University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma: merit scholarships by ACT score
University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma awards automatic merit aid from a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 20 and reach $7,000 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
Each figure combines a tuition portion and a housing portion, and USAO states the housing half is subject to room availability and is not paid to students living off campus — so a commuter receives only the tuition figure. Every amount is described as a "total estimated value". The awards do not stack and the routes overlap, so the highest qualifying one applies. Oklahoma residency, US citizenship or permanent residency and full-time enrolment are required, and fully online students are excluded.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
President's Scholarship
$5,000 tuition plus $2,000 housing a year, $28,000 over four — $5,000 a year if not living on campus / year
About $28,000 over four years, if it renews.
There is no higher band to reach at this GPA — more points would not change the award here. They may still matter for admission, for honours programmes, or at other schools on the list.
Knowing where a score sits is the easy part. Moving it starts with knowing exactly which questions they're being missed, and why.
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Can you get merit aid at USAO without an ACT score?
Yes. A score substitutes for roughly half a grade point at every level, and USAO prints that exchange rate three separate times. Only the President's Scholarship has no GPA-only route, so a 27 is the one thing that reaches the top award.
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.
“Academic Distinction Scholarship $18,000 … 3.9+ GPA or 3.00 GPA and 25+ ACT/SAT equivalent or 3.7+ GPA and 23-24 ACT/SAT equivalent”
The published USAO merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma’s own pages for 2026-27 entry. Nothing here is estimated: where the school states a benefit rather than a figure, that is what the table says.
Oklahoma-resident first-time freshmen
Newly admitted students are evaluated automatically. Most awards have a GPA-only route alongside their score routes; only the President's Scholarship requires a score.
$5,000 tuition plus $2,000 housing a year, $28,000 over four — $5,000 a year if not living on campus
President's Scholarship
ACT 27–36 · 3.25+ with a 27 or better
Without a score: not available
$4,000 tuition plus $2,000 housing a year, $24,000 over four — $4,000 a year if not living on campus
Te Ata Scholarship
ACT 26–36 · 3.25+ with a 26 or better
Without a score: not available
$4,000 tuition plus $2,000 housing a year, $24,000 over four — $4,000 a year if not living on campus
Te Ata Scholarship
ACT 25–36 · 3.90+ with a 25 or better
Without a score: not available
$3,000 tuition plus $1,500 housing a year, $18,000 over four — $3,000 a year if not living on campus
Academic Distinction Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 3.90
$3,000 tuition plus $1,500 housing a year, $18,000 over four — $3,000 a year if not living on campus
Academic Distinction Scholarship
ACT 25–36 · 3.00+ with a 25 or better
Without a score: not available
$3,000 tuition plus $1,500 housing a year, $18,000 over four — $3,000 a year if not living on campus
Academic Distinction Scholarship
ACT 23–24 · 3.70+ with a 23 or 24
Without a score: not available
$2,000 tuition plus $1,000 housing a year, $12,000 over four — $2,000 a year if not living on campus
University Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 3.70
$2,000 tuition plus $1,000 housing a year, $12,000 over four — $2,000 a year if not living on campus
University Scholarship
ACT 23–24 · 3.00+ with a 23 or 24
Without a score: not available
$2,000 tuition plus $1,000 housing a year, $12,000 over four — $2,000 a year if not living on campus
University Scholarship
ACT 20–22 · 3.50+ with a 20 to 22
Without a score: not available
$1,500 tuition plus $1,000 housing a year, $10,000 over four — $1,500 a year if not living on campus
Green & Gold Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 3.50
$1,500 tuition plus $1,000 housing a year, $10,000 over four — $1,500 a year if not living on campus
Green & Gold Scholarship
ACT 20–22 · 3.00+ with a 20 to 22
Without a score: not available
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| President's Scholarship | ACT 27–36 · 3.25+ with a 27 or better | not available | $5,000 tuition plus $2,000 housing a year, $28,000 over four — $5,000 a year if not living on campus |
| Te Ata Scholarship | ACT 26–36 · 3.25+ with a 26 or better | not available | $4,000 tuition plus $2,000 housing a year, $24,000 over four — $4,000 a year if not living on campus |
| Te Ata Scholarship | ACT 25–36 · 3.90+ with a 25 or better | not available | $4,000 tuition plus $2,000 housing a year, $24,000 over four — $4,000 a year if not living on campus |
| Academic Distinction Scholarship | — | GPA 3.90 | $3,000 tuition plus $1,500 housing a year, $18,000 over four — $3,000 a year if not living on campus |
| Academic Distinction Scholarship | ACT 25–36 · 3.00+ with a 25 or better | not available | $3,000 tuition plus $1,500 housing a year, $18,000 over four — $3,000 a year if not living on campus |
| Academic Distinction Scholarship | ACT 23–24 · 3.70+ with a 23 or 24 | not available | $3,000 tuition plus $1,500 housing a year, $18,000 over four — $3,000 a year if not living on campus |
| University Scholarship | — | GPA 3.70 | $2,000 tuition plus $1,000 housing a year, $12,000 over four — $2,000 a year if not living on campus |
| University Scholarship | ACT 23–24 · 3.00+ with a 23 or 24 | not available | $2,000 tuition plus $1,000 housing a year, $12,000 over four — $2,000 a year if not living on campus |
| University Scholarship | ACT 20–22 · 3.50+ with a 20 to 22 | not available | $2,000 tuition plus $1,000 housing a year, $12,000 over four — $2,000 a year if not living on campus |
| Green & Gold Scholarship | — | GPA 3.50 | $1,500 tuition plus $1,000 housing a year, $10,000 over four — $1,500 a year if not living on campus |
| Green & Gold Scholarship | ACT 20–22 · 3.00+ with a 20 to 22 | not available | $1,500 tuition plus $1,000 housing a year, $10,000 over four — $1,500 a year if not living on campus |
Source: First-time freshmen scholarships — 2026-2027 · verified 2026-10-24
Does USAO superscore for scholarships?
Not stated. With thresholds at 27, 26, 25, 23 and 20, a student near any of them should ask directly.
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 USAO’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.
USAO scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Admission, for best consideration | February 1, 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 Science and Arts of Oklahoma’s own published pages, linked below with the date we last confirmed them. We do not estimate a missing band or interpolate a value.
- Four of the five awards have a GPA-only route; only the President's Scholarship requires a score.
- A 27 with a 3.25 is the only way to the top award — no GPA alone reaches it.
- A score substitutes for roughly half a grade point at every other level.
- Academic Distinction takes a 3.9 alone, a 3.00 with a 25, or a 3.7 with a 23.
- University Scholarship takes a 3.7 alone, a 3.00 with a 23, or a 3.5 with a 20.
- Each figure combines tuition and housing; the housing half is not guaranteed and is not paid to commuters.
- A commuter's President's Scholarship is $5,000 a year rather than $7,000.
- The awards do not stack, so the highest qualifying one applies.
- Oklahoma residency and full-time enrolment are required, and fully online students are excluded.
- Renewal needs only a 2.70 overall GPA.
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 Science and Arts of Oklahoma.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at USAO?
Automatic merit aid at University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma starts at an ACT composite of 20, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $7,000 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 USAO test-optional?
USAO's admission testing requirement is not stated on the scholarship page, so nothing is claimed about it here. For merit aid the answer is different: a score substitutes for roughly half a grade point at every level, and USAO prints that exchange rate three separate times. Only the President's Scholarship has no GPA-only route, so a 27 is the one thing that reaches the top award. 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 USAO?
On USAO's published grid for 2026-27 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for President's Scholarship at $7,000 a year, about $28,000 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at USAO?
The most valuable single point on USAO's published grid is 24 to 25, at a 3.0 GPA: it moves the award by $1,500 a year, or $6,000 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 USAO superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated. With thresholds at 27, 26, 25, 23 and 20, a student near any of them should ask directly.
When are USAO scholarship deadlines?
Admission, for best consideration: February 1, 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 USAO scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma's own published pages and last verified on 2026-10-24. 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 USAO. The question is whether you can move it.
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