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The University of New Orleans · Louisiana

UNO scholarships and merit aid

DRAFT: UNO awards named merit scholarships (Academic through the $75,000 Homer Hitt) straight from the admission file with no separate application — but only to NEW students entering in Fall or Summer, and funding is limited, so meeting the cutoffs guarantees nothing.

Verified Jun 20263 months ago

The short answer

Is UNO worth a closer look?

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

Merit tiers8See who qualifies
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.

$75,000 (4-year value)

Homer Hitt (in-state and out-of-state versions)

Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
3.5
SAT
1420
ACT
32
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Interview required (interview dates March 1-10); admissions application/acceptance deadline: Final February 1 / May 1

Notes

UNO's top award; identical published criteria for in-state and out-of-state students (separate rules PDFs linked on the page). Detailed renewal terms live in the linked rules-and-regulations PDFs, which were not opened for this extraction.

Source

$20,000 (4-year value)

President

Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
3.0 (with test score) OR 3.90-4.00 non-weighted cumulative GPA alone
SAT
1360
ACT
30
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Admissions application/acceptance deadline July 15

Notes

Awarded from the admission file; no separate scholarship application. Funding limited; meeting qualifications does not guarantee the award.

Source

$16,000 (4-year value)

Provost

Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
3.0 (with test score) OR 3.60-3.89 non-weighted cumulative GPA alone
SAT
1230
ACT
26
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Admissions application/acceptance deadline July 15

Source

$16,000 (4-year value)

Out-of-State Promise Scholarship

Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
3.0 (with test score) OR 3.60-3.89 non-weighted cumulative GPA alone
SAT
1230
ACT
26
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Out-of-state students; admissions application/acceptance deadline July 15

Notes

Separate named track for out-of-state students with the same stat cutoffs as Provost.

Source

$12,000 (4-year value)

Dean

Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
2.75 (with test score) OR 3.30-3.59 non-weighted cumulative GPA alone
SAT
1200
ACT
24
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Admissions application/acceptance deadline July 15

Source

$4,000 (4-year value)

Academic

Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
2.75 (with test score) OR 3.00-3.29 non-weighted cumulative GPA alone
SAT
1030
ACT
20
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Admissions application/acceptance deadline July 15

Notes

Entry-level merit tier.

Source

Up to $2,000/year…Up to $2,000/year (up to $4,000 2-year value)

UNO Transfer Scholarship*

Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
3.0 cumulative
See who qualifies and how to keep it
Who qualifies

Full-time domestic transfer; admissions application/acceptance deadline July 15; (*) awarded without a FAFSA on file

Notes

Companion UNO Transfer Award: up to $1,000/year (up to $2,000 2-year value) at 2.5 cumulative GPA. Phi Theta Kappa: $2,000/year (up to $4,000 2-year value) at 3.0 GPA with PTK membership, all final transcripts by July 15.

Source

Amount not published…Amount not published (on the UNO pages opened)

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

Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies
Who qualifies

Louisiana residents; administered by the Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance (LOSFA), external to UNO; preferred UNO Application for Admission completion date no later than June 1

Notes

UNO uses TOPS plus UNO scholarships in incoming students' estimated packages. TOPS amounts/criteria are set by the state; UNO's page defers to LOSFA.

Source

See what could change an award

Rules that could change the answer

These are the rules we would flag for your family. Each comes from UNO's published information.

  • Aid capHard $30,799 cost-of-attendance ceiling

    Institutional aid at UNO cannot push the package past $30,799. Big outside wins can mathematically reduce institutional grant once the ceiling is reached.

What families often miss

  1. UNO states institutional scholarships are only offered to new students who enroll in Fall or Summer; Spring entrants 'are unfortunately unable to receive Institutional scholarships' because funding is typically exhausted on Fall enrollees.

  2. Continuing students (1+ semesters at UNO) 'are unfortunately not eligible for Institutional scholarships' — only departmental scholarships through their academic college.

  3. UNO states 'All scholarships and grants are limited in funding, and meeting qualifications do not guarantee receipt of scholarship or grant.'

  4. An offer 'must be accepted in the specified timeframe, as indicated. Failure to accept a scholarship offer within the prescribed timeframe is considered a forfeiture of the offer.'

  5. Per the overaward policy, any award processed after packaging can exceed the COA cap and force reductions in scholarships, grants, and loans — and if funds were already disbursed, the student must repay the overaward portion. UNO tells students to contact a counselor immediately if an award isn't on their notification.

  6. Each merit tier lists an admissions application/acceptance deadline of July 15; the Homer Hitt requires a final application by February 1, acceptance by May 1, and an interview March 1-10.

  7. UNO strongly encourages the FAFSA 'for the best award package' — only awards marked (*) are made without a FAFSA on file, and the final package is built after FAFSA receipt.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

DRAFT: Fall/Summer-entry freshmen with at least a 20 ACT/1030 SAT + 2.75 GPA (or a 3.00+ GPA alone); top students with 32 ACT/1420 SAT and a 3.5 should target the interview-based Homer Hitt; test-optional students can qualify on non-weighted GPA alone.

Published yearly cost: Approximately $30,799 for Not labeled on page (current COA page as of 2026-06-07; see Section C). Source

Cost and graduation facts

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

Average annual net price by family income at UNO, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$11,532
$30,001–$48,000$10,506
$48,001–$75,000$13,222
$75,001–$110,000$16,942
$110,001+$17,504
All income levels (average)$12,384

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$9,172
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$14,008
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$12,384

That works out to roughly a 47% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $23,431 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

UNO 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
38%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
67%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$18,750 (~$199/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$47,872
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
57%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
30%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

UNO caps all aid at the cost of attendance per federal and UL System policy. Any scholarship, tuition waiver, fee exemption, or stipend processed after the initial package is built can create an 'Overaward,' which is fixed by reducing other awards (scholarships, SEOG, Perkins, Direct loans, PLUS) — and if funds were already disbursed, the student must repay the overaward portion.

Two official statements: (1) 'When combined with TOPS, waivers, fee exemptions, state aid, federal financial grants or loans, or Federal College Work Study Program and all other aid, university scholarships should not exceed the cost of attendance.' (2) The overaward policy reduces 'Scholarships, SEOG, Perkins, Direct Subsidized Loans, Direct Unsubsidized Loans, and/or Plus Loans, etc.' — no fixed reduction order is published, and private/outside scholarships are not specifically addressed.

Source

Other UNO scholarships worth checking

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

AmountUp to $2,000/year (up to $8,000 4-year value)EligibilityInternational first-time full-time freshmen or transfers; 3.0 non-weighted cumulative GPA

Priority deadline December 15. (*) awarded without a FAFSA on file. Companion International Book Award: up to $1,000, one-year limit, 2.5 GPA.

Source

AmountAmount not published (one-year award limit)EligibilitySee firstinspires.org for criteria

External program; deadlines on the program website.

Source

AmountAmount not published (one-year award limit)Eligibility23 ACT/1130 SAT, 2.5 GPA

Deadline via the Jefferson Dollars for Scholars website.

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilitySpring entrants and continuing students are directed to their academic college for departmental scholarship opportunities

The only institutional pathway mentioned for students not eligible for new-student institutional scholarships.

Source

UNO merit aid FAQ

  • What is the scholarship deadline?

    Most UNO freshman merit awards list an admissions application/acceptance deadline of July 15 (no year printed on the page). The Homer Hitt's final deadline is February 1 (application) / May 1 (acceptance) with interviews March 1-10. International awards have a December 15 priority deadline. UNO's preferred admission-application completion date is June 1.

  • Do I need a separate scholarship application?

    No. 'Most scholarships are awarded based on academic credentials and student accomplishments reviewed through the admission's process. A separate scholarship application is not required' — but send ACT/SAT scores and an official current high school transcript as soon as possible.

  • Can I qualify without test scores?

    Yes — each tier publishes an alternative non-weighted cumulative GPA-only band (e.g., 3.90-4.00 for President, 3.00-3.29 for Academic).

  • Are the dollar amounts per year?

    The domestic freshman awards are published as 4-Year Values (e.g., President $20,000 total over four years, not per year). Transfer and international awards are published as per-aid-year amounts with 2- or 4-year totals.

  • What happens if my aid exceeds the cost of attendance?

    UNO cannot package above the COA. A late scholarship/waiver/stipend creates an 'Overaward,' your other aid is reduced, and if everything has already disbursed you must repay the overaward portion.

See sources and other schools

How UNO compares

  • 235 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use cost-of-attendance cap displacement.

    UNO 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.

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

Compare with similar schools

Keep exploring UNO merit aid