University of Missouri: merit scholarships by ACT score
University of Missouri awards automatic merit aid from a published grid keyed to the ACT alone, with no GPA criterion. Awards start at an ACT of 36. 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
Mizzou publishes exact amounts but no ACT or GPA bands for its main awards — those run on a recalculated Mizzou Core GPA crossed with unquantified course rigour. Only the Perfect Score Scholarship has a published score criterion.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
← Drag either slider to your own numbers
Example — an ACT 29 with 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.
Mizzou’s lowest score-keyed award starts at a 36, which is 7 points away. Read the note above: what this page can look up is only what the school publishes as bands.
What this score is worth elsewhere
A 29 with a 3.60 GPA reaches a published award at plenty of schools — just not this one’s score-keyed grid. The comparison tool ranks every school in the dataset by what this exact combination is worth over four years.
That comparison is the button below.
The question isn't whether 7 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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The published Mizzou merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from University of Missouri’s own pages for 2027-28 entry. Nothing here is estimated: where the school states a benefit rather than a figure, that is what the table says.
All applicants
The one award with a published score threshold. Mizzou's other thirteen automatic awards carry exact amounts but no published criteria — see the notes.
100% tuition and fees, plus a $3,500 stipend, one year of housing and dining, and further one-time awards
Perfect Score Scholarship
ACT 36 · No GPA criterion published
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Perfect Score Scholarship | ACT 36 · No GPA criterion published | 100% tuition and fees, plus a $3,500 stipend, one year of housing and dining, and further one-time awards |
Source: Freshman scholarships, Fall 2027 · verified 2026-10-21
Does Mizzou superscore for scholarships?
Yes. Rare and explicit — Mizzou prints the superscore rule inside the scholarship criteria itself rather than in a separate admissions policy.
“36 ACT or 1570-1600 SAT (Superscores used)”
So the number that matters here is your superscore, not your best single test. Work out your superscore and look that score up in the grid above — it may sit a band higher than the one you have been planning around.
Comparing schools? See which colleges superscore for scholarships — 66 of 501 commit to it, 52 say they do not, and the rest never say.
Mizzou scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Application for priority merit consideration | December 1, 2026 |
| All official scores and transcripts must be RECEIVED | December 15, 2026 |
| Merit notifications begin | Late January 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 Missouri’s own published pages, linked below with the date we last confirmed them. We do not estimate a missing band or interpolate a value.
- Missouri resident automatic awards, with published amounts but no published criteria: Mizzou Scholars $11,000/yr, Chancellor's $7,200/yr, Curators Scholars $5,000/yr, Excellence $3,500/yr.
- Non-resident automatic awards: Mark Twain Level 1 $21,500/yr, Mark Twain Level 2 $8,500/yr, Black & Gold Level 1 $21,500/yr, Black & Gold Level 2 $11,000/yr, Border State $3,000/yr.
- The Mizzou Core GPA is recalculated from a specified course list and ignores plus and minus grades — it is not the GPA on a transcript.
- Course rigour is a separate, unquantified input: Mizzou's own example has two students with identical GPAs receiving different awards.
- Non-resident scholarships apply only to the non-resident portion of tuition, so a $21,500 award is not $21,500 off the total bill.
- A non-resident who later establishes Missouri residency FORFEITS the award and gets no in-state replacement.
- Mizzou is silent on the Enhanced ACT, which matters most here: the Perfect Score Scholarship turns on '36 ACT' with no statement about three-section composites.
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 Missouri.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Mizzou?
Automatic merit aid at University of Missouri starts at an ACT composite of 36, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches 100% tuition and fees, plus a $3,500 stipend, one year of housing and dining, and further one-time awards 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 Mizzou test-optional?
Test-optional for admission, with holistic committee review for non-submitters. For merit aid the answer is different: mizzou states that test-optional applicants get the same scholarship consideration — but a score is mandatory for the Perfect Score Scholarship, and mandatory for ANY merit consideration if the student is homeschooled, holds a GED or HiSET, or attends an unaccredited high school. Being admitted without a score and qualifying for money without a score are two separate questions.
Does Mizzou superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Yes. Rare and explicit — Mizzou prints the superscore rule inside the scholarship criteria itself rather than in a separate admissions policy. 36 ACT or 1570-1600 SAT (Superscores used)
When are Mizzou scholarship deadlines?
Application for priority merit consideration: December 1, 2026. All official scores and transcripts must be RECEIVED: December 15, 2026. Merit notifications begin: Late January 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 Mizzou scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from University of Missouri'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 Mizzou. 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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