University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo: merit scholarships by GPA
University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo awards automatic merit aid from a published grid keyed to GPA — the ACT is not used. Awards start at a 3.8 GPA and reach $1,000 a year. Because the bands are steps rather than a slope, a hundredth of a GPA point is worth nothing inside a band and the whole step at the edge of one.
Enter a GPA below to see which band it actually lands in, what that band pays, and what the next band needs.
Read this first
UH Hilo publishes exactly ONE automatic merit award — $1,000 a year at a 3.8 GPA, restricted to graduates of Hawaiʻi high schools and awarded first-come until funding runs out. Every other UH Hilo merit award requires an application and is not represented here.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — a 3.60 GPA
No automatic award at this combination
A 29 with a 3.60 GPA does not reach the published grid. That is not a verdict on admission — only on automatic merit.
UH Hilo awards this on GPA alone, so an ACT score does not change it. A higher score can still matter for admission, for honours programmes, and at other schools on the list — but not for this award.
The ACT doesn't move the money here — but it still decides admission, honours eligibility, and what they is worth at the other schools on the list, where most awards are score-keyed.
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The published UH Hilo merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo’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.
Hawaiʻi high school graduates
Automatically awarded to incoming freshmen on a first-come, first-served basis until the available funding is met.
$1,000
Hawaiʻi Scholars Award
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Hawaiʻi Scholars Award | — | $1,000 |
Source: Hawaiʻi Scholars Award · verified 2026-10-24
Does UH Hilo superscore for scholarships?
Not stated, and it cannot matter. The award uses no test score at all.
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 UH Hilo’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 University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo’s own published pages, linked below with the date we last confirmed them. We do not estimate a missing band or interpolate a value.
- This is the only automatic merit award UH Hilo publishes. Everything else needs an application.
- It is restricted to graduates of Hawaiʻi high schools.
- It is awarded first-come until funding is exhausted, so qualifying is not the same as receiving.
- No test score is used.
- The Chancellor's Scholarship requires an application, a 3.25 renewal GPA, 30 credits a year and leadership or service commitments.
- A WUE rate award is granted once at admission and then holds for the duration of a student's time at UH Hilo.
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 Hawaiʻi at Hilo.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at UH Hilo?
University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo publishes a merit aid grid keyed to ACT score and GPA. See the tables on this page for the current bands.
Is UH Hilo test-optional?
The Scholars Award page does not state the admission testing requirement, so nothing is claimed about it here. For merit aid the answer is different: the criteria are a GPA and graduation from a Hawaiʻi high school. No test score appears anywhere on the award page. Being admitted without a score and qualifying for money without a score are two separate questions.
Does UH Hilo superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated, and it cannot matter. The award uses no test score at all.
Is this UH Hilo scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo'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
UH Hilo awards on GPA — but the ACT still decides what you're worth elsewhere.
Most schools in this comparison are score-keyed even though UH Hilo is not, so the same test still moves the money everywhere else on the list.
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