University of Idaho: merit scholarships by GPA
University of Idaho awards automatic merit aid from a published grid keyed to GPA — the ACT is not used. Awards reach $7,500 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
Go Idaho! is a GUARANTEED MINIMUM FUNDING LEVEL by GPA band, not a named scholarship — Idaho assembles it from institutional, donor and departmental money. The consequence is stated on Idaho's own page and is easy to miss: a departmental scholarship may REPLACE the award rather than add to it, because the promise is about the total. The GPA is unweighted. Non-resident figures are much larger but are built on the WUE tuition discount, which Idaho says is non-disbursable, so it reduces a bill and never becomes cash. The ACT appears in exactly one place: homeschooled applicants are assessed on their highest ACT or SAT instead of a GPA. Idaho does not date these pages.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — a 3.60 GPA
Vandal Excellence
$4,000 guaranteed minimum funding / year
About $16,000 over four years, if it renews.
Idaho 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 Idaho merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from University of Idaho’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.
Idaho residents — Go Idaho!
No scholarship application. Idaho guarantees these as minimum annual funding levels for up to four years, drawn from whatever combination of sources it has, on an unweighted high school GPA.
$7,500 guaranteed minimum funding
Vandal Pride
No score needed · GPA 3.90
$5,000 guaranteed minimum funding
Vandal Summit
No score needed · GPA 3.75
$4,000 guaranteed minimum funding
Vandal Excellence
No score needed · GPA 3.40
$1,000 guaranteed minimum funding
Vandal Merit
No score needed · GPA 3.00
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vandal Pride | — | GPA 3.90 | $7,500 guaranteed minimum funding |
| Vandal Summit | — | GPA 3.75 | $5,000 guaranteed minimum funding |
| Vandal Excellence | — | GPA 3.40 | $4,000 guaranteed minimum funding |
| Vandal Merit | — | GPA 3.00 | $1,000 guaranteed minimum funding |
Source: In-state scholarships — Go Idaho! guaranteed funding · verified 2026-10-21
Non-residents — WUE Scholars
Automatic on application with no extra forms or deadlines. The base is the WUE tuition discount, worth nearly $16,000 a year, with a cash top-up by GPA band. Idaho states WUE is non-disbursable, so it reduces tuition and cannot be refunded.
WUE Scholars Summit Award + $3,000 additional, receives nearly $19,000
WUE Scholars Summit Award
No score needed · GPA 3.90
WUE Scholars Excellence Award + $2,000, nearly $18,000
WUE Scholars Excellence Award
No score needed · GPA 3.75
WUE Scholars Merit Award + $1,000, nearly $17,000
WUE Scholars Merit Award
No score needed · GPA 3.00
Nearly $16,000
WUE base award
No score needed · GPA 1.00
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| WUE Scholars Summit Award | — | GPA 3.90 | WUE Scholars Summit Award + $3,000 additional, receives nearly $19,000 |
| WUE Scholars Excellence Award | — | GPA 3.75 | WUE Scholars Excellence Award + $2,000, nearly $18,000 |
| WUE Scholars Merit Award | — | GPA 3.00 | WUE Scholars Merit Award + $1,000, nearly $17,000 |
| WUE base award | — | GPA 1.00 | Nearly $16,000 |
Source: Out-of-state and international scholarships — WUE and Invitation to Idaho · verified 2026-10-21
Does Idaho superscore for scholarships?
Not stated. Idaho says it uses a homeschooled applicant's HIGHEST ACT, which is a best-sitting rule rather than a superscore, and it applies to no one else.
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 Idaho’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 Idaho’s own published pages, linked below with the date we last confirmed them. We do not estimate a missing band or interpolate a value.
- In-state scholarships — Go Idaho! guaranteed fundingverified 2026-10-21
- Out-of-state and international scholarships — WUE and Invitation to Idahoverified 2026-10-21
- This is a guaranteed minimum TOTAL, not a named award, so winning a departmental scholarship can replace rather than increase it. Idaho says so explicitly.
- The resident GPA bands are unweighted and unusually precise — 3.899 and 3.749 are real boundaries.
- The non-resident figures are mostly a tuition discount, not cash, and Idaho states WUE is non-disbursable.
- No extra applications or deadlines for the non-resident awards; admission alone triggers consideration.
- Homeschooled Idaho residents are assessed on their highest ACT or SAT, and applicants from non-accredited Idaho high schools are considered on a GPA if one is provided.
- Award letters go out in early January by post and email.
- Idaho transfer residents have their own smaller grid: 3.8-4.0 gets $3,000, 3.6-3.799 gets $2,000, 3.0-3.599 gets $1,000.
- The state's Idaho LAUNCH programme adds up to $8,000 (up to $4,000 a year) for Idaho graduates entering in-demand careers, separately from anything above.
- Neither page carries a cycle year.
- Idaho 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 University of Idaho.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Idaho?
University of Idaho publishes a merit aid grid keyed to ACT score and GPA. See the tables on this page for the current bands.
Is Idaho test-optional?
Idaho does not state an admission test stance on its scholarship pages. The only mention of a score is as a substitute measure for homeschooled applicants. For merit aid the answer is different: not used as a threshold. Every Go Idaho! and WUE Scholars band is keyed to an unweighted GPA; a score matters only for homeschooled applicants, where Idaho uses the highest ACT or SAT in place of a GPA it cannot read. 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 Idaho?
On Idaho's published grid for the current cycle, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Idaho residents — Go Idaho! — Vandal Excellence at $4,000 a year, about $16,000 over four years if it renews.
Does Idaho superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated. Idaho says it uses a homeschooled applicant's HIGHEST ACT, which is a best-sitting rule rather than a superscore, and it applies to no one else.
Is this Idaho scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from University of Idaho'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
Idaho awards on GPA — but the ACT still decides what you're worth elsewhere.
Most schools in this comparison are score-keyed even though Idaho is not, so the same test still moves the money everywhere else on the list.
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