Research · Scholarships · October 2026
Scholarships in Connecticut: the 3 state programs and what each asks for
As of October 2026: Connecticut has 3 state scholarship programs for students who graduate from its own high schools. The table starts with Roberta B. Willis Scholarship -- Need and Merit-Based Scholarship: Up to $5,250 a year for a four-year program and up to $4,650 a year for a two-year program.
The table holds every state-funded award we could confirm for a Connecticut high school graduate going to college. It does not hold federal aid, or a scholarship that comes from one college rather than from the state.
Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com), October 2026. Figures and the table may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.
The findings, in plain English
Connecticut runs 1 award that turn on grades or scores. Roberta B. Willis Scholarship -- Need and Merit-Based Scholarship is one of them. 0 of the 3 programs we could read name a GPA, and 1 name a test score. A need-based award asks about family income instead, through the FAFSA.
Roberta B. Willis Scholarship -- Need and Merit-Based Scholarship is the award to read first. What Roberta B. Willis Scholarship -- Need and Merit-Based Scholarship pays: Up to $5,250 a year for a four-year program and up to $4,650 a year for a two-year program. The next program on the table is Roberta B. Willis Scholarship -- Need-Based Grant: Up to $4,500 for full-time study in a two or four-year program of study. The table carries the deadline and the renewal rule for each one.
What this table does not tell you. Every figure on the table was read off the state's own page for that program. Nothing is estimated and nothing is carried over from an earlier year.
Every state scholarship in Connecticut
Read the row, then open the state's own page before you count on a figure.
| Program | Merit or need | What it pays | GPA it asks for | Test score it asks for | Who qualifies | Deadline | Renewable | Official page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roberta B. Willis Scholarship -- Need and Merit-Based Scholarship | Merit and need | Up to $5,250 a year for a four-year program and up to $4,650 a year for a two-year program | — | combined SAT score of 1200 or higher or an ACT score of 25 or higher, OR top 20th percentile of the high school junior-year class | must attend a four-year CT public or nonprofit private college; high school counselor must submit the application on the student's behalf; FAFSA required | February 15 of the year prior to the academic award year (February 15, 2026 for fall 2027 enrollment) | — | Source |
| Roberta B. Willis Scholarship -- Need-Based Grant | Need-based | Up to $4,500 for full-time study in a two or four-year program of study | — | — | CT resident attending a four-year CT public or nonprofit private college; no separate application -- determined through the FAFSA submitted to the college's financial aid office | — | — | Source |
| Mary Ann Hadley Award (formerly PACT) | State award | covers expenses left after federal, state, and school financial aid are applied; even students with full financial aid are eligible for at least $250 per semester | — | — | open to students of all income levels; student must graduate high school or earn a GED (home-schooled students may also apply); must attend one of Connecticut's 12 community colleges | apply by July 15 for priority consideration; can apply after that date, funds awarded first-come, first-served | — | Source |
Every row is a state-funded or state-administered award for a Connecticut high school graduate going to an undergraduate program, as of October 2026. A scholarship from a single college, a private foundation award, a federal program and a graduate-only award are all left out. A blank cell means the state's own page does not state it. Dollar figures and GPA floors change every year.
How to read a state scholarship
State awards come in two shapes. A merit award asks about grades, a course list, or a test score, and it does not care what a family earns. A need-based award asks about income and assets through the FAFSA, and it does not care about grades. Some awards ask about both, and the table calls those merit and need.
The deadline column is the one families miss. For most need-based state aid the deadline is really the FAFSA deadline, and it falls months before a college asks for a decision. A merit award more often has no application at all: the state or the high school nominates the student from records it already holds.
What a family should do with this
Open the official page in the last column for the one or two programs your student plausibly qualifies for, and write down two dates: the state aid deadline and the FAFSA deadline. Those are the two that close. In Connecticut the earliest date on this table is the one to put on the calendar first.
Then look past the state. A state award is usually the smaller half of an offer. The college's own merit grid and its net price for your family income move more money than any state program on this page, and both are published.
Questions parents ask
What scholarships does Connecticut offer?
Connecticut has 3 state scholarship programs for students who graduate from its own high schools. The table starts with Roberta B. Willis Scholarship -- Need and Merit-Based Scholarship: Up to $5,250 a year for a four-year program and up to $4,650 a year for a two-year program.
Does Connecticut have a merit scholarship?
Connecticut runs 1 award that turn on grades or scores, and Roberta B. Willis Scholarship -- Need and Merit-Based Scholarship is one of them.
How do I find the rules for a Connecticut scholarship?
Every row links to the page the state publishes for that program. The rules and the dollar figures move from year to year, so the page is the thing to read, not a summary of it.
Method & sources: Programs come from the Connecticut Office of Higher Education (OHE) and the agency's own program pages, read in October 2026. The population is a student who graduates from a Connecticut high school and enrolls as an undergraduate. A scholarship offered by one college, a private foundation award, a federal program and a graduate-only award are all out of scope. A value the agency's own page does not state is left blank rather than filled from elsewhere, and a page that could not be read drops every figure.
- Connecticut Office of Higher Education (OHE)
- Roberta B. Willis Scholarship -- Need and Merit-Based Scholarship
- Roberta B. Willis Scholarship -- Need-Based Grant
- Mary Ann Hadley Award (formerly PACT)
This brief as data: /research/scholarships-in-connecticut.json. Free for editorial use with attribution to Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach).
Related: Merit scholarships by college · State scholarships in every state · High schools in Connecticut · Scholarship deadlines