Open award details for Merit-Based Admission Scholarships (Presidential / Deans' / Outstanding Student / Academic Choice)
Who qualifies
US citizen required; apply for admission by the January 15 priority deadline of senior year; no separate scholarship application; GPA calculated unweighted
How to keep it
Awarded for four years (not including summer) or maximum 12 quarters with summers (separate summer application). Continuous full-time enrollment required (minimum 8 hours per quarter excluding summer, classes physically on main campus). Renewed each year provided a 3.00 cumulative GPA is maintained at the end of each Spring Quarter; Presidential Scholars must also maintain a 3.00 cumulative GPA at the end of EVERY quarter.
Worth knowing
Tech describes these as 'non-competitive admissions scholarships' awarded 'on the basis of demonstrated ability, usually without regard for need' — but the page frames Jan 15 as a priority deadline rather than stating automatic guarantee, so automaticOnStats is left false. Note: scholarships exclude summer by default.
National Merit Scholarship (Louisiana Tech)Full tuition, fees, on-campus housing, and meals for four years (unlimited number of awards)Not automaticRenewable
Published awardOther selection criteria
National Merit Scholarship (Louisiana Tech)
Full tuition, fees, on-campus housing, and meals for four years (unlimited number of awards)
Published coverage or packageNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.
GPA
3.0 cumulative (4.0 unweighted scale)
RenewableCheck the conditions
Open award details for National Merit Scholarship (Louisiana Tech)
Who qualifies
National Merit Finalist standing; list Louisiana Tech as first choice with the National Merit Corporation; apply for admission per National Merit deadlines
How to keep it
Student must remain full-time and maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0.
Worth knowing
'Unlimited awards' — not capped by a quota. Covers direct costs (tuition, fees, housing, meals), not full COA.
Bulldog Out-of-State ScholarshipPays out-of-state tuition and fees (described on the page summary; detailed category terms are in collapsed accordions that did not render — see Section C)Not automaticRenewable
Published awardOther selection criteria
Bulldog Out-of-State Scholarship
Pays out-of-state tuition and fees (described on the page summary; detailed category terms are in collapsed accordions that did not render — see Section C)
Published coverage or packageNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.
Start with the award’s published eligibility.
RenewableCheck the conditions
Open award details for Bulldog Out-of-State Scholarship
Who qualifies
Out-of-state students; categories A (incoming freshmen, effective Fall 2023), B (transfer/enrolled, effective Winter 2022), C, D, US citizens, and international students — category criteria not visible on the rendered page
Worth knowing
Stacks with merit-based scholarships per the page: 'In addition to merit-based scholarships, out-of-state students may also qualify for the Bulldog Scholarship which pays out-of-state tuition and fees.'
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The fine print
Renewal ruleMerit-Based Admission Scholarships (Presidential / Deans' / Outstanding Student / Academic Choice): renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Awarded for four years (not including summer) or maximum 12 quarters with summers (separate summer application). Continuous full-time enrollment required (minimum 8 hours per quarter excluding summer, classes physically on main campus). Renewed each year provided a 3.00 cumulative GPA is maintained at the end of each Spring Quarter; Presidential Scholars must also maintain a 3.00 cumulative GPA at the end of EVERY quarter. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.
What makes Louisiana Tech different
DRAFT: Louisiana Tech publishes a non-competitive ACT/SAT x GPA merit grid ($1,000-$9,500/year for four years), an UNLIMITED full-cost National Merit Finalist award (tuition, fees, housing, meals), and a Bulldog Scholarship that pays out-of-state tuition and fees.
Merit tiers3See who qualifies
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team
Selection beyond grades and scores
Start with the selection process.
These awards are not recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read each award's selection rules, application steps and dates. Meeting a minimum is not an award offer.
Read the selection rules
Look for the school's stated criteria and whether an additional application is needed.
Check the application dates
Confirm the current admission and scholarship deadlines directly with the school.
Know what happens next year
Check renewal, credit requirements and how other aid affects the award.
The fine print / Three questions to carry forward
Before you count on it.
Does it apply to us? Confirm the entering year, residency and every eligibility condition.
Can we keep it? Check renewal GPA, credits and how long the award lasts.
Can we combine it? Ask how outside scholarships and other school awards change the offer.
A printable research summary, source links and room for your questions.
See what could change an award+
What families often miss
General admission scholarships key off an admission application received 'by the priority deadline of January 15' with ACT/SAT scores and transcript — no separate scholarship application exists to catch up later.
'For scholarship purposes, GPA (Overall) is calculated on a 4.0 unweighted scale' — a weighted 3.8 may be an unweighted 3.4 and drop you to the lower-dollar column (or out of Academic Choice, which requires 3.75+ unweighted).
Awards run 'four years (not including summer)'; using summers requires a separate application and the 12-quarter maximum with additional rules.
Renewal requires a 3.00 cumulative GPA at the end of each Spring Quarter, and Presidential Scholars must hold 3.00 at the end of EVERY quarter — one bad quarter can cost the top award.
Continuous full-time enrollment is required — minimum 8 hours per quarter (excluding summer), and 'classes must be physically taken on main campus.'
'Must be a US citizen to qualify for merit-based scholarships.'
The full-cost National Merit award requires listing Louisiana Tech as FIRST CHOICE with the National Merit Corporation.
See costs and school data+
Who this school may work for
DRAFT: Freshmen with a 20+ ACT and 3.0+ unweighted GPA who apply by January 15 (a 3.75+ GPA adds $500 to every tier); National Merit Finalists who rank Tech first get tuition, fees, housing, and meals with no award cap; out-of-state students can pair merit money with the Bulldog out-of-state tuition scholarship.
Published yearly cost: Approximately $28,404 for 2026-2027. Source
Cost and graduation facts
Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Louisiana Tech, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.
Average annual net price by family income at Louisiana Tech, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family income
Average net price paid
$0–$30,000
$7,676
$30,001–$48,000
$8,619
$48,001–$75,000
$11,146
$75,001–$110,000
$15,674
$110,001+
$16,207
All income levels (average)
$11,864
Sticker price vs. what students actually pay
Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$10,125
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$16,866
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$11,864
That works out to roughly a 51% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $24,280 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).
Louisiana Tech 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
64%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
82%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$22,135 (~$235/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$52,279
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
33%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
39%
See other scholarships and cost examples+
If your student brings another scholarship
Outside scholarships reduce loans and/or work-study first; institutional grants are only reduced if required to prevent an over-award.
Verified policy language (2026-07-02): Overaward: In the event the student's total aid exceeds his federal financial need or the cost of attendance, any federal loan aid shall be reduced, then institutional and other aid in accordance with the institutional practice, then State Scholarships and Grants (including TOPS if applicable), shall be reduced by the amount of any remaining overaward.
Apply for admission by the priority deadline of January 15 of your senior year (no separate scholarship application; submit ACT/SAT scores and transcript). National Merit Finalists follow National Merit Corporation deadlines.
Is the merit grid automatic?
Tech calls these 'non-competitive admissions scholarships' awarded on demonstrated ability without a separate application — but apply by the January 15 priority date; the page does not use the word 'guaranteed.'
What do National Merit Finalists get?
Unlimited awards paying tuition, fees, on-campus housing, and meals for four years — requires listing Tech first with the National Merit Corporation and a 3.0 unweighted GPA, maintained full-time at a 3.0 cumulative.
Can out-of-state students stack awards?
Yes — 'In addition to merit-based scholarships, out-of-state students may also qualify for the Bulldog Scholarship which pays out-of-state tuition and fees.' Category details are in page accordions; confirm criteria with admissions.
What does Louisiana Tech cost?
Per the official 2026-2027 COA: in-state on-campus full budget $28,404/year; out-of-state on-campus $37,317; international on-campus $37,437 (3 quarters, 10-hour budget).
See sources and other schools+
How Louisiana Tech compares
145 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.
Louisiana Tech 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.
Louisiana Tech 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.
132 of 749 verified schools publish a dedicated National Merit Finalist package.
Louisiana Tech is one of them. NMF packages typically carry their own stacking and renewal carve-outs separate from the standard automatic merit ladder; confirm those before assuming the headline NMF value is final.
Sources used on this page
Every claim is checked against Louisiana Tech’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
