Get merit aid27%First-year students, CDS 2023-2024
Last verifiedJun 2026Analyst CC
Free Merit Check
See what Nebraska–Kearney (UNK)'s published rules mean for your student's numbers. Takes 30 seconds.
The merit-aid verdict at Nebraska–Kearney (UNK)
UNK runs a fully automatic ACT/GPA merit ladder — $2,000–$7,000/yr toward tuition (plus housing dollars at the top tiers) for anyone with a 3.7+ GPA and 22+ ACT — and waives out-of-state tuition for every non-resident via the New Nebraskan Scholarship, which stacks on top of the merit award.
Rules that bite at Nebraska–Kearney (UNK)
The trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook. Each is derived from Nebraska–Kearney (UNK)'s own published policy, not generic advice.
renewalNew Nebraskan Scholarship (non-resident tuition waiver): renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Must remain a full-time student (12+ credit hours each semester), meet the University's academic good standing policy, and successfully complete 24 or more semester hours each academic year. Eligibility ends upon receipt of a bachelor's degree. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.
Common merit-aid mistakes at Nebraska–Kearney (UNK)
UNK's automatic merit scholarships require that, by March 1, you are admitted AND UNK has received your official high school transcripts and scores. Miss the date and you fall out of the automatic ladder even if your GPA/ACT qualify.
Every published merit rung is keyed to an ACT cutoff (22-36). The page lists no test-optional or GPA-only path and no SAT equivalents, so a strong ACT (or SAT, if accepted — confirm with the aid office) is effectively required for the automatic award.
The Regents Scholarship (full tuition + room waiver, 32+ ACT) is explicitly 'Open to Nebraska Residents.' Out-of-state students at the same ACT get the Chancellor's/Distinguished tiers instead, plus the New Nebraskan in-state-tuition waiver.
Most tiers say 'toward tuition' (with a smaller 'toward campus housing' piece at the top). UNK's 2025-26 resident cost of attendance is $28,536 (on/off campus) including food/housing, books, transportation and personal costs — a $2,000-$7,000 tuition award covers only part of that.
UNK requires outside scholarship checks to be reported (via MyBLUE 'Outside Scholarship Notification'), and by law must adjust federal aid if the total creates an excess. Not reporting can cause a later aid reversal.
Who this school is for
Test-submitting students with a 3.7+ GPA and 22+ ACT who want a predictable, no-essay automatic award; especially strong for out-of-state students, who get in-state tuition automatically and can still earn a merit scholarship on top.
Federal cost and outcome data
Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Nebraska–Kearney (UNK), what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.
Average annual net price by family income at Nebraska–Kearney (UNK), academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family income
Average net price paid
$0–$30,000
$13,066
$30,001–$48,000
$13,350
$48,001–$75,000
$14,547
$75,001–$110,000
$16,703
$110,001+
$20,664
All income levels (average)
$16,242
Sticker price vs. what students actually pay
Total cost of attendance (sticker), AY 2021-22
$25,808
Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$8,676
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$15,284
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$16,242
That works out to an average 37% 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.
Nebraska–Kearney (UNK) 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
58%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
80%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$19,500 (~$207/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$50,105
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
38%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
38%
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.
Where you landAutomatic merit aid by ACT compositeEach bar marks the ACT score range that qualifies for the tier.
Presidential ScholarFull Cost of Attendance plus a…
ACT 36GPA 3.7+ HS GPA (general eligibility floor)
Regents ScholarshipFull Tuition AND room waiver fo…
ACT 32+
UNK Chancellor's Scholarship$7,000
ACT 28+GPA 3.9+ HS GPA
UNK Distinguished Scholar Award$5,000
ACT 26+GPA 3.7+ HS GPA
Loper Achievement Scholarship$4,000
ACT 24-25GPA 3.7+ HS GPA
Loper Recognition Scholarship$2,000
ACT 22-23GPA 3.7+ HS GPA
2024283236
Not on this ladder:New Nebraskan Scholarship (non-resident tuition waiver), Omaha World Herald/Kearney Hub Scholarship — application required, holistic, or scored on a different axis.
View as table
Tier
ACT composite
Award
Presidential Scholar
36
Full Cost of Attendance plus a $5,000 annual stipend
Regents Scholarship
32+
Full Tuition AND room waiver for campus housing
UNK Chancellor's Scholarship
28+
$7,000 toward tuition and $2,000 toward campus housing, annually
UNK Distinguished Scholar Award
26+
$5,000 toward tuition and $1,000 toward campus housing, annually
Loper Achievement Scholarship
24-25
$4,000 toward tuition annually
Loper Recognition Scholarship
22-23
$2,000 toward tuition annually
Full Cost of Attendance plus a…Full Cost of Attendance plus a $5,000 annual stipend
Presidential Scholar
AutomaticRenewable
GPA
3.7+ HS GPA (general eligibility floor)
ACT
36
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
Admitted to UNK with official transcripts and scores received by March 1
Renewal terms
Listed among the renewable automatic merit scholarships; the page does not publish a specific renewal GPA. Initial award is based on the cumulative GPA at the end of the sixth semester (junior year), converted to a 4.0 scale.
Notes
Top of the automatic ladder, for a 36 ACT. SAT-equivalent cutoffs are not published on the page; ask the aid office. The $5,000 figure is an annual stipend on top of full cost of attendance.
Full Tuition AND room waiver for ca…Full Tuition AND room waiver for campus housing
Regents Scholarship
AutomaticRenewable
ACT
32+
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
Open to Nebraska Residents only; admitted with transcripts and scores by March 1
Renewal terms
Renewable up to 120 credit hours.
Notes
Nebraska residents only. Covers full tuition plus a room waiver for campus housing; no fixed dollar amount is published (value tracks tuition + housing). SAT equivalent not stated.
Charges non-residents the in-state…Charges non-residents the in-state tuition rate ($234/credit hour). The page gives two conflicting savings figures: its FAQ says ~$264/credit hour, $7,920/year, $31,680 over four years; its savings table says $277/credit hour, $8,310/year, $33,240 over four years. Treat the lower FAQ figure (~$7,920/yr, ~$31,680/4yr) as the conservative estimate until UNK reconciles the page.
New Nebraskan Scholarship (non-resident tuition waiver)
ApplicationRenewable
View requirements+
Eligibility
Any U.S. domestic undergraduate student who is NOT a resident of Nebraska, enrolled full-time (12+ credit hours). No additional application or deadline beyond applying for admission. Does not apply to exclusively online degree programs.
Renewal terms
Must remain a full-time student (12+ credit hours each semester), meet the University's academic good standing policy, and successfully complete 24 or more semester hours each academic year. Eligibility ends upon receipt of a bachelor's degree.
Notes
Not stat-based — it is an automatic out-of-state tuition discount for every qualifying non-resident, charging them the in-state rate. CONFLICT (same live page, unreconciled): the New Nebraskan page's own intro and 'What is the value of the scholarship?' FAQ say the waiver 'will save non-resident students $264 per credit hour ... $7,920 annually or $31,680 over a 4-year period,' while its savings table lists $277/credit hour, $8,310 annually, and $33,240 over four years. The two sets disagree on the per-credit-hour rate ($264 vs $277), the annual figure ($7,920 vs $8,310), and the four-year total ($31,680 vs $33,240). We lead with the lower FAQ figure and flag the discrepancy; a family should confirm the current number with the aid office. Stacks with the academic merit scholarships above: per UNK's FAQ, a non-resident may receive both a UNK Academic Merit Scholarship and the New Nebraskan Scholarship. Covers tuition only — not room, meal plans, or books.
Full tuition…Full tuition, room, board, fees, and books for four years
Omaha World Herald/Kearney Hub Scholarship
ApplicationRenewable
View requirements+
Eligibility
Up to three students in each incoming freshman class; competitive/limited, not automatic
Renewal terms
Requires maintenance of a 3.5 cumulative grade point average.
Notes
Full-ride-style award (tuition + room + board + fees + books) given to up to three incoming freshmen per class. Selection process and application steps are not detailed in the catalog; ask Admissions/Financial Aid how to be considered.
Institutional awards stack with each other (the non-resident New Nebraskan tuition waiver can be held alongside a UNK Academic Merit Scholarship). For OUTSIDE/private scholarships, UNK is required by law to adjust FEDERAL aid first if outside awards create an excess (over-award) — implying outside money displaces federal aid before institutional merit, though the page does not spell out an explicit order beyond 'federal aid.'
New Nebraskan FAQ states a non-resident 'may qualify for and receive a UNK Academic Merit Scholarship as well as the New Nebraskan Scholarship,' so institutional awards stack. The Outside Scholarships page states 'By law, UNK must adjust federal aid if outside scholarships result in excess awards,' and that all outside scholarship checks are reported and applied to the financial aid package; the university sends an updated offer letter if aid changes. The page names only FEDERAL aid as what gets adjusted, so merit scholarships appear protected, but the explicit displacement order is not published.
From the Nebraska–Kearney (UNK) Common Data Set 2023-2024:
Merit penetrationHow likely is merit aid here?From Nebraska–Kearney (UNK)’s Common Data Set: the share of first-year students who receive institutional merit and the average dollar amount when they do.
27%of admitsget merit
Average award$8,301
At Nebraska–Kearney (UNK), roughly 1 in 4 first-year admits receive institutional merit aid. The average award is $8,301.
As filed in Nebraska–Kearney (UNK)'s CDS Section H2A: of 898 first-time, full-time degree-seeking freshmen, 240 had no financial need and received institutional merit (non-need) scholarship or grant aid, averaging $8,301. Across all full-time degree-seeking undergraduates: 889 of 3,672, averaging $7,903. Athletic awards are excluded per the CDS definition.
Lesser-known scholarships at Nebraska–Kearney (UNK)
Named awards that don’t always surface on the main financial aid page. Each one has its own eligibility rules.
AmountVaries (not published)EligibilityIncoming freshmen selected on ACT scores, high school GPA, a letter of recommendation, and a writing sample.
Held for four years if the student remains in the Honors Program, in good standing, and maintains a 3.25 cumulative GPA. Dollar amounts are not published on the catalog page.
Do I have to apply separately for UNK merit scholarships?
No. The automatic merit scholarships (Presidential, Regents, Chancellor's, Distinguished, Loper Achievement, Loper Recognition) are awarded based on your GPA and ACT with no separate application. You only need to be admitted and have UNK receive your official transcripts and scores by March 1. Some other awards (e.g. Honors, Omaha World Herald/Kearney Hub) involve a separate or competitive process.
What is the deadline?
March 1. By that date you must be admitted to UNK and UNK must have received your official high school transcripts and scores to be considered for the automatic merit scholarships.
I'm out of state — can I get a merit scholarship AND the non-resident discount?
Yes. UNK states that depending on your GPA and ACT/SAT score you may receive a UNK Academic Merit Scholarship as well as the New Nebraskan Scholarship, which charges non-residents the in-state tuition rate ($234/credit hour). The page's own figures for what that saves don't agree — its value FAQ says about $7,920/year ($31,680 over four years) while its savings table says $8,310/year ($33,240 over four years) — so use roughly $7,900-$8,300/year as a range and confirm the exact figure with the aid office.
What GPA do I need to keep my scholarship?
UNK does not publish a specific renewal GPA for the automatic merit scholarships on the freshman scholarships page (they are listed as renewable up to 4 years / 120 credit hours). Named awards do publish one: Honors Scholarships require a 3.25 cumulative GPA and the Omaha World Herald/Kearney Hub Scholarship requires a 3.5. Confirm the merit-renewal GPA with the aid office.
How Nebraska–Kearney (UNK) compares across our verified dataset
147 of 750 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.
Nebraska–Kearney (UNK) is in a recognizable cluster (147 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.
Nebraska–Kearney (UNK) 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 Nebraska–Kearney (UNK)’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
