University of Nebraska Omaha: merit scholarships by ACT score
University of Nebraska Omaha publishes merit aid criteria as a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 24 and reach $3,500 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
Read which bands are guaranteed before reading the numbers. UNO's Regent's and Durango awards — the two that cover tuition — say 'Scholarships are awarded competitively and are not guaranteed at the minimum criteria level'. The bottom two awards carry no such sentence, and only Habrock states a flat figure; Academic Achievement is 'up to $3,500'. So the dependable money is the small end. Every resident band also requires graduating from a NEBRASKA HIGH SCHOOL, not merely Nebraska residency. UNO adds that criteria and amounts are subject to change at any time.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
Academic Achievement Scholarship
Awards of up to $3,500 per academic year. Award covers tuition only. / year
About $14,000 over four years, if it renews.
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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Is UNO test-optional?
For admission, largely yes. A score is one of four alternative routes in alongside a 3.0 GPA, a top-half class rank, or an SAT of 1040. UNO never uses the phrase test-optional, but a score is not required to be admitted.
For money, no. Required for every band on this grid. Scores must be on file with Admissions by February 28, and only sittings through the February test date of senior year count. A family that reads “test-optional” and skips the ACT can be admitted and still walk away from every dollar on the grid below.
“ACT composite score of 20+”
The published UNO merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from University of Nebraska Omaha’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.
Nebraska residents who graduated from a Nebraska high school
The bands are ACT-disjoint and read as mutually exclusive. The two tuition-covering awards are competitive; the two cash awards at the bottom are not.
Covers the full cost of attendance for up to four years, plus an annual $5,000.00 stipend
Presidential Scholars Program (Enhanced ACT: Science test required)
ACT 36 · no GPA stated
Awards of up to $3,500 per academic year. Award covers tuition only.
Academic Achievement Scholarship
ACT 28–29 · a 3.0 GPA or higher
Awards $1,000 per academic year. Award covers tuition only.
Habrock Scholarship
ACT 24–27 · a 3.0 GPA or higher
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Presidential Scholars Program (Enhanced ACT: Science test required) | ACT 36 · no GPA stated | Covers the full cost of attendance for up to four years, plus an annual $5,000.00 stipend |
| Academic Achievement Scholarship | ACT 28–29 · a 3.0 GPA or higher | Awards of up to $3,500 per academic year. Award covers tuition only. |
| Habrock Scholarship | ACT 24–27 · a 3.0 GPA or higher | Awards $1,000 per academic year. Award covers tuition only. |
Competitive awards — not automatic
Meeting these makes you eligible to be reviewed, not to receive the award, so they are kept out of the calculator above.
- NexGen Scholarship Program (limited availability, packaged) — ACT 33+ with 33-35 ACT — no GPA stated: Covers the full cost of attendance for up to four years, assembled from other grants rather than a single line item
- Regent's Scholarship (competitive — not guaranteed at the minimum) — ACT 32+ with Minimum official composite ACT of 32: Awards cover resident tuition
- Durango Excellence Scholarship (competitive — not guaranteed at the minimum) — ACT 30+ with Minimum composite ACT of 30-31 and a 3.0 GPA: Awards cover resident tuition
Source: UNO Scholarships · verified 2026-10-21
Does UNO superscore for scholarships?
No. No for the Presidential Scholars award, which the Nebraska system refuses outright. UNO's own bands never mention superscoring, which matters here: a student with a 27 and a 28 from different sittings cannot tell from the page whether they land in Habrock or Academic Achievement.
“We do not consider superscores.”
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.
UNO scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Application for admission | February 1 |
| All ACT/SAT scores on file with Admissions | February 28 |
| Latest ACT test date counted | The February test date of senior year |
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 Nebraska Omaha’s own published pages, linked below with the date we last confirmed them. We do not estimate a missing band or interpolate a value.
- UNO Scholarshipsverified 2026-10-21
- NU Presidential Scholars — the Enhanced ACT Science requirementverified 2026-10-21
- First-year admission requirementsverified 2026-10-21
- The NU Presidential Scholars rule is the sharpest Enhanced ACT statement in this dataset: students taking the enhanced version of the ACT must take the Science test to qualify, even though Science is optional on that format.
- Every resident band requires graduating from a Nebraska high school as well as Nebraska residency.
- NexGen carries 'limited availability' and variable funding, and UNO warns the award may not appear as a line item on the aid offer at all — it is assembled from other grants.
- Academic Achievement is a ceiling: 'up to $3,500'. Only Habrock publishes a flat amount.
- Non-resident students get the UNO Advantage Scholarship, which covers up to the resident/non-resident difference but is a limited number of competitive awards with no published figure and no ACT criterion.
- The Nebraska Legacy Scholarship for children of NU graduates uses an OR between class rank and a 24 ACT — a different key from every resident band — and is a tuition waiver requiring an application.
- The top awards do not stack with tuition remission waivers.
- UNO states that criteria and amounts are 'subject to change at any time' and that it reserves the right to modify values without notice.
- Nebraska at Kearney lists the same system Regents award at the same ACT 32 with no competitive caveat at all. Same award, two campuses, two representations.
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 Nebraska Omaha.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at UNO?
Automatic merit aid at University of Nebraska Omaha starts at an ACT composite of 24, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $3,500 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 UNO test-optional?
A score is one of four alternative routes in alongside a 3.0 GPA, a top-half class rank, or an SAT of 1040. UNO never uses the phrase test-optional, but a score is not required to be admitted. For merit aid the answer is different: required for every band on this grid. Scores must be on file with Admissions by February 28, and only sittings through the February test date of senior year count. Being admitted without a score and qualifying for money without a score are two separate questions.
How much is one more ACT point worth at UNO?
The most valuable single point on UNO's published grid is 27 to 28, at a 3.0 GPA: it moves the award by $2,500 a year, or $10,000 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 UNO superscore the ACT for scholarships?
No. No for the Presidential Scholars award, which the Nebraska system refuses outright. UNO's own bands never mention superscoring, which matters here: a student with a 27 and a 28 from different sittings cannot tell from the page whether they land in Habrock or Academic Achievement. We do not consider superscores.
When are UNO scholarship deadlines?
Application for admission: February 1. All ACT/SAT scores on file with Admissions: February 28. Latest ACT test date counted: The February test date of senior year. 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 UNO scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from University of Nebraska Omaha'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 UNO. The question is whether you can move it.
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