assured award with a stated dollar figure. 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 Texas State?
On Texas State's published grid for 2026-27 and forward entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Texas State Achievement Scholarship at $8,000 a year, about $32,000 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at Texas State?
The most valuable single point on Texas State's published grid is 23 to 24, at a GPA of top 5% of class, or ib/ap capstone diploma: it moves the award by $4,000 a year, or $16,000 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 Texas State superscore the ACT for scholarships?
No. No, by definition rather than by policy statement — Texas State defines the ACT score it uses as the best composite from one sitting. ACT score is defined as the best composite score from a single testing.
When are Texas State scholarship deadlines?
No separate scholarship deadline — awards ride on the admission application: With admission. Merit recipients notified within two weeks of acceptance, from late September: Late September onward. 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 Texas State scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Texas 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 Texas 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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