Research · College costs · October 2026

State Merit Scholarships and the GPA and Test Score Each One Requires

As of October 2026: The states with a published statewide award set GPA lines from 2.0 (California's Cal Grant B) up to 3.7 (Georgia's Zell Miller Scholarship), and test lines from an SAT 920 or ACT 17 (Louisiana's TOPS Tech) up to an SAT 1390 or ACT 31 (TOPS Excellence). Many of the largest programs set no test score at all.

The table holds every program we track in California, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, New York, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia, with the award, the GPA line, the test line, any income ceiling and a link to the state agency's own page.

Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com), October 2026. Figures and the table may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.

State scholarship programs, with the GPA and test score each requires

One row per program. The last column links to the state agency's own page for that program.

Each program as the state agency that runs it describes it, for the 2026-27 year. Award amounts are the maximum the state lists, not what any one student receives, and cutoffs and dollar figures change every year with each state budget, so the linked page governs. An empty cell means the program sets no rule of that kind. The table covers the states we track, not every state, so a state missing here is not a state without aid.

Merit, need and promise are not the same thing

The table mixes three kinds of award, because families meet all three under the same name. A merit award turns on grades or a test score: Zell Miller, the TOPS tiers, KEES, West Virginia's PROMISE, Tennessee HOPE and Bright Futures. A need award turns on family finances: Cal Grant C, the Frank O'Bannon Grant and the TEXAS Grant. A promise award turns on signing up early and sticking to a plan: Excelsior, Oklahoma's Promise, Tennessee Promise and 21st Century Scholars.

Texas's Top 10% Automatic Admission is here because families ask about it in the same breath, but it is not money. It is guaranteed admission to a Texas public university, and UT Austin caps it at the top 5%.

Where the GPA is measured matters more than the number

Georgia uses a core-course GPA the state works out itself, not the GPA on a transcript. Louisiana uses a core GPA too. Tennessee HOPE uses a weighted GPA. Kentucky's KEES is measured one year at a time. A student banks $125 to $500 for each high-school year with a 2.5 or better. A weak sophomore year costs money a strong senior year cannot pay back.

The test lines are just as exact. Zell Miller's SAT 1200 or ACT 25 has to come from one sitting, so a superscore does not count. KEES pays a bonus from an ACT 15 or SAT 810 up to $500 at an ACT 28 or SAT 1340. Tennessee HOPE takes either path, a 3.0 weighted GPA or an ACT 21 or SAT 1060.

What a family should do with this

Start with your own state's rows and open the source link. The amounts and the rules change most years. These are flat cutoffs: a tenth of a point under the line pays the smaller award.

If a test score is in play, plan the test dates around it. Zell Miller, the TOPS tiers, West Virginia's PROMISE and Tennessee HOPE all pay more for a higher score. If no test is in play, the GPA and the deadline are the whole task.

Then read the strings. Excelsior asks a graduate to live and work in New York for as many years as the award was received. Tennessee Promise asks for a mentor meeting and 8 hours of community service each term.

Related: Merit scholarships by college · Bright Futures 2026-27: the exact GPA, test and service hours · Texas automatic admission for 2027 · SAT vs ACT: which test to take