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Nicholls scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$27,693per year · 2025-2026 (no 2026-2027 COA published on the pages opened — aid-year mismatch flagged in Section C) · cost of attendance
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

Nicholls may be worth checking, but its awards do not follow a simple grades-and-scores chart. Start with the published scholarships below.

Where does your student land?

Verified Jul 2026
5 school sources to explore

Published rules, with the school sources close at hand. Confirm the details before you count on an award.

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The award collection

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.

Where does your student land?

  1. Annual Academic Honor Scholarship$2,000-$4,500/year (by GPA x ACT grid), for 4 yearsNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Annual Academic Honor Scholarship

    $2,000-$4,500/year (by GPA x ACT grid), for 4 years

    Published rangeNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3.0 minimum (grid bands at 3.0, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 4.0)
    SAT
    SAT accepted (page says submit ACT/SAT scores; grid is published in ACT bands only)
    ACT
    21 minimum (grid bands 21-23, 24-26, 27-29, 30+); at GPA 3.0 an ACT of 24+ is required
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Annual Academic Honor Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    First-time university applicants only; apply for admission and submit ALL materials (ACT scores, transcripts) by January 31 of senior year; Nicholls does not use the ACT super score

    How to keep it

    Those awarded an academic scholarship will be required to earn at least 12 hours each semester with a semester GPA of 3.0 or higher for the duration of the award. Falling below either or both requirements could result in a loss of your scholarship.

    Worth knowing

    No separate scholarship application — consideration flows from the completed admission file. Page says students 'may qualify' and 'Scholarship award amounts and criteria are subject to change,' so not marked automatic.

  2. Annual Housing and Meals Scholarship (academic enrichment)$2,000-$4,500/year (by GPA x ACT grid), for 4 yearsNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Annual Housing and Meals Scholarship (academic enrichment)

    $2,000-$4,500/year (by GPA x ACT grid), for 4 years

    Published rangeNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3.0 minimum (grid bands at 3.0, 3.5, 3.6, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 4.0)
    SAT
    SAT accepted; grid published in ACT bands only
    ACT
    21 minimum (grid bands 21-23, 24-26, 27-29, 30+); at GPA 3.0 an ACT of 24+ is required
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Annual Housing and Meals Scholarship (academic enrichment)

    Who qualifies

    First-time university applicants only; all materials by January 31; must live on campus to continue receiving the award

    How to keep it

    Same renewal as academic scholarships (12 hours/semester earned, 3.0 semester GPA) PLUS: 'To continue to receive the housing and meals scholarship (academic enrichment), students must be living on campus.'

    Worth knowing

    A second, separate grid that supplements the Academic Honor Scholarship for on-campus residents.

  3. TOPS (Taylor Opportunity Program for Students) — Louisiana state award hosted at Nicholls$2,461.14/semester (Opportunity, +$200/semester stipend for Performance, +$400/semester for Honors); $4,370.57/semester (Excellence; $4,451.69 for high-cost programs)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    TOPS (Taylor Opportunity Program for Students) — Louisiana state award hosted at Nicholls

    $2,461.14/semester (Opportunity, +$200/semester stipend for Performance, +$400/semester for Honors); $4,370.57/semester (Excellence; $4,451.69 for high-cost programs)

    Published award termsNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    2.5 (Opportunity), 3.25 (Performance), 3.5 (Honors), 3.5 (Excellence)
    ACT
    20 (Opportunity), 23 (Performance), 27 (Honors), 31 (Excellence)
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for TOPS (Taylor Opportunity Program for Students) — Louisiana state award hosted at Nicholls

    Who qualifies

    Louisiana high school graduates; FAFSA required (or TOPS On-Line Application via LOSFA if demonstrably ineligible for federal grant aid); state-administered by LOSFA

    How to keep it

    Suspended if cumulative external GPA falls below 2.0 at end of fall/summer/intersession. At end of every Spring: Opportunity requires 2.3 cumulative GPA (<48 hrs) or 2.5 (48+ hrs); Performance/Honors/Excellence require 3.0 cumulative GPA; all require 24 credit hours per academic year (summer can cure the hour shortfall). Losing TOPS for GPA gives up to two years to restore it while enrolled full-time.

    Worth knowing

    State award, not institutional; the Nicholls page does not label the dollar amounts with an aid year.

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  • “it told me what to ask and what the renewal GPA looked like, which I was not going to find on my own”Melissa

The fine print

Renewal ruleTOPS (Taylor Opportunity Program for Students) — Louisiana state award hosted at Nicholls: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out

Suspended if cumulative external GPA falls below 2.0 at end of fall/summer/intersession. At end of every Spring: Opportunity requires 2.3 cumulative GPA (<48 hrs) or 2.5 (48+ hrs); Performance/Honors/Excellence require 3.0 cumulative GPA; all require 24 credit hours per academic year (summer can cure the hour shortfall). Losing TOPS for GPA gives up to two years to restore it while enrolled full-time. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

Outside awardsNo published displacement order

Nicholls's policy doesn't specify whether outside scholarships hit loans, grants, or only the COA ceiling. Get a written aid-office answer before chasing private awards.

What makes Nicholls different

DRAFT: Nicholls publishes two stackable freshman grids — an Academic Honor Scholarship AND a separate Housing & Meals scholarship grid (each $2,000-$4,500/year by GPA x ACT) — with a hard January 31 senior-year deadline, no superscoring, and a steep 3.0-per-semester renewal GPA.

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.

  1. Read the selection rules

    Look for the school's stated criteria and whether an additional application is needed.

  2. Check the application dates

    Confirm the current admission and scholarship deadlines directly with the school.

  3. 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.

Take Nicholls's decision sheet

A printable research summary, source links and room for your questions.

See what could change an award

What families often miss

  1. All qualifying materials — application, high school transcript, AND ACT/SAT scores — must be received by January 31. 'It is the student's responsibility to ensure that all scores and the transcript are received by the deadline.'

  2. The page states plainly: 'At this time, Nicholls does not use the ACT super score for academic scholarship purposes.' Only single-sitting composites count.

  3. Renewal requires a SEMESTER GPA of 3.0 or higher plus 12 earned hours EVERY semester 'for the duration of the award' — one bad semester 'could result in a loss of your scholarship.'

  4. The page states 'To continue to receive the housing and meals scholarship (academic enrichment), students must be living on campus.' Moving off campus forfeits that grid's money.

  5. In both grids, the GPA 3.0 row is blank under ACT 21-23 — a 3.0 student needs at least a 24 ACT; with ACT 21-23 the minimum GPA is 3.5.

  6. Per Nicholls' TOPS page, not passing 24 hours for the year loses the TOPS award; GPA-based losses give only a two-year window to cure while enrolled full-time.

  7. Per the catalog, an increase in resources after packaging 'may result in a reduction or cancellation of financial aid funds or a requirement to repay awards already released.'

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

DRAFT: Freshmen with at least a 3.0 GPA and 21+ ACT who get ALL materials in by January 31 of senior year; students planning to live on campus can pull from both grids, and 4.0/30+ students can reach $9,000/year combined.

Published yearly cost: Approximately $27,693 for 2025-2026 (no 2026-2027 COA published on the pages opened — aid-year mismatch flagged in Section C). Source

Cost and graduation facts

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

Average annual net price by family income at Nicholls, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$10,714
$30,001–$48,000$10,527
$48,001–$75,000$12,139
$75,001–$110,000$16,784
$110,001+$17,954
All income levels (average)$12,947

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$8,149
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$9,242
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$12,947

That works out to roughly a 45% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $23,481 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

Nicholls 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
54%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
77%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$22,675 (~$240/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$45,454
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
44%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
41%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Nicholls' published pages do not state a dedicated institutional stacking or outside-scholarship displacement policy. The catalog's general rule: aid is need-capped, and any increase in a student's resources after the initial award 'may result in a reduction or cancellation of financial aid funds or a requirement to repay awards already released.' The two freshman grids (Academic Honor + Housing and Meals) are published side-by-side as separate awards.

Catalog 2025-2026: most aid is based on documented need; students must report changes in financial situation; increased resources can reduce/cancel aid or require repayment. No page opened addresses how private outside scholarships specifically interact with the merit grids.

Source

Other Nicholls scholarships worth checking

These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityVaries; listed at the Financial Aid scholarships portal

The first-time-freshman page points students to the 'current scholarships' list and an external-scholarships page; neither was opened for amounts.

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityHonors Program members in good standing; study-abroad programs (England, Costa Rica); for trips, 60+ earned hours (junior status)

Honors students 'have opportunities to apply for honors scholarship funding to study abroad each year.' Honors membership itself: incoming freshmen need ACT composite 24+ (the FAQ on the same page says 25+) with no subscore below 20; $35 one-time dues; maintain 3.2 cumulative GPA.

Source

Nicholls merit aid FAQ

  • What is the scholarship deadline?

    January 31 of your senior year — all application materials (ACT/SAT scores, transcripts) must be RECEIVED by then. For financial aid priority processing, file the FAFSA by April 15 for fall (October 31 for spring).

  • Is there a separate scholarship application?

    No. Apply for admission and submit ACT/SAT scores and transcripts; first-time freshmen meeting the grid criteria are considered from the admission file.

  • Can I get both grids?

    The page publishes the Academic Honor Scholarship and the Housing and Meals Scholarship as two separate annual grids; the housing/meals award continues only while living on campus. (The page does not explicitly state every student receives both — confirm with the scholarship office.)

  • What does renewal require?

    Earn at least 12 hours each semester with a semester GPA of 3.0 or higher for the duration of the award; falling below either can cost you the scholarship. The Housing and Meals award additionally requires living on campus.

  • How much is TOPS at Nicholls?

    Per Nicholls' TOPS page: Opportunity $2,461.14/semester; Performance adds a $200/semester stipend; Honors adds $400/semester; Excellence pays $4,370.57/semester ($4,451.69 in high-cost programs). Amounts are set by the state (no aid year labeled on the page).

See sources and other schools

How Nicholls compares

  • 133 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use unclear or unpublished displacement.

    Nicholls is in a recognizable cluster (133 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

  • 133 of 749 verified schools publish no clear displacement order.

    Nicholls is one of them. The right move is the aid-office email script below, not a guess.

  • 665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

    Nicholls 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 Nicholls’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

Keep exploring Nicholls merit aid

The next chapter

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