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Grambling State University · Louisiana

Grambling State Merit Aid

Verified Jul 202625 days ago· COWORK
Merit tiers33 automatic on stats
Last verifiedJul 2026Analyst COWORK

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The merit-aid verdict at Grambling State

DRAFT: Grambling's Academic Achievement Scholarship grid pays $3,000-$7,683/year (with dorm charges added at the top tier) automatically from the admission file, and its published tables show exactly how the award stacks with Louisiana TOPS or the $9,023 out-of-state fee waiver.

Common merit-aid mistakes at Grambling State

  1. The 28+ ACT top tier pays '$7683 plus Traditional Dorm charges (if on campus)' — but the footnote states 'If student resides off campus, the scholarship amount will be $7683.' Off-campus students forfeit the housing component.

  2. The page is explicit: 'TOPS eligibility is determined by the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships and not the institution.' The Total Award column is illustrative; you must qualify for TOPS through LOSFA.

  3. 'Out of State Fee Waiver will reflect in the charges as opposed to the Financial Aid Award Package' — it appears as a billing reduction, not an award line.

  4. GAP funds may be canceled if an additional award posted later creates a credit balance; GAP can never be refunded to the student and requires exhausting all federal aid options first.

  5. The automatic-consideration deadline is printed as 'January 31, 2022' and the grid is labeled 'Starting with New Freshmen for Fall 2022' — the page has not been updated with 2026-27 dates. Confirm the current deadline before assuming consideration.

  6. No renewal GPA, credit-hour, or duration terms for the Academic Achievement Scholarship are published anywhere on the page — get renewal conditions in writing from the aid office.

Who this school is for

DRAFT: Students with a 23+ ACT; a 28+ ACT and 3.5 GPA earns $7,683 plus traditional dorm charges (an effective full-tuition+housing package for on-campus Louisianans when TOPS is layered on), and out-of-state students at the same stats add a $9,023/year fee waiver.

Federal cost and outcome data

Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Grambling State, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.

Average annual net price by family income at Grambling State, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$18,666
$30,001–$48,000$19,007
$48,001–$75,000$21,743
$75,001–$110,000$24,525
$110,001+$25,310
All income levels (average)$19,809

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Total cost of attendance (sticker), AY 2021-22
$25,367
Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$7,683
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$16,706
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$19,809

That works out to an average 22% discount off the sticker price above — both figures come from the same federal AY 2021-22 Scorecard report, not a number the school itself published.

Grambling State is a public school; Scorecard's net price and cost of attendance figures cover 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
36%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
66%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$36,500 (~$387/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$41,109
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
79%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
79%

Institutional merit aid tiers

Every tier below is sourced to the school’s own published financial aid pages. Renewal terms apply only if the student maintains the stated GPA.

$3,000-$7,683/year…$3,000-$7,683/year; top tier (28+ ACT/3.5 GPA) adds Traditional Dorm charges if on campus (page shows combined totals with TOPS of $8,539.75-$13,622.75/year)

Academic Achievement Scholarship — In-State (Graduates of Louisiana High School)

AutomaticRenewable
GPA
3.5 (28+ ACT tier and 23-ACT tier); 3.0 (24-27 ACT tiers)
ACT
23 ($3,000), 24 ($5,140 'tuition'), 25-27 ($7,683), 28+ ($7,683 + dorm charges if on campus)
Requirements & details
Eligibility

Louisiana high school graduates; new freshmen (grid effective 'Starting with New Freshmen for Fall 2022'); 'No application is necessary for consideration'; page states students applying before a January 31 date are automatically considered (date printed as January 31, 2022 — stale, see Section C)

Notes

If the 28+ ACT student resides off campus, the scholarship amount is $7,683 (the dorm-charge component applies only on campus). TOPS column is shown for illustration; TOPS eligibility is determined by LOSFA, not Grambling. Renewal requirements are not published on the page.

Source

$3,000-$7,683/year scholarship PLUS…$3,000-$7,683/year scholarship PLUS a $9,023/year Out of State Fee Waiver; top tier (28 ACT/1300 SAT, 3.5 GPA) adds dorm charges if on campus

Academic Achievement Scholarship — Out of State (with Out of State Fee Waiver)

AutomaticRenewable
GPA
3.5 (28+ ACT/1300 SAT tier and 23 ACT/1130-1160 SAT tier); 3.0 (24-27 ACT / 1160-1290 SAT tiers)
SAT
1130-1160 ($3,000), 1160-1190 ($5,140), 1200-1290 ($7,683), 1300+ ($7,683 + dorm)
ACT
23 ($3,000), 24 ($5,140), 25-27 ($7,683), 28+ ($7,683 + dorm charges)
Requirements & details
Eligibility

Out-of-state students; 'No application is necessary for consideration.' The Out of State Fee Waiver reflects in charges rather than the financial aid package.

Notes

The waiver ($9,023/year) offsets non-resident fees on the bill; the 'Total Scholarship' column shows only the Academic Achievement amount.

Source

$1,000 per year…$1,000 per year (plus $9,023/year Out of State Waiver for graduates of out-of-state institutions)

Transfer Academic Achievement Scholarship

AutomaticRenewable
GPA
3.5
Requirements & details
Eligibility

24 transfer credit hours; 'No application is necessary for consideration'

Source

Outside scholarship stacking policy

Outside scholarships only trigger an aid adjustment if total aid would exceed the cost of attendance (or the student's aid eligibility cap); below that ceiling, awards are not displaced.

Verified policy language (2026-07-02): An overaward occurs when a student's financial aid and outside resources surpasses the cost of attendance for the award period by more than an allowable tolerance. The Financial Aid Administrator should attempt to reduce or eliminate the overaward without reducing a student's aid package.

Source

Lesser-known scholarships at Grambling State

Named awards that don’t always surface on the main financial aid page. Each one has its own eligibility rules.

AmountUp to $800 (based on availability of funds)Eligibility2.0 cumulative GPA; must exhaust ALL federal financial aid options first (subsidized, unsubsidized, PLUS loans)

No refund may be received from GAP funds; canceled if a later award creates a credit balance.

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityBIPOC degree candidate; 3.0 GPA (or supporting staff statement); financial need; reference letter; service commitment essay

Page lists 'Deadline: July 14, 2023' — stale; status for 2026-27 unknown.

Source

AmountAmount not published (varies by fund)EligibilityDozens of named endowed funds with criteria from GPA (2.5-3.0+) to major, hometown, and need (e.g., AKA-HBCU Endowed, Centennial Capital Campaign, Delta Sigma Theta Delta Iota, Debbie N. Robinson College of Business)

Continuing students apply at grambling.awardspring.com; new students via the prospective sign-in.

Source

Grambling State merit aid FAQ

  • What is the scholarship deadline?

    The page states students who apply by January 31 are automatically considered for academic scholarships, but the printed date is January 31, 2022 (stale). No application is necessary for consideration. Confirm the current-cycle date with Grambling's aid office (318-274-6236).

  • Is the merit award automatic?

    Yes per the page: 'No application is necessary for consideration' and applicants by the (stale) January 31 date 'are automatically considered for academic scholarships.'

  • How does the award combine with TOPS?

    Grambling's in-state table adds them: e.g., a 25-27 ACT/3.0 student shows $7,683 (Grambling) + $5,939.75 (TOPS) = $13,622.75/year. TOPS itself is determined by LOSFA.

  • What do out-of-state students get?

    The same $3,000-$7,683 merit tiers plus a $9,023/year Out of State Fee Waiver that reduces billed charges (SAT equivalents published: 1130-1160 up to 1300+).

  • What does Grambling cost for 2026-27?

    Per the Fall 2026/Spring 2027 fee schedule: resident undergrad tuition/fees $3,926.10/semester (commuting) or $7,838.10/semester with traditional dorm boarding; non-resident $8,437.60 / $12,349.60. A full COA (books, transportation, personal) is not published on these pages.

How Grambling State compares across our verified dataset

  • 241 of 750 verified schools in our dataset use cost-of-attendance cap displacement.

    Grambling State is in a recognizable cluster (241 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

  • 668 of 750 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

    Grambling State is one of them. The cohort minority (82 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 Grambling State’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

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  • Nicholls merit aid — Louisiana public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.

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