University of Southern Maine: merit scholarships by GPA
University of Southern Maine awards automatic merit aid from a published grid keyed to GPA — the ACT is not used. Awards start at a 2.67 GPA and reach $11,000 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
USM words every award as what a student "could be eligible" for and says amounts "may vary each year and are subject to fund availability", so these are the published figures rather than fixed awards. The top award is described as a GPA "over a 3.5" while the rung below ends at 3.49, which leaves exactly 3.50 ambiguous; it is read here as the floor. GPAs are converted to a 4.0 scale and USM does not say whether they are weighted.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — a 3.60 GPA
President's Scholar Award
$4,000 a year / year
About $16,000 over four years, if it renews.
USM 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 USM merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from University of Southern Maine’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.
Maine residents
A steep ladder: the top rung is four times the bottom one. Read on the GPA held at the time of admission.
$4,000 a year
President's Scholar Award
No score needed
$2,000 a year
Dirigo Scholar Award
No score needed
$1,000 a year
USM Scholar Award
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| President's Scholar Award | — | $4,000 a year |
| Dirigo Scholar Award | — | $2,000 a year |
| USM Scholar Award | — | $1,000 a year |
Source: Merit scholarships · verified 2026-10-24
Non-residents
Far more money and a much flatter ladder — the top rung is barely one and a half times the bottom.
$11,000 a year
President's Scholar Award
No score needed
$10,000 a year
Dirigo Scholar Award
No score needed
$7,000 a year
USM Scholar Award
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| President's Scholar Award | — | $11,000 a year |
| Dirigo Scholar Award | — | $10,000 a year |
| USM Scholar Award | — | $7,000 a year |
Source: Merit scholarships · verified 2026-10-24
Does USM superscore for scholarships?
Not stated, and it would not matter — the awards read no 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 USM’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.
USM scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Automatic consideration — complete application | April 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 Southern Maine’s own published pages, linked below with the date we last confirmed them. We do not estimate a missing band or interpolate a value.
- Merit scholarshipsverified 2026-10-24
- President's Scholar Awardverified 2026-10-24
- Dirigo Scholar Awardverified 2026-10-24
- USM Scholar Awardverified 2026-10-24
- USM makes the SAT and ACT optionalverified 2026-10-24
- A 3.5 is worth $4,000 a year in state and $11,000 out of state.
- The in-state ladder is steep — the top rung is four times the bottom; the out-of-state one is nearly flat.
- The 2.99-to-3.00 step is worth $1,000 in state and $3,000 out of it.
- The 3.49-to-3.50 step is worth $2,000 in state but only $1,000 out of it.
- The floor is a 2.67, an unusually low bar for a named four-year public award.
- Applying by April 1 is what makes consideration automatic.
- Amounts are subject to fund availability, so they are published figures rather than fixed awards.
- No award reads an ACT score, though nursing requires one for admission to the program.
- Renewal needs only a 2.0, and awards run up to eight semesters within five years.
- Students who already hold a bachelor's degree, and readmitted students, are not eligible.
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 Southern Maine.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at USM?
University of Southern Maine publishes a merit aid grid keyed to ACT score and GPA. See the tables on this page for the current bands.
Is USM test-optional?
Nursing is the exception and still requires an SAT or ACT score for admission to the program. For merit aid the answer is different: no award names a test. A student with no ACT reaches the President's Scholar award at a 3.5 exactly as a 36 would. 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 USM?
On USM's published grid for the current cycle, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Maine residents — President's Scholar Award at $4,000 a year, about $16,000 over four years if it renews; Non-residents — President's Scholar Award at $11,000 a year, about $44,000 over four years if it renews.
Does in-state or out-of-state change merit aid at USM?
Yes. USM publishes separate grids: Maine residents run $1,000 to $4,000 a year, and Non-residents run $7,000 to $11,000 — a difference of $7,000 a year at the top. Check which grid applies to you before planning around a figure.
Does USM superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated, and it would not matter — the awards read no score.
When are USM scholarship deadlines?
Automatic consideration — complete application: April 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 USM scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from University of Southern Maine'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
USM awards on GPA — but the ACT still decides what you're worth elsewhere.
Most schools in this comparison are score-keyed even though USM is not, so the same test still moves the money everywhere else on the list.
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