Winona State University: merit scholarships by GPA
Winona State University 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 $3,500 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
Renewal pays 50% of the original amount in years two through four, so the four-year value is well under four times the first-year figure.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — a 3.60 GPA
Presidential Honor Scholarship
$1,000 / year
About $4,000 over four years, if it renews.
Winona State 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 Winona State merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Winona State University’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.
All first-year students
Presidential Honor Scholarships are awarded on cumulative high school GPA alone. The $500 Academic Award below is a one-time payment and does not stack with them.
$3,500
Presidential Honor Scholarship
No score needed
$2,500
Presidential Honor Scholarship
No score needed
$1,500
Presidential Honor Scholarship
No score needed
$1,000
Presidential Honor Scholarship
No score needed
$500 once, not renewable
Academic Award
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Presidential Honor Scholarship | — | $3,500 |
| Presidential Honor Scholarship | — | $2,500 |
| Presidential Honor Scholarship | — | $1,500 |
| Presidential Honor Scholarship | — | $1,000 |
| Academic Award | — | $500 once, not renewable |
Source: Scholarships — First-Year Student Scholarships · verified 2026-10-23
Does Winona State superscore for scholarships?
Not stated. The word does not appear on Winona State's scholarship or admissions pages, which follows from awards that use no test score at all.
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 Winona State’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.
Winona State scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Foundation scholarship application, round 1 | December 1 |
| Foundation scholarship application, round 2 | February 15 |
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 Winona 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.
- The renewal pays half. A 4.00 student receives $3,500 then $1,750 a year — $8,750 over four years, not $14,000.
- The 3.75 renewal GPA is higher than the 3.30 entry floor, so a student admitted at the bottom band has to improve substantially in college to keep the money.
- The $500 Academic Award is one-time and does not stack with a Presidential Honor Scholarship.
- Winona's Resident Tuition Scholarship is a tuition rate for out-of-state students, not a cash award, so it is not in the table above. The school describes it as worth roughly $6,700.
- Students from Wisconsin and North Dakota may do better under state reciprocity than under the tuition scholarship, and Winona says so on the same page.
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 Winona State University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Winona State?
Winona State University publishes a merit aid grid keyed to ACT score and GPA. See the tables on this page for the current bands.
Is Winona State test-optional?
Winona State does not require a score for admission, and none of its published scholarships are keyed to one. The page says scores 'may help you qualify for certain scholarships' without naming which, so treat that as unresolved rather than as a route to the table above. For merit aid the answer is different: every published first-year award is keyed to cumulative high school GPA. A higher score changes nothing here, though it may at other schools on the same list. 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 Winona State?
On Winona State's published grid for the current cycle, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Presidential Honor Scholarship at $1,000 a year, about $4,000 over four years if it renews.
Does Winona State superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated. The word does not appear on Winona State's scholarship or admissions pages, which follows from awards that use no test score at all.
When are Winona State scholarship deadlines?
Foundation scholarship application, round 1: December 1. Foundation scholarship application, round 2: February 15. 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 Winona State scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Winona State University's own published pages and last verified on 2026-10-23. 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
Winona State awards on GPA — but the ACT still decides what you're worth elsewhere.
Most schools in this comparison are score-keyed even though Winona State is not, so the same test still moves the money everywhere else on the list.
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