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University of North Dakota · North Dakota

North Dakota Merit Aid

UND awards an automatic, GPA-based freshman scholarship worth $14,000, $11,000, or $1,500 over four years (3.50+ GPA, no separate application), with the top tier requiring only a 3.90 GPA or a 30 ACT/1370 SAT plus a 3.00 GPA.

Verified Jun 20268 days ago· CC
Merit tiers65 automatic on stats
Last verifiedJun 2026Analyst CC

Common merit-aid mistakes at North Dakota

  1. The 3.50-3.69 GPA award is explicitly 'non-renewable' — a one-time $1,500, not $1,500/year. Only the $14,000 (3.90+) and $11,000 (3.70-3.89) tiers pay out over four years.

  2. Those are four-year totals: $3,500/year and $2,750/year respectively, for a maximum of four years. Budget the per-year figure, not the headline total.

  3. The automatic academic scholarship requires the application, transcripts, and (for the test pathway) official ACT/SAT scores by the Feb. 1 priority deadline. Feb. 1 is also the Scholarship Central deadline for new students.

  4. That figure is the ND-resident direct cost (base tuition, fees, room/meal plan, and books/supplies). It excludes indirect costs UND lists separately — transportation ($1,200) and miscellaneous/personal ($2,200) — and is based on 2025-26 rates, subject to change for 2026-27. Non-residents pay more (150% of the ND rate for contiguous/WUE states; flat $31,948 + fees for SD/MT residents).

  5. Only the top tier's alternate pathway (3.00 GPA + 30 ACT/1370 SAT) requires test scores. The GPA-only routes (3.90+, 3.70-3.89, 3.50-3.69) do not require ACT/SAT.

Who this school is for

Students with a 3.50+ unweighted high-school GPA (or a 30 ACT/1370 SAT with a 3.00 GPA) who want a no-application, automatic merit award at a public research university; National Merit Finalists from ND/MN can reach full tuition and fees.

Tuition / cost of attendance: Approximately $24,204 for 2026-2027. Source

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.

$14,000…$14,000 ($3,500/year for a maximum of 4 years)

UND Freshman Scholarship — Top Tier

AutomaticRenewable
GPA
3.90+ unweighted cumulative HS GPA, OR a 3.00+ GPA combined with a 30+ ACT (1370+ SAT)
SAT
1370 (only required for the 3.00 GPA + test pathway)
ACT
30 (only required for the 3.00 GPA + test pathway)
Requirements & details
Eligibility

Awarded automatically; submit application, transcripts, and (for the test pathway) official ACT/SAT scores by the Feb. 1 priority deadline

Renewal terms

Paid as $3,500 per year for a maximum of four years; the page states 'Renewal criteria apply' but does not publish the specific renewal GPA.

Notes

Automatic on stats — no separate scholarship application for the base academic award. The $14,000 is the four-year total ($3,500/yr). Test scores are only needed for students using the 3.00 GPA + 30 ACT pathway.

Source

$11,000…$11,000 ($2,750/year for a maximum of 4 years)

UND Freshman Scholarship — Mid Tier

AutomaticRenewable
GPA
3.70 - 3.89 unweighted cumulative HS GPA
Requirements & details
Eligibility

Awarded automatically; submit application and transcripts by the Feb. 1 priority deadline

Renewal terms

Paid as $2,750 per year for a maximum of four years; 'Renewal criteria apply,' specific renewal GPA not published.

Notes

Automatic on GPA alone; no test score required for this tier. The $11,000 is the four-year total ($2,750/yr).

Source

$1,500 (non-renewable, one-time)

UND Freshman Scholarship — Entry Tier

Automatic
GPA
3.50 - 3.69 unweighted cumulative HS GPA
Requirements & details
Eligibility

Awarded automatically; submit application and transcripts by the Feb. 1 priority deadline

Notes

Automatic on GPA. Critically this $1,500 is NON-RENEWABLE / one-time, unlike the two higher tiers which pay out over four years.

Source

Equivalent to full tuition and mand…Equivalent to full tuition and mandatory student fees

National Merit Scholar Award

ApplicationRenewable
View requirements
Eligibility

National Merit Finalist; ND/MN finalists who name UND first choice are eligible, other states reviewed case-by-case

Renewal terms

Renewable for up to 3 additional years if renewal criteria are met.

Notes

Stacks on top of the automatic academic scholarship and other UND awards up to the full cost of attendance. No specific dollar figure is published — value equals full tuition + mandatory fees.

Source

$2,000 ($1,000/semester)

UND Transfer Scholarship — Top Tier

AutomaticRenewable
GPA
3.90 - 4.00 cumulative college GPA
Requirements & details
Eligibility

For transfer students; awarded on cumulative college (not high-school) GPA

Renewal terms

Paid as $1,000 per semester; renewal criteria apply.

Notes

Transfer award, automatic on cumulative college GPA. The $2,000 is paid out as $1,000 per semester.

Source

$1,000 ($500/semester)

UND Transfer Scholarship — Mid Tier

AutomaticRenewable
GPA
3.50 - 3.89 cumulative college GPA
Requirements & details
Eligibility

For transfer students; awarded on cumulative college (not high-school) GPA

Renewal terms

Paid as $500 per semester; renewal criteria apply.

Notes

Transfer award, automatic on cumulative college GPA. The $1,000 is paid out as $500 per semester.

Source

Outside scholarship stacking policy

UND lets you keep your institutional scholarships when you win an outside award — 'You may accept non-UND scholarships without affecting your UND scholarships' — but external awards still have to be reported and are accounted for in the federal financial-aid package. National Merit and other UND awards stack up to the full cost of attendance.

The One-Stop financial-aid scholarships page states outside scholarships do not reduce UND scholarships, while also noting they 'must be accounted for in your financial aid package' (the standard federal requirement that total aid not exceed cost of attendance). The page does not specify whether an over-award is absorbed loan-first or grant-first, so the precise mechanics of how an outside award interacts with need-based/self-help aid are not published.

Source

Lesser-known scholarships at North Dakota

Named awards that don’t always surface on the main financial aid page. Each one has its own eligibility rules.

AmountVariesEligibilityAfter admission, students apply annually for departmental, donor, and college-specific scholarships through one application.

Opens Oct. 1; deadlines Feb. 1 for new/incoming students and March 1 for current/returning students. Separate from the automatic academic scholarship.

Source

North Dakota merit aid FAQ

  • What is the scholarship deadline at UND?

    February 1 is the priority deadline for the automatic freshman academic scholarship (application, transcripts, and any required test scores) and the Scholarship Central deadline for new/incoming students. Returning students have a March 1 Scholarship Central deadline.

  • Is the UND freshman scholarship automatic?

    Yes. If you meet the GPA criteria (or the 3.00 GPA + 30 ACT/1370 SAT pathway) and submit your application, transcripts, and any required test scores by Feb. 1, the academic scholarship is awarded automatically — no separate application for the base award.

  • Does an outside scholarship reduce my UND award?

    UND states you may accept non-UND scholarships without affecting your UND scholarships, but external awards must be reported and accounted for in your financial-aid package (so total aid cannot exceed the cost of attendance). Ask the aid office how an over-award is absorbed.

  • Does the $1,500 scholarship renew?

    No. The 3.50-3.69 GPA award is a one-time, non-renewable $1,500. Only the $14,000 and $11,000 tiers are paid over four years.

How North Dakota compares across our verified dataset

  • 19 of 751 verified schools in our dataset use no-displacement displacement.

    North Dakota is in the small minority (19 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

  • 669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

    North Dakota 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.

  • 133 of 751 verified schools publish a dedicated National Merit Finalist package.

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

Compare with similar schools

  • Minot State merit aid — North Dakota public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • NDSU merit aid — North Dakota public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • Ohio U merit aid — Ohio public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • Old Dominion merit aid — Virginia public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.

Keep exploring North Dakota merit aid