Utah State University: merit scholarships by GPA
Utah State University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid keyed to GPA — the ACT is not used. Awards start at a 2.0 GPA and reach $16,500 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
USU prints two rows for every non-resident tier — a large one-year dollar award and a smaller four-year WUE tuition rate — and never says whether a student receives both or one, so they are kept as separate tracks here. The GPA is unweighted and USU recalculates anything weighted above a 4.0. Awards do not stack and tuition can only be covered once. The two largest awards, Presidential and Deans, are set by a GPA-and-score index USU publishes only as an image, so neither can be modelled.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — a 3.60 GPA
Resident Land Grant Scholarship
$2,500 a year, for four years / year
About $10,000 over four years, if it renews.
USU 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 USU merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Utah State University’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.
Utah residents — Logan and statewide campuses
Four years at every rung. Reviewed automatically for all new first-year students. Requires Utah residency with US citizenship or HB144/HB118 status.
$5,000 a year, for four years
Resident Scholar Scholarship
No score needed
$3,500 a year, for four years
Resident Merit Scholarship
No score needed
$2,500 a year, for four years
Resident Land Grant Scholarship
No score needed
$1,500 a year, for four years
Resident Trustee Scholarship
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Resident Scholar Scholarship | — | $5,000 a year, for four years |
| Resident Merit Scholarship | — | $3,500 a year, for four years |
| Resident Land Grant Scholarship | — | $2,500 a year, for four years |
| Resident Trustee Scholarship | — | $1,500 a year, for four years |
Source: Future Aggie scholarships · verified 2026-10-24
Non-residents — the four-year WUE tuition rate
Four years, and the smaller headline figure. Open to residents of Western Undergraduate Exchange states.
150% of resident tuition plus $3,500 a year, for four years
Nonresident WUE+ Scholarship
No score needed
150% of resident tuition, for four years
Nonresident WUE Scholarship
No score needed
150% of resident tuition, for four years
WUE within a 100-mile radius
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Nonresident WUE+ Scholarship | — | 150% of resident tuition plus $3,500 a year, for four years |
| Nonresident WUE Scholarship | — | 150% of resident tuition, for four years |
| WUE within a 100-mile radius | — | 150% of resident tuition, for four years |
Source: Future Aggie scholarships · verified 2026-10-24
Non-residents — the one-year dollar awards
Much larger figures, for one year only. USU does not say whether these can be held alongside the four-year WUE rate.
$16,500 a year, for one year only
Nonresident Scholar Scholarship
No score needed
$11,500 a year, for one year only
Nonresident Merit Scholarship
No score needed
$11,500 a year, for one year only
100 Mile Radius Scholarship
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Nonresident Scholar Scholarship | — | $16,500 a year, for one year only |
| Nonresident Merit Scholarship | — | $11,500 a year, for one year only |
| 100 Mile Radius Scholarship | — | $11,500 a year, for one year only |
Source: Future Aggie scholarships · verified 2026-10-24
Price, Blanding and Moab campuses — residents
A separate and smaller ladder for the southeast campuses, with a lower floor. Four years.
$3,000 a year, for four years
Southeast Scholar Scholarship
No score needed
$2,000 a year, for four years
Southeast Merit Scholarship
No score needed
$1,500 a year, for four years
Southeast Land Grant Scholarship
No score needed
$1,000 a year, for four years
Southeast Trustee Scholarship
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Southeast Scholar Scholarship | — | $3,000 a year, for four years |
| Southeast Merit Scholarship | — | $2,000 a year, for four years |
| Southeast Land Grant Scholarship | — | $1,500 a year, for four years |
| Southeast Trustee Scholarship | — | $1,000 a year, for four years |
Source: Future Aggie scholarships · verified 2026-10-24
Does USU superscore for scholarships?
No. Stated outright, so a student with strong sections across two sittings cannot combine them for USU money.
“ACT Superscore cannot be used for scholarship awarding.”
This matters more than it sounds. A student whose superscore crosses a band but whose best single sitting does not will be paid on the lower band. Look up your best single sitting in the grid above, then find what is costing you points on one test.
Comparing schools? See which colleges superscore for scholarships — 66 of 501 commit to it, 52 say they do not, and the rest never say.
USU scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Resident first-year priority (Logan and statewide) | December 1, 2026 |
| Non-resident first-year (Logan and statewide) | August 1, 2027 |
| Southeast campuses | 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 Utah State University’s own published pages, linked below with the date we last confirmed them. We do not estimate a missing band or interpolate a value.
- Future Aggie scholarshipsverified 2026-10-24
- Resident merit terms, 2026-27verified 2026-10-24
- Scholarship FAQverified 2026-10-24
- Test optionalverified 2026-10-24
- Every non-resident tier prints two rows — a one-year dollar award and a four-year WUE tuition rate — and USU does not say whether a student gets both.
- At a 3.7 a non-resident sees $16,500 for one year beside 150% of resident tuition plus $3,500 a year for four.
- The resident ladder runs four years at every rung, topping out at $5,000 a year for a 3.95.
- The resident floor is a 3.50; below it nothing is published for Logan or statewide.
- The GPA is unweighted, and USU recalculates anything weighted above a 4.0.
- The southeast campuses have their own smaller ladder with a 3.00 floor.
- The 100-mile-radius tiers are geographically restricted.
- Awards do not stack, and tuition can only be covered once.
- ACT superscores cannot be used for scholarship awarding.
- The Presidential award — full tuition and student fees for four years — and the Deans award are set by a GPA-and-score index USU publishes only as an image, so neither is a band here.
- A separate image-only advanced-coursework table offers two-year awards for AP, concurrent enrolment and IB rigour at a 3.0 minimum.
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 Utah State University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at USU?
Utah State University publishes a merit aid grid keyed to ACT score and GPA. See the tables on this page for the current bands.
Is USU test-optional?
First-year applicants are evaluated on high school GPA, with the ACT and SAT optional. Computer science is the exception and does require scores. For merit aid the answer is different: none of the published rungs reads a score — they are unweighted GPA alone. A score matters only for the Presidential and Deans awards, which USU sets by a GPA-and-score index published as an image. 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 USU?
On USU's published grid for 2026-27 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Utah residents — Logan and statewide campuses — Resident Land Grant Scholarship at $2,500 a year, about $10,000 over four years if it renews; Non-residents — the one-year dollar awards — Nonresident Merit Scholarship at $11,500 a year, about $46,000 over four years if it renews; Price, Blanding and Moab campuses — residents — Southeast Land Grant Scholarship at $1,500 a year, about $6,000 over four years if it renews.
Does in-state or out-of-state change merit aid at USU?
Yes. USU publishes separate grids: Non-residents — the one-year dollar awards run $11,500 to $16,500 a year, and Non-residents — the four-year WUE tuition rate run up to full tuition. Check which grid applies to you before planning around a figure.
Does USU superscore the ACT for scholarships?
No. Stated outright, so a student with strong sections across two sittings cannot combine them for USU money. ACT Superscore cannot be used for scholarship awarding.
When are USU scholarship deadlines?
Resident first-year priority (Logan and statewide): December 1, 2026. Non-resident first-year (Logan and statewide): August 1, 2027. Southeast campuses: 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 USU scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Utah State University'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
USU awards on GPA — but the ACT still decides what you're worth elsewhere.
Most schools in this comparison are score-keyed even though USU is not, so the same test still moves the money everywhere else on the list.
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