University of Northern Colorado: merit scholarships by GPA
University of Northern Colorado awards automatic merit aid from a published grid keyed to GPA — the ACT is not used. Awards start at a 3.0 GPA and 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
No score is used — UNC keys all three grids to a WEIGHTED high school GPA. The three tracks are not tiers of merit but tiers of residency, and the gap is large: a 4.00 resident gets $4,500 a year while a 4.00 non-resident gets $7,500, because UNC is discounting a much larger bill. Eligibility additionally requires studying on the Greeley or Denver-Lowry campus as a degree-seeking first-year student. The page carries no cycle year for the first-year grid.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — a 3.60 GPA
Provost
$2,000 / year
About $8,000 over four years, if it renews.
Northern Colorado 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 Northern Colorado merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from University of Northern Colorado’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.
Colorado residents
Automatic on admission. Students must be degree-seeking first-years studying on the Greeley or Denver-Lowry campus and meet the weighted-GPA requirement.
$4,500
Trustee
No score needed · GPA 4.00
$3,500
Presidential
No score needed · GPA 3.80
$2,000
Provost
No score needed · GPA 3.40
$1,000
Bear
No score needed · GPA 3.00
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trustee | — | GPA 4.00 | $4,500 |
| Presidential | — | GPA 3.80 | $3,500 |
| Provost | — | GPA 3.40 | $2,000 |
| Bear | — | GPA 3.00 | $1,000 |
Source: Scholarships — First-Year Scholarships by weighted GPA · verified 2026-10-21
WUE residents
Students qualifying through the Western Undergraduate Exchange sit between the resident and non-resident rates on every band.
$5,500
Trustee (WUE)
No score needed · GPA 4.00
$4,500
Presidential (WUE)
No score needed · GPA 3.80
$3,000
Provost (WUE)
No score needed · GPA 3.40
$2,000
Bear (WUE)
No score needed · GPA 3.00
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trustee (WUE) | — | GPA 4.00 | $5,500 |
| Presidential (WUE) | — | GPA 3.80 | $4,500 |
| Provost (WUE) | — | GPA 3.40 | $3,000 |
| Bear (WUE) | — | GPA 3.00 | $2,000 |
Source: Scholarships — First-Year Scholarships by weighted GPA · verified 2026-10-21
Non-resident and international
The largest figures, against the largest tuition. The criteria are identical; only the amount changes.
$7,500
Trustee (non-resident)
No score needed · GPA 4.00
$6,500
Presidential (non-resident)
No score needed · GPA 3.80
$5,000
Provost (non-resident)
No score needed · GPA 3.40
$4,000
Bear (non-resident)
No score needed · GPA 3.00
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trustee (non-resident) | — | GPA 4.00 | $7,500 |
| Presidential (non-resident) | — | GPA 3.80 | $6,500 |
| Provost (non-resident) | — | GPA 3.40 | $5,000 |
| Bear (non-resident) | — | GPA 3.00 | $4,000 |
Source: Scholarships — First-Year Scholarships by weighted GPA · verified 2026-10-21
Does Northern Colorado superscore for scholarships?
Not stated, and moot — no UNC merit band uses a score.
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 Northern Colorado’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 Northern Colorado’s own published pages, linked below with the date we last confirmed them. We do not estimate a missing band or interpolate a value.
- The three tracks are residency, not merit: identical GPAs, different amounts.
- A 4.00 non-resident gets $3,000 a year more than a 4.00 Coloradan, which offsets a larger tuition bill rather than paying more for the same thing.
- The WUE rate sits between the two on every band.
- The GPA is weighted, so the scale a high school uses changes the band.
- Eligibility requires the Greeley or Denver-Lowry campus.
- UNC separately publishes a transfer grid with its own three tracks, dated Fall 2026 and Spring 2027.
- Northern Colorado 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 Northern Colorado.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Northern Colorado?
University of Northern Colorado publishes a merit aid grid keyed to ACT score and GPA. See the tables on this page for the current bands.
Is Northern Colorado test-optional?
Not stated on the scholarship page. No merit band here uses a score. For merit aid the answer is different: not used. All three grids are published against a weighted high school GPA with no ACT criterion anywhere. 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 Northern Colorado?
On Northern Colorado's published grid for the current cycle, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Colorado residents — Provost at $2,000 a year, about $8,000 over four years if it renews; WUE residents — Provost (WUE) at $3,000 a year, about $12,000 over four years if it renews; Non-resident and international — Provost (non-resident) at $5,000 a year, about $20,000 over four years if it renews.
Does in-state or out-of-state change merit aid at Northern Colorado?
Yes. Northern Colorado publishes separate grids: WUE residents run $2,000 to $5,500 a year, and Non-resident and international run $4,000 to $7,500 — a difference of $2,000 a year at the top. Check which grid applies to you before planning around a figure.
Does Northern Colorado superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated, and moot — no UNC merit band uses a score.
Is this Northern Colorado scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from University of Northern Colorado'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
Northern Colorado awards on GPA — but the ACT still decides what you're worth elsewhere.
Most schools in this comparison are score-keyed even though Northern Colorado is not, so the same test still moves the money everywhere else on the list.
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