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The merit-aid verdict at North Dakota
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.
Common merit-aid mistakes at North Dakota
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.
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.
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.
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).
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
Federal cost and outcome data
Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at North Dakota, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.
Average annual net price by family income at North Dakota, academic year 2021-22 — in-state, Title-IV aid recipients only
Family income
Average net price paid
$0–$30,000
$13,126
$30,001–$48,000
$12,251
$48,001–$75,000
$15,206
$75,001–$110,000
$18,981
$110,001+
$20,730
All income levels (average)
$18,551
Sticker price vs. what students actually pay
Published tuition & fees (in-state), AY 2022-23
$10,951
Published tuition & fees (out-of-state), AY 2022-23
$15,570
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$18,551
That works out to roughly a 28% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $25,605 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).
North Dakota 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
60%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
84%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$22,057 (~$234/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$63,552
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
16%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
58%
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.
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.
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.
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
14 of 750 verified schools in our dataset use no-displacement displacement.
North Dakota is in the small minority (14 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.
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.
132 of 750 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.
