University of North Alabama: merit scholarships by ACT score
University of North Alabama awards automatic merit aid from a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 20 and reach $12,000 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
Read the superscore rule here before anything else: for 2027 UNA computes its super composite from ACT English, Reading and Math ONLY — Science has been dropped from the formula that sets the money, though UNA notes Science 'may be required for specific majors, course placement, or advising'. Three other things matter. Only US citizens are eligible, and there is no international merit track. March 1 freezes your GPA and your eligibility — a better senior spring cannot raise the award. And the housing award attached to the Presidential tiers runs for two years while the cash runs eight semesters.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
Academic Award
$8,500 / year
About $34,000 over four years, if it renews.
What the next points are worth
1 more point (a 30) moves you to Presidential Award — $10,000 + Housing (a further $4,000 a year, for two years only) a year. That is $1,500 more a year, or $6,000 over four years.
The question isn't whether a point is worth having. It's whether they can move it — 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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Can you get merit aid at UNA without an ACT score?
Yes. Optional but decisive. A published No ACT column means merit without a score genuinely exists — it just caps at $1,500 a year against $12,000 plus housing with a 33. Scores are accepted up to the April 2027 test date regardless of test-optional status, and must arrive officially.
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.
“Students are automatically awarded Academic or Presidential scholarships based on their unweighted GPA and ACT Superscore.”
The published UNA merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from University of North Alabama’s own pages for 2027 entry. Nothing here is estimated: where the school states a benefit rather than a figure, that is what the table says.
Academic and Presidential Awards
One continuous ACT axis. UNA states what no score is worth at both GPA bands, so the price of skipping the test is published rather than inferred. From a 30 the awards are branded Presidential and add a housing scholarship worth $4,000 a year for residence halls only, for TWO years against eight semesters of cash — so a '$12,000 + Housing' offer is $16,000 in years one and two and $12,000 after.
$9,000 + Housing (a further $4,000 a year, for two years only)
Presidential Award
ACT 30–32 · GPA 3.00 - 3.50
Without a score: not available
$10,000 + Housing (a further $4,000 a year, for two years only)
Presidential Award
ACT 30–32 · GPA 3.51 - 4.00
Without a score: not available
$10,500 + Housing (a further $4,000 a year, for two years only)
Presidential Award
ACT 33–36 · GPA 3.00 - 3.50
Without a score: not available
$12,000 + Housing (a further $4,000 a year, for two years only)
Presidential Award
ACT 33–36 · GPA 3.51 - 4.00
Without a score: not available
$1,000
Academic Award
No score needed · GPA 3.00
$2,000
Academic Award
ACT 20–21 · GPA 3.00 - 3.50
Without a score: not available
$2,750
Academic Award
ACT 22–23 · GPA 3.00 - 3.50
Without a score: not available
$4,000
Academic Award
ACT 24–25 · GPA 3.00 - 3.50
Without a score: not available
$6,000
Academic Award
ACT 26–27 · GPA 3.00 - 3.50
Without a score: not available
$7,500
Academic Award
ACT 28–29 · GPA 3.00 - 3.50
Without a score: not available
$1,500
Academic Award
No score needed · GPA 3.51
$2,500
Academic Award
ACT 20–21 · GPA 3.51 - 4.00
Without a score: not available
Show the other 4 published rows
$3,000
Academic Award
ACT 22–23 · GPA 3.51 - 4.00
Without a score: not available
$5,500
Academic Award
ACT 24–25 · GPA 3.51 - 4.00
Without a score: not available
$8,000
Academic Award
ACT 26–27 · GPA 3.51 - 4.00
Without a score: not available
$8,500
Academic Award
ACT 28–29 · GPA 3.51 - 4.00
Without a score: not available
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Presidential Award | ACT 30–32 · GPA 3.00 - 3.50 | not available | $9,000 + Housing (a further $4,000 a year, for two years only) |
| Presidential Award | ACT 30–32 · GPA 3.51 - 4.00 | not available | $10,000 + Housing (a further $4,000 a year, for two years only) |
| Presidential Award | ACT 33–36 · GPA 3.00 - 3.50 | not available | $10,500 + Housing (a further $4,000 a year, for two years only) |
| Presidential Award | ACT 33–36 · GPA 3.51 - 4.00 | not available | $12,000 + Housing (a further $4,000 a year, for two years only) |
| Academic Award | — | GPA 3.00 | $1,000 |
| Academic Award | ACT 20–21 · GPA 3.00 - 3.50 | not available | $2,000 |
| Academic Award | ACT 22–23 · GPA 3.00 - 3.50 | not available | $2,750 |
| Academic Award | ACT 24–25 · GPA 3.00 - 3.50 | not available | $4,000 |
| Academic Award | ACT 26–27 · GPA 3.00 - 3.50 | not available | $6,000 |
| Academic Award | ACT 28–29 · GPA 3.00 - 3.50 | not available | $7,500 |
| Academic Award | — | GPA 3.51 | $1,500 |
| Academic Award | ACT 20–21 · GPA 3.51 - 4.00 | not available | $2,500 |
| Academic Award | ACT 22–23 · GPA 3.51 - 4.00 | not available | $3,000 |
| Academic Award | ACT 24–25 · GPA 3.51 - 4.00 | not available | $5,500 |
| Academic Award | ACT 26–27 · GPA 3.51 - 4.00 | not available | $8,000 |
| Academic Award | ACT 28–29 · GPA 3.51 - 4.00 | not available | $8,500 |
Source: 2027 Freshman Scholarships · verified 2026-10-21
Does UNA superscore for scholarships?
Yes. Yes, across test dates — and this is the sentence worth reading twice. For 2027 UNA builds the super composite from ACT English, Reading and Math only. Its own 2025 page, still live at a different URL, used four sections including Science. The formula that decides the money has dropped Science.
“The super composite ACT score is calculated as the average of the best ACT English, Reading, and Math subject scores and is used as one of multiple factors in admission and financial aid.”
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.
UNA scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Priority deadline — admission and all credentials, and the date your GPA freezes | March 1, 2027 |
| Latest ACT test date accepted | April 2027 |
| 2027 award amounts subject to final funding | October 1, 2026 |
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 North Alabama’s own published pages, linked below with the date we last confirmed them. We do not estimate a missing band or interpolate a value.
- 2027 Freshman Scholarshipsverified 2026-10-21
- Scholarship terms and conditions — renewalverified 2026-10-21
- Only US citizens are eligible for freshman scholarships. UNA publishes no international merit track, which is unusual among the public universities here.
- March 1 freezes the GPA: UNA will not accept a higher GPA after it, either to raise an award or to make an ineligible student eligible.
- The GPA break is a hard cliff at two decimal places. At a 24-25 ACT, moving from a 3.50 to a 3.51 is worth $1,500 a year — $6,000 over four years for one hundredth of a point.
- A 3.00-3.50 GPA with a 33-36 pays $10,500, more than a 3.51-4.00 with a 30-32 at $10,000. UNA prints it that way in both the table and its accessible list.
- Out-of-state students receiving any scholarship of $250 or more pay the resident tuition rate, under a 2014 board resolution — though Foundation and externally funded scholarships do not trigger it.
- Screenshots and self-reported scores are rejected. The score must arrive from act.org, a transcript, or a counsellor.
- A still-live 2025 page at /financial-aid/scholarships-excellence.html carries the prior cycle and the four-section superscore definition. Use only the admissions page for current figures.
- The National Merit amount published on the 2025 page does not appear on the 2027 page, so no figure is recorded for it.
- Scholarships of Distinction cover 'up to full cost of tuition' for named majors but do not stack with these awards and require an application, so they are not modelled.
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 North Alabama.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at UNA?
Automatic merit aid at University of North Alabama starts at an ACT composite of 20, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $12,000 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 UNA test-optional?
Test-optional, with admission running on a 2.5 unweighted GPA and 13 high school units. UNA encourages scores anyway, for scholarships and course placement. For merit aid the answer is different: optional but decisive. A published No ACT column means merit without a score genuinely exists — it just caps at $1,500 a year against $12,000 plus housing with a 33. Scores are accepted up to the April 2027 test date regardless of test-optional status, and must arrive officially. 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 UNA?
On UNA's published grid for 2027 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Presidential Award at $10,000 a year, about $40,000 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at UNA?
The most valuable single point on UNA's published grid is 23 to 24, at a 3.51 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 UNA superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Yes. Yes, across test dates — and this is the sentence worth reading twice. For 2027 UNA builds the super composite from ACT English, Reading and Math only. Its own 2025 page, still live at a different URL, used four sections including Science. The formula that decides the money has dropped Science. The super composite ACT score is calculated as the average of the best ACT English, Reading, and Math subject scores and is used as one of multiple factors in admission and financial aid.
When are UNA scholarship deadlines?
Priority deadline — admission and all credentials, and the date your GPA freezes: March 1, 2027. Latest ACT test date accepted: April 2027. 2027 award amounts subject to final funding: October 1, 2026. 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 UNA scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from University of North Alabama'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 UNA. 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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