University of North Dakota: merit scholarships by ACT score
University of North Dakota awards automatic merit aid from a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 30 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
The ACT opens one door: a 30 lets a 3.00-GPA student collect $3,500 a year instead of $1,500 once. Below 30 it is worth nothing, and the door requires an OFFICIAL score on file by February 1. UND also calls the funding 'limited and not guaranteed' directly above a header reading 'Automatic Academic Scholarships'. GPAs must be unweighted, the lowest band is non-renewable, and the page carries no cycle year.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
Automatic Academic Scholarship (one-time, non-renewable)
$1,500 non-renewable / year
About $6,000 over four years, if it renews.
What the next points are worth
1 more point (a 30) moves you to Automatic Academic Scholarship — top band via a 30 ACT — $3,500 / year for a maximum of 4 years a year. That is $2,000 more a year, or $8,000 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 UND without an ACT score?
Yes. Optional, with one exception that matters: the 30-ACT route into the top band requires official scores on file by the February 1 priority deadline. Everything else runs on unweighted GPA.
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.
“You must submit official ACT or SAT test scores to qualify for this scholarship.”
The published UND merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from University of North Dakota’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.
New freshman scholarships
A student receives ONE automatic award. UND prints both a four-year total and an annual rate in the same cell; the annual rate is what is recorded here. Full-time enrolment of at least 12 credits a semester is required.
$3,500 / year for a maximum of 4 years
Automatic Academic Scholarship — top band on GPA alone
No score needed · GPA 3.90
$3,500 / year for a maximum of 4 years
Automatic Academic Scholarship — top band via a 30 ACT
ACT 30–36 · 3.00+ unweighted GPA, official scores required
Without a score: not available
$2,750 / year for a maximum of 4 years
Automatic Academic Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 3.70
$1,500 non-renewable
Automatic Academic Scholarship (one-time, non-renewable)
No score needed · GPA 3.50
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Automatic Academic Scholarship — top band on GPA alone | — | GPA 3.90 | $3,500 / year for a maximum of 4 years |
| Automatic Academic Scholarship — top band via a 30 ACT | ACT 30–36 · 3.00+ unweighted GPA, official scores required | not available | $3,500 / year for a maximum of 4 years |
| Automatic Academic Scholarship | — | GPA 3.70 | $2,750 / year for a maximum of 4 years |
| Automatic Academic Scholarship (one-time, non-renewable) | — | GPA 3.50 | $1,500 non-renewable |
Source: Automatic Academic Scholarships for New Students · verified 2026-10-21
Does UND superscore for scholarships?
Not stated. The word does not appear on any UND scholarship page, so no position is recorded.
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 UND’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.
UND scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Priority deadline — application, transcripts and any official scores | February 1 |
| Scholarship Central database opens | October 1 |
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 Dakota’s own published pages, linked below with the date we last confirmed them. We do not estimate a missing band or interpolate a value.
- Automatic Academic Scholarships for New Studentsverified 2026-10-21
- Freshmen Scholarshipsverified 2026-10-21
- The 3.69-to-3.70 GPA step is worth $9,500 in total award, because the band below is a one-time $1,500 and the band above pays $2,750 a year for four years.
- UND prints a four-year total and an annual rate in the same cell — $14,000 and $3,500, $11,000 and $2,750. Only the annual rate is recorded here, to avoid double counting.
- GPAs must be unweighted and cumulative as recorded on the official transcript. Weighted GPAs do not count.
- A student receives one automatic award, not several.
- National Merit Finalists and Semi-Finalists from North Dakota or Minnesota may receive full tuition and mandatory fees, and it stacks on top of other UND awards. Finalists from other states get a discretionary file review instead.
- Renewal criteria are referenced but never stated — the page says only 'Renewal criteria apply'.
- Outside scholarships do not reduce UND awards: 'You may accept non-UND scholarships without affecting your UND scholarships.'
- The Presidential Leadership Fellows Program offers up to $16,000 over four years but selects its students and requires programme participation, so it is not modelled.
- UND 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 North Dakota.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at UND?
Automatic merit aid at University of North Dakota starts at an ACT composite of 30, 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 UND test-optional?
Not required. UND states plainly that scores are not needed to apply, and accepts about 90% of completed applications. For merit aid the answer is different: optional, with one exception that matters: the 30-ACT route into the top band requires official scores on file by the February 1 priority deadline. Everything else runs on unweighted GPA. 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 UND?
On UND's published grid for the current cycle, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Automatic Academic Scholarship — top band via a 30 ACT at $3,500 a year, about $14,000 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at UND?
The most valuable single point on UND's published grid is 29 to 30, at a 3.5 GPA: it moves the award by $2,000 a year, or $8,000 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 UND superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated. The word does not appear on any UND scholarship page, so no position is recorded.
When are UND scholarship deadlines?
Priority deadline — application, transcripts and any official scores: February 1. Scholarship Central database opens: October 1. 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 UND scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from University of North Dakota'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 UND. 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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