Which Colleges Give Automatic Scholarships for SAT or ACT Scores in 2026-27?

As of October 2026. Every number below is sourced; the list is at the end.

As of October 2026, a lot of them do. We read the published scholarship chart at 14 colleges this month, on each college's own site. At 13 of the 14, the award is automatic: get admitted, hit the printed score and GPA, and the money is yours. No scholarship application, no essay, no interview.

The amounts are not small. At the University of Alabama, an out-of-state student with a 1420 SAT and a 3.50 GPA is offered $28,000 a year. Two ACT points lower, the same student is offered $24,000.

The colleges with a published grid

Each row is the highest tier on that college's chart that does not need a perfect score. Lower tiers pay less and start much lower.

College	SAT / ACT	GPA	Per year	Who	Automatic
University of Alabama	1420 / 32	3.50	$28,000	Out of state	Yes
UA Birmingham	1420 / 32	4.00	$28,500	Out of state	Yes
UA Huntsville	1390 / 31	4.00	Full in-state tuition	Alabama	Yes
Auburn University	ACT 35	4.00	Full tuition and fees	Alabama	No, competitive
Texas Tech	1500 / 34	3.96	$9,000	Any	Yes
Ole Miss	1450 / 33	3.00	$10,278	Mississippi	Yes
Mississippi State	1450 / 33	3.60	$10,500	Mississippi	Yes
Kentucky	1360 / 30	3.50	$16,000	Out of state	Yes
West Virginia	1360 / 30	3.80	$18,000	Out of state	Yes
Louisville	1390 / 31	3.50 weighted	$7,000	KY, southern IN	Yes
Tennessee	1490 / 34	3.80 core	$9,000	Tennessee	Yes
Oklahoma	1390 / 31	3.50	$17,500	Out of state	Yes
Texas State	1420 / 32	Top 25% rank	$12,000	Any	Yes
Middle Tennessee State	1490 / 34	3.50	$8,000	Any	Yes

West Virginia pays that same tier $6,000 to a resident and $18,000 to an out-of-state student. Most of these charts work that way, so check the column that matches your family.

Three of the charts are labeled 2026-27: Texas Tech, Ole Miss and Tennessee. Texas State's applies to students admitted from summer 2026 on. The other ten have already rolled to the class entering in fall 2027. Grids change every year, so read the page before you plan around a number.

Automatic is not the same as competitive

Auburn prints the same kind of chart, then calls it a guide and not a guarantee. Its page says each entering class competes with itself. Kentucky splits the two plainly: its Bluegrass awards are automatic, while its Presidential and Singletary awards need the competitive section of the application.

Some well-known schools have taken the score off the chart. The University of Arizona now reviews the whole academic record for first-year merit, with no published score tier. South Carolina prints last year's average recipient and says plainly that it is not a minimum. Neither gives a family a number to plan on.

What this means for your testing plan

A score is the price of admission to the automatic chart. Alabama says so on the page: a student who sends no score is read for the competitive awards only.

You still decide, college by college, whether to send a score. At these 14, the chart decides for you, and you can see the dollars before your student ever sits the exam. Our merit scholarship matcher covers 63 colleges, and the Reach pages for Alabama, Ole Miss and Texas Tech carry the rest of the picture: admit rate, cost, and where graduates land.

The move

Pull up the chart for the two or three colleges on your student's list that publish one, and find the next tier up. Then count the weeks to the next test date and set aside 6 to 12 weeks for real preparation, on the whole SAT or ACT, not one section. Start with the two free mock exams, one SAT and one ACT, so you know which test fits before anyone pays for anything: prepgurus.com/take-the-next-step or call 949.229.5359.

Questions parents ask

Can my child get a scholarship just for a high SAT or ACT score?

At many public universities, yes. We read the published scholarship chart at 14 colleges this month, and at 13 of the 14 the award is automatic: get admitted, hit the printed score and GPA, and the money is yours.

How much money does a higher score actually mean?

At the University of Alabama, an out-of-state student with a 1420 SAT and a 3.50 GPA is offered $28,000 a year. Two ACT points lower, the same student is offered $24,000.

Is every merit scholarship automatic?

No. Auburn prints the same kind of chart, then calls it a guide and not a guarantee, and its page says each entering class competes with itself. Kentucky's Bluegrass awards are automatic while its Presidential and Singletary awards need the competitive section of the application.

Written by Nick Standlea, founder of Test Prep Gurus. Updated October 2026.