Boise State automatically awards first-year merit by an unweighted-GPA grid that splits sharply by residency — resident True Blue Promise/Dean's/Presidential ($2,000-$3,000/yr) vs. nonresident Ridgeline/Summit/WUE ($5,000-~$16,339/yr) — with no separate application. (DRAFT)
Verified Jul 20262 months ago
The short answer
Is Boise State worth a closer look?
Boise State is worth checking if your student has strong grades or scores. We found 2 published awards, and 2 are based on those numbers.
Merit tiers22 based on grades or scores
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team
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Published scholarships
These amounts and requirements come from the school’s own published pages. Open an award to see who qualifies and how to keep it.
Must be admitted to Boise State; only incoming new Idaho students; Fall deadline Feb 15, Spring deadline Oct 1; no separate application
How to keep it
4 years (8 semesters). Renewal requires 24 completed credits combined fall+spring (12+ each semester) AND a cumulative GPA floor: True Blue Promise 2.50, Dean's 3.00, Presidential 3.00. Repeated credits do not count toward the 24.
Notes
Automatic on admission/GPA — no separate scholarship application. IMPORTANT: True Blue Promise also requires Pell Grant eligibility (FAFSA-determined) by Feb 15, so the lowest tier is partly need-gated. Scholarship name may change but the guaranteed funding level stays consistent. If not received in the first semester, a student is no longer considered for these once enrolled.
Must have an eligible major (Nursing/Pre-Nursing, Radiological Science, alternative-fee and fully-online programs excluded from Ridgeline/Summit/WUE); WUE requires US citizen/PR from an eligible WICHE state; Fall deadline Dec 15, Spring Oct 1; no separate application
Automatic on admission/GPA. WUE is a tuition DISCOUNT (covers 150% of resident tuition, ~$16,339/yr savings), not a cash award — recipients still owe resident fees and the uncovered nonresident fee portion. Nonresident scholarships apply only to nonresident fees and are not cash.
It requires Pell Grant eligibility (FAFSA-determined) by February 15 in addition to the 3.20-3.69 GPA, so a non-Pell-eligible student in that GPA band does not get it.
Resident first-year scholarships have a February 15 fall deadline; nonresident scholarships have an earlier December 15 fall deadline. Students admitted after the deadline lose priority/consideration.
WUE is a tuition discount (150% of resident tuition) and nonresident scholarships apply only to nonresident fees — they are not cash awards and recipients still owe resident fees plus the uncovered nonresident portion.
Awards are set from data available by the deadline and cannot be changed or upgraded based on college performance; if you did not receive an award in the first semester, you are no longer considered for it once enrolled.
Each award needs 24 completed fall+spring credits and a cumulative GPA floor (resident: TBP 2.50, Dean's/Presidential 3.00; nonresident: Ridgeline 2.50, others 3.00); repeated and summer credits don't count toward renewal.
Total aid is capped at COA; if you exceed it, Boise State reduces loans first and may then reduce or cancel institutional scholarships. A fee/academic appeal that waives fees also cancels the scholarship.
Incoming scholarships are non-deferrable — deferring cancels the award, and you are re-evaluated under the new year's criteria.
See costs and school data+
Who this school may work for
Idaho residents with a 3.20+ GPA (Pell-eligible for the lowest tier) and nonresidents with a 3.10+ GPA in an eligible major win automatic awards by GPA band; WUE-state students in eligible majors get the largest tuition discount. (DRAFT)
Published yearly cost: Approximately $34,269 for 2026-2027. Source
Cost and graduation facts
Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Boise State, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.
Average annual net price by family income at Boise State, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family income
Average net price paid
$0–$30,000
$18,165
$30,001–$48,000
$17,974
$48,001–$75,000
$20,731
$75,001–$110,000
$23,573
$110,001+
$25,893
All income levels (average)
$21,610
Sticker price vs. what students actually pay
Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$9,048
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$27,788
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$21,610
That works out to roughly a 23% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $28,224 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).
Boise State is a public school; Scorecard's net price figure covers in-state, Title-IV-aid-recipient payers only — there is no comparable federal figure for out-of-state students.
Outcomes for students who enrolled here
Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
60%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
79%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$20,500 (~$217/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$51,658
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
26%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
34%
See other scholarships and cost examples+
If your student brings another scholarship
A COA cap applies: institutional funds may be combined with outside funds up to the student's Cost of Attendance. If total aid exceeds COA, Boise State reduces student loans first and may ultimately reduce or cancel institutional scholarships (loan-first displacement).
Outside scholarships are accepted and run through the financial aid office; checks over $1,500 are split between fall and spring. The COA cap and loan-first reduction order are stated explicitly on the COA page and the FAQ/policies page.
Resident first-year scholarships: February 15 (fall) / October 1 (spring). Nonresident scholarships: December 15 (fall) / October 1 (spring). Automatic scholarship offers must be accepted by May 1.
Do I need a separate application for the automatic scholarships?
No. Students are considered for the Presidential, Dean's, True Blue Promise (resident) and Ridgeline/Summit/WUE (nonresident) awards at the time they apply for admission — there is no separate application. Departmental/academic awards do use the Boise State Scholarship Application (AcademicWorks).
How does an outside scholarship affect my aid?
Institutional plus outside funds are capped at your Cost of Attendance. If you exceed COA, Boise State reduces loans first and may then reduce or cancel institutional scholarships.
Is the WUE award cash?
No. WUE discounts tuition so a nonresident pays 150% of resident tuition (~$16,339/yr savings). You still owe resident fees and the uncovered nonresident fee portion.
See sources and other schools+
How Boise State compares
145 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.
Boise State is in a recognizable cluster (145 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Boise State is one of them. The cohort minority (84 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.
Sources used on this page
Every claim is checked against Boise State’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
