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  • Blog > Grade Levels, High School

Automatic Academic Scholarships For Freshmen

Picture of Madeleine Karydes

Madeleine Karydes

  • December 27, 2015

Automatic Academic Scholarships

There isn’t a parent on earth who hasn’t thought about their children’s future – especially their academic education and forthcoming careers. The stress begins slowly crushing parental hearts once high school commences and their children progress through each year. The question which burns is, “How am I going to finance college?” That’s why today, we bring you information about easy academic scholarships for freshmen or first-year students.

As you well know, parents (and students) aren’t only concerned about the initial tuition costs; they also anticipate the ongoing expense that student loans bring to the picture.

There is hope for some help with the costs of college, however. Many colleges and universities offer automatic academic scholarships for freshmen!

Who can get these academic scholarships?

Specifically, schools seek students with high SAT or ACT scores combined with good, unweighted GPAs. The upside of these automatic scholarships is that students can avoid extra labor; aka, the detailed application process and information exchange many school-based or private scholarships require. To make it even easier, college counselors at Empowerly can assist you in identifying available scholarship money!

In essence, SAT or ACT scores combined with the unweighted GPA   will determine whether freshman students receive automatic consideration. If you pass, you are in the running for available merit scholarship money or automatic scholarship money right off the bat. For those with automatic consideration for finite funds, consider personally contacting an admissions representative at the specific school in order to further your chances.

What scores do I need to get an academic scholarship like that?

SAT or ACT score scholarship amounts depend upon the specific college or university making the offer. Overall, scores per each area (reading, writing, and math) range from 200-800, with 800 being the highest possible per area and 2400 the highest possible score. Many colleges and universities use only the comprehensive reading and math scores from the SAT, making the writing score unnecessary.

For the SAT…

On the SAT, students receive one point for each correct answer and are deducted a quarter point for each incorrect or blank answer. Overall, those who write and administer the SAT exam aim for the average test result to fall at approximately 500 points each for reading, math, and writing, or 1500 points total. Scores falling from 1801-2400 are considered to be among the best results for the reading, writing, and math combination, while 1400-1600 are considered the best for colleges and universities requiring only the reading/math combination.

For the ACT…

On the ACT there are four sections, reading, writing, math, and science. Correct answers garner points. Nothing is deducted if an answer is wrong or left blank. The four area scores are averaged together and rounded up to the nearest whole number to attain the total test score (which ranges between 1-36).

There are differences between the ACT and SAT, but nothing defines which is better to take. Each individual student must examine the differences and determine which one will result in the best score for himself/herself.

How can I get started?

Though the following is not an exhaustive list, the information will provide students with the requirements for a number of colleges and universities and give an idea of the score and GPA requirements. Students must thoroughly investigate the specific schools they are interested in.

In general, the money amount shown can extend per year for four years. Also, some schools have multiple variations. These are either listed in this table or are detailed in additional tables further on in the article. “See chart below” notes which schools have their own specific tables.

Academic Scholarships for Freshmen

SCHOOL

STATE

SAT/ACT/ GPA

AWARD IN-STATE

AWARD OUT-OF-STATE

University of Alabama,  Huntsville 1

AL

*1490/34/4.0

Tuition, housing

No difference specified

University of Alabama, Huntsville 2

AL

*1330/30/3.5

Tuition

No difference specified

Troy University 1

AL

*1420/32/3.7

Tuition, room, board

No difference specified

Troy University 2

AL

*1260/28/3.5

Tuition

No difference specified

University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa

AL

*1210/3.5

$3500 per year

No difference specified

University of Alabama In-State

AL

*1330/30/3.5

Tuition

N/A

University of Alabama Out-of-State

AL

*1400/32/3.5

N/A

Tuition

Tuskegee University 1

AL

*1300/29/3.7

Tuition, room, board, books

No difference specified

Tuskegee University 2

AL

*1180/26/3.5

Tuition, books

No difference specified

Alabama State 1

AL

*1170/26/3.7

Tuition, room, board, books

No difference specified

Alabama State 2

AL

*1090/22/3.5

Tuition, books

No difference specified

Alabama State 3

AL

*940/20/3.0

Tuition, $500 towards books

No difference specified

University of Central of Arkansas

AR

1800

75% Tuition

Tuition waived if  in university housing

University of Arkansas, Monticello 1

AR

NA/30/3.0

Tuition, room, board

No difference specified

University of Arkansas, Monticello 2

AR

NA/27/3.0

Tuition, room

No difference specified

University of Arkansas, Monticello 3

AR

NA/24/3.0

Tuition

No difference specified

University of Arkansas, Little Rock

AR

*1330/30/3.5

Tuition

No difference specified

University of Central Arkansas

AR

2020/31/3.25

Tuition

No difference specified

Colorado State*

CO

See chart below

See chart below

N/A

Colorado Mesa Univ. 1

CO

*1280/29/3.75

Tuition

$6,000 per yr

Colorado Mesa Univ. 2

CO

*1200/27/3.5

$3,500

No difference specified

Colorado Mesa Univ. 3

CO

*1120/25/3.5

$3,000

No difference specified

Colorado Mesa Univ. 4

CO

*1040/22/3.2

$1,250

No difference specified

Howard University 1

DC

*1400/32/3.5

Tuition, room, board

No difference specified

Howard University 2

DC

*1300/29/3.25

Tuition, room

No difference specified

Howard University 3

DC

*1170/26/3.0

Tuition

No difference specified

Florida A & M

FL

1800/3.5

Full Tuition

No difference specified

Florida International U

FL

1850/4.0

75% Tuition

No difference specified n

Florida International U

FL

2000/4.0

Full Tuition

No difference specified

University of So. Florida

FL

1880/4.3

$5000 per year

No difference specified

University of So. Florida

FL

2000/4.3

$12,000 per year

No difference specified

Florida A & M 1

out-of-state

FL

1900/29/3.5

N/A

Tuition, room, board

Florida A & M 2

in-state

FL

1800/27/3.5

Tuition, room, board

N/A

Miami University

FL

*1400/32/3.7

Half to full tuition

No difference specified

Florida Atlanta University 1

FL

1920/29/3.5

N/A

80 percent tuition

Florida Atlanta University 2

FL

1620/24/3.5

N/A

75 percent tuition

University of Hawaii, Manoa

HI

1800/27/3.8

N/A

$6,000 per year, out-of-state tuition waiver

Morningside College

IA

NA/31/3.9

Tuition

No difference specified

Western Illinois

In-State

IL

*1440/32/3.5

$5,144 per year

$9,420 per year

Western Kentucky University

KY

NA/31/3.95

Tuition, $3,000 housing, $500 books

No difference specified

Louisiana Tech

LA

*1400/32/3.0

Tuition, room, board

No difference specified

University of Louisiana Monroe

 

LA

*1320/30/3.0

Tuition, $5,000

No difference specified

Louisiana State University, Shreveport

LA

NA/30/3.5

Tuition, books

No difference specified

Oakland University

MI

NA/31/3.9

Tuition

No difference specified

SE Missouri State University 1

MO

*1440/30/3.9 

Tuition, room, board

No difference specified

SE Missouri State University 2

MO

*1250/28/3.6 

Tuition

No difference specified

University of Mississippi

MS

*1440/33/3.0

Tuition

No difference specified

**University of Montana

MT

See chart below

See chart below

See chart below

North Carolina Central University

NC

1900/29/3.5

Tuition, room, board, $1000 per year, laptop

No difference specified

University of North Dakota 1

ND

*1400/32/3.65

$3,000 per year

No difference specified

University of North Dakota 2

ND

*1290 to 1390/29 to 31/3.65

$2,500 per year

No difference specified

University of North Dakota 3

ND

*1130/25/3.5

$1,500 per year

No difference specified

University of North Dakota 4

ND

*1020 to 1120/22 to 24/3.5

$1,000 one-time only

No difference specified

University of New Mexico

NM

1380/31/3.9

$17,803

$17,803

New Mexico State

NM

NA/24/3.75

Tuition, $500

N/A

Alfred State College 1

NY

*1250/26/93

Tuition, room, board

No difference specified

Alfred State College 2

NY

*1150/25/90

Room

No difference specified

Alfred State College 3

NY

*1100/24/88

Board

No difference specified

Ohio University

 

OH

*1400/32/3.0

Tuition

$6,000 per year, out-of-state tuition waiver

Bluffton College

OH

*1220/27/3.75

$10,936 per year

No difference specified

Bluffton College

OH

*1140/25/3.5

$9,936 per year

No difference specified

Bluffton College

OH

*1050/23/3.0

$8,936 per year

No difference specified

**University of Toledo

OH

See chart below

See chart below

No difference specified

Temple University

PA

*1420/32/3.8

Tuition, $8,000

No difference specified

Columbia College

SC

*1300/29/?

Tuition

No difference specified

**Oklahoma City University

OK

See chart below

See chart below

See chart below

Prairie View A&M 1

TX

1760/26/3.5

Tuition, room, books

No difference specified

Prairie View A&M 2

TX

1760/26/3.5

Tuition, OOS tuition waiver, $9,200

No difference specified

Utah Valley University

UT

*1340/30/3.9

Tuition

No difference specified

**Carthage College

WI

See chart below

See chart below

See chart below

 *The school noted requires SAT scores based on comprehensive reading and math combined results. The writing score is not used.

**See charts for specific schools as noted in above table

**CARTHAGE COLLEGE

GPA

SAT *1320-1600 or ACT 30-36

SAT *1170-1310 or ACT 26-29

SAT 1060-1160 or ACT 23-25

SAT 980-1050 or ACT 21-22

3.5-4.00

$18,000

$17,000

$15,000

$14,000

3.0-3.49

$17,000

$15,000

$14,000

$13,000

2.75-2.99

$15,000

$14,000

$13,000

$10,000

**UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO

GPA

SAT *1440+ or ACT 33

SAT *1400-1430 or ACT 32

SAT *1360-1390 or ACT 31

SAT *1330-1350 or ACT 30

SAT *1290-1320 or ACT 29

SAT *1250-1280 or ACT 28

SAT *1210-1240 or ACT 27

4.00

$4,000

$3,000

$3,000

$2,500

$2,500

$2,000

$1,000

3.90-3.99

$3,000

$2,500

$2,000

$2,000

$2,000

$2,000

N/A

3.80-3.89

$2,000

$2,000

$2,000

$2,000

$1,500

$1,000

N/A

3.70-3.79

$2,000

$2,000

$1,000

$1,000

$1,000

$1,000

N/A

3.60-2.69

$1,000

$1,000

$1,000

$1,000

$1,000

$1,000

N/A

**UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA IN-STATE RESIDENT

GPA

SAT 1860-2400 or ACT 28-36

SAT 1700-1850 or ACT 25-27

SAT 1540-1690 or ACT 22-24

3.5-4.00

$5,000

$4,000

$3,000

3.0-3.49

$4,000

$3,000

$3,000

2.5-2.99

$3,000

$3,000

$2,000

**UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA NON-RESIDENT (WESTERN REGIONAL STATES)

GPA

SAT 1860-2400 or ACT 28-36

SAT 1700-1850 or ACT 25-27

SAT 1540-1690 or ACT 22-24

SAT below 1540 or ACT below 22

3.75-4.00

Western Undergraduate Exchange

Western Undergraduate Exchange

$10,000

$7,500

3.50-3.74

Western Undergraduate Exchange

$10,000

$7,500

$6,000

3.0-3.49

$10,000

$7,500

$6,000

$5,000

 
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Madeleine Karydes

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