UM's automatic UMAAS scholarship pays on a published high-school-GPA grid that differs sharply by residency ($1,000-$4,000 in-state vs $5,000-$18,000 out-of-state), but it's a tuition-only award that you forfeit if you take the WUE discount or establish Montana residency.
Verified Jun 20263 months ago
The short answer
Is University of Montana worth a closer look?
University of Montana is worth checking if your student has strong grades or scores. We found 5 published awards, and 4 are based on those numbers.
Merit tiers54 based on grades or scores
Research checkedJun 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.
$1,000-$4,000
UM Academic Achievement Scholarship (UMAAS) — In-State Incoming Freshman Grid
Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
Unweighted cumulative high school GPA (see grid)
See who qualifies and how to keep it+
Who qualifies
Montana resident undergraduate pursuing first bachelor's; must submit unofficial HS transcript; apply by March 1
How to keep it
Renewable for four years; must enroll in 15 credits each semester (or 30 credits/academic year) and have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 at the end of spring. Forfeited if not continuously enrolled, if transferring to Missoula or Bitterroot College, or becoming online-only. Not available in summer.
Notes
Tuition-designated (applies only to tuition). Grid: 3.95+ = $4,000; 3.5-3.94 = $3,000; 3.0-3.49 = $2,000; 2.7-2.99 = $1,000.
Out-of-state (or international) undergraduate pursuing first bachelor's; submit unofficial HS transcript; apply by March 1
How to keep it
Renewable for four years; 15 credits/semester (or 30/year) and 2.5 cumulative GPA at end of spring. Forfeited if not continuously enrolled, if transferring to Missoula College, if AWARDED THE WUE, if you ESTABLISH MONTANA RESIDENCY, or become online-only.
Montana-resident transfer pursuing first bachelor's; apply by March 1
How to keep it
Renewability based on transfer credits accepted: 0-29 credits = four years, 30-59 = three years, 60+ = two years. Must maintain 2.5 cumulative GPA and 15 credits/semester.
Out-of-state transfer pursuing first bachelor's; apply by March 1
How to keep it
Renewability based on transfer credits accepted (0-29 = four years, 30-59 = three years, 60+ = two years); 2.5 cumulative GPA and 15 credits/semester. Same out-of-state forfeiture rules (WUE/residency/online-only).
These are the rules we would flag for your family. Each comes from University of Montana's published information.
Renewal ruleUM Academic Achievement Scholarship (UMAAS) — In-State Incoming Freshman Grid: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Renewable for four years; must enroll in 15 credits each semester (or 30 credits/academic year) and have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 at the end of spring. Forfeited if not continuously enrolled, if transferring to Missoula or Bitterroot College, or becoming online-only. Not available in summer. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.
Aid capHard $32,243 cost-of-attendance ceiling
Institutional aid at University of Montana cannot push the package past $32,243. Big outside wins can mathematically reduce institutional grant once the ceiling is reached.
What families often miss
For out-of-state students the two are mutually exclusive — being awarded the WUE forfeits the UMAAS. You must compare net cost under each path and choose one.
An out-of-state UMAAS recipient who establishes Montana residency forfeits the UMAAS (which can be $5,000-$18,000/yr), potentially a net loss versus keeping non-resident status.
UMAAS is tuition-designated — it applies only to tuition, never to housing, food, or fees, and stacked tuition waivers can't exceed the cost of tuition.
Renewal requires 15 credits each semester (or 30/year) and a 2.5 cumulative GPA at the end of spring; the award won't even disburse in a semester until you're enrolled in 15+ credits, and it isn't available in summer.
Automatic consideration requires applying by March 1, and any offer is preliminary until you submit an unofficial high school (or prior-college) transcript.
See costs and school data+
Who this school may work for
Out-of-state students with a 3.95+ GPA win the largest automatic award ($18,000); the decision between UMAAS and the WUE discount is the central trade-off, since you cannot have both.
Published yearly cost: Approximately $32,243 for 2026-2027. Source
Cost and graduation facts
Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at University of Montana, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.
Average annual net price by family income at University of Montana, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family income
Average net price paid
$0–$30,000
$13,960
$30,001–$48,000
$14,892
$48,001–$75,000
$17,180
$75,001–$110,000
$19,269
$110,001+
$20,930
All income levels (average)
$16,784
Sticker price vs. what students actually pay
Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$8,552
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$33,671
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$16,784
That works out to roughly a 29% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $23,570 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).
University of Montana 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
48%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
75%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$22,400 (~$237/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$44,511
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
33%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
48%
See other scholarships and cost examples+
If your student brings another scholarship
UMAAS is tuition-designated: it can only be applied to tuition and cannot be combined with any other full-tuition waiver. If a student holds multiple tuition-designated awards, the total of all tuition waivers cannot exceed the cost of tuition; UMAAS is reduced or canceled if the student receives another tuition waiver or third-party tuition coverage. Out-of-state UMAAS is forfeited entirely if the student is awarded the WUE or establishes Montana residency.
Cap is a TUITION cap. UMAAS reduces/cancels against other tuition waivers and third-party tuition coverage; UM may substitute other UM scholarship funds to satisfy stacking policy.
No — you're automatically considered when you apply for admission, but you must apply by March 1 and submit an unofficial transcript; the amount is set from the GPA on file at admission (you can petition for reconsideration if your GPA improves).
Can I get both UMAAS and the WUE tuition discount?
No. Out-of-state students awarded the WUE forfeit the UMAAS; the two cannot be combined.
What do I need to renew UMAAS?
A cumulative 2.5 GPA at the end of spring and 15 credits each semester (or 30 credits per academic year); renewable up to four years for freshmen (fewer years for transfers based on credits accepted).
See sources and other schools+
How University of Montana compares
235 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use cost-of-attendance cap displacement.
University of Montana is in a recognizable cluster (235 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.
University of Montana 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 University of Montana’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
