University of Arkansas – Fort Smith: merit scholarships by ACT score
University of Arkansas – Fort Smith awards automatic merit aid from a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 19 and reach $6,000 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
Every amount is an "up to" figure. A housing stipend of up to $1,500 sits alongside them but is restricted to one residence hall, so it is not counted in the figures here. UAFS never uses the word automatic, and does not say whether the GPA is weighted. Third-party sites still publish higher, older amounts — Gold at $5,500 and Silver at $4,500; UAFS's own page is lower and is what is used here.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
Gold Scholarship — on a score
Up to $4,000 a year / year
About $16,000 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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Can you get merit aid at UAFS without an ACT score?
Yes. Every tier below Platinum takes a score or a GPA. A 27 stands in for a 3.8, a 25 for a 3.6, a 21 for a 3.25 and a 19 for a 3.0 — UAFS publishes the exchange rate four times.
Read the two columns in the grid below as a trade. The same award is reachable either way — with a score at a lower GPA, or with no score at a higher one. A score is worth real money to a student whose GPA sits under the test-optional line, and worth little to one comfortably above it.
The published UAFS merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from University of Arkansas – Fort Smith’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.
Freshman merit tiers
Each tier below Platinum takes a score OR a GPA. Platinum needs both, or valedictorian status. Awards run four years or until the degree is complete.
Up to $6,000 a year
Platinum Scholarship
ACT 30–36 · 4.00+ with a 30 or better — both required
Without a score: not available
Up to $4,000 a year
Gold Scholarship — on a score
ACT 27–36 · No GPA needed on the score route
Without a score: not available
Up to $4,000 a year
Gold Scholarship — on GPA
No score needed · GPA 3.80
Up to $3,000 a year
Silver Scholarship — on a score
ACT 25–36 · No GPA needed on the score route
Without a score: not available
Up to $3,000 a year
Silver Scholarship — on GPA
No score needed · GPA 3.60
Up to $2,000 a year
Bronze Scholarship — on a score
ACT 21–36 · No GPA needed on the score route
Without a score: not available
Up to $2,000 a year
Bronze Scholarship — on GPA
No score needed · GPA 3.25
Up to $1,000 a year
Lion Pride Scholarship — on a score
ACT 19–36 · No GPA needed on the score route
Without a score: not available
Up to $1,000 a year
Lion Pride Scholarship — on GPA
No score needed · GPA 3.00
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Platinum Scholarship | ACT 30–36 · 4.00+ with a 30 or better — both required | not available | Up to $6,000 a year |
| Gold Scholarship — on a score | ACT 27–36 · No GPA needed on the score route | not available | Up to $4,000 a year |
| Gold Scholarship — on GPA | — | GPA 3.80 | Up to $4,000 a year |
| Silver Scholarship — on a score | ACT 25–36 · No GPA needed on the score route | not available | Up to $3,000 a year |
| Silver Scholarship — on GPA | — | GPA 3.60 | Up to $3,000 a year |
| Bronze Scholarship — on a score | ACT 21–36 · No GPA needed on the score route | not available | Up to $2,000 a year |
| Bronze Scholarship — on GPA | — | GPA 3.25 | Up to $2,000 a year |
| Lion Pride Scholarship — on a score | ACT 19–36 · No GPA needed on the score route | not available | Up to $1,000 a year |
| Lion Pride Scholarship — on GPA | — | GPA 3.00 | Up to $1,000 a year |
Source: Freshman student scholarships · verified 2026-10-24
Does UAFS superscore for scholarships?
Not stated. With thresholds at 30, 27, 25, 21 and 19, a student near any of them should ask directly.
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 UAFS’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.
UAFS scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Admissions application | May 1, 2027 |
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 University of Arkansas – Fort Smith’s own published pages, linked below with the date we last confirmed them. We do not estimate a missing band or interpolate a value.
- Four of the five tiers take a score OR a GPA, and UAFS prints the exchange rate each time.
- A 27 stands in for a 3.8, a 25 for a 3.6, a 21 for a 3.25 and a 19 for a 3.0.
- A 19 reaches up to $1,000 a year — one of the lower useful ACT thresholds among publics here.
- Platinum needs a 30 AND a 4.0, or valedictorian status, so a score alone cannot reach it.
- Every amount is an "up to" figure.
- A housing stipend of up to $1,500 is available but restricted to one residence hall.
- The renewal bar is a 3.0 for the top three tiers and a 2.5 for the bottom two, so the larger awards are harder to keep.
- Third-party sites still show older, higher amounts for Gold and Silver.
- Whether the GPA is weighted is not stated.
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 University of Arkansas – Fort Smith.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at UAFS?
Automatic merit aid at University of Arkansas – Fort Smith starts at an ACT composite of 19, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $6,000 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 UAFS test-optional?
Admission at a 3.00 GPA needs no score, but UAFS says scores are needed "for scholarships and course registration" — which the grid partly contradicts, since four of five tiers have a GPA route. For merit aid the answer is different: every tier below Platinum takes a score or a GPA. A 27 stands in for a 3.8, a 25 for a 3.6, a 21 for a 3.25 and a 19 for a 3.0 — UAFS publishes the exchange rate four times. 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 UAFS?
On UAFS's published grid for Fall 2027 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Gold Scholarship — on a score at $4,000 a year, about $16,000 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at UAFS?
The most valuable single point on UAFS's published grid is 29 to 30, at a 4.0 GPA: it moves the award by $2,000 a year, or $8,000 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 UAFS superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated. With thresholds at 30, 27, 25, 21 and 19, a student near any of them should ask directly.
When are UAFS scholarship deadlines?
Admissions application: May 1, 2027. 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 UAFS scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from University of Arkansas – Fort Smith'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 UAFS. The question is whether you can move it.
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