Southern Miss's Academic Excellence Scholarship for 2027 high school graduates pays $1,500 a year up to full tuition, based on GPA and ACT or SAT score. A 3.25+ GPA with a 32+ ACT (1420+ SAT) earns full tuition, and a 3.6 GPA with that score adds a free first-year housing award.
The University of Southern Mississippi uses one chart for all freshmen, with two GPA bands and unusually fine ACT steps, nearly one award level per ACT point. It's the only Mississippi chart that reaches full tuition; neither in-state rival Ole Miss nor Mississippi State does. For the basics, see what an automatic scholarship chart is.
Southern Miss scholarship chart: 3.25 or higher GPA
| ACT | SAT | Annual Award |
|---|---|---|
| 32-36 | 1420-1600 | Full tuition |
| 31 | 1390-1410 | $10,000 |
| 30 | 1360-1380 | $9,000 |
| 29 | 1330-1350 | $7,000 |
| 27-28 | 1260-1320 | $6,000 |
| 25-26 | 1200-1250 | $5,250 |
| 23-24 | 1130-1190 | $4,500 |
| 22 | 1100-1120 | $3,000 |
| 21 | 1060-1090 | $2,500 |
| 20 | 1030-1050 | $1,500 |
Southern Miss scholarship chart: 3.0-3.24 GPA
| ACT | SAT | Annual Award |
|---|---|---|
| 32-36 | 1420-1600 | $4,500 |
| 30-31 | 1360-1410 | $3,000 |
| 26-29 | 1230-1350 | $2,500 |
| 23-25 | 1130-1220 | $1,500 |
The part that surprises people: a quarter-point of GPA is worth thousands
The 3.25 line changes everything. At a 32 ACT, a 3.24 GPA earns $4,500 a year, while a 3.25 GPA earns full tuition. At a 25 ACT, it's $1,500 versus $5,250. Students near 3.25 should know exactly where they stand, since Southern Miss uses the cumulative GPA on the official transcript at the time of admission.
On the 3.25+ chart, single ACT points also count more than usual: going from a 29 to a 30 ACT adds $2,000 a year, and from 31 to 32 jumps to full tuition.
Housing, superscores and deadlines
- Free first-year housing: a 3.6+ GPA and a 32+ ACT (1420+ SAT) adds the Academic Excellence Housing Scholarship, worth the full cost of a double room, if you live on campus your first year.
- Superscores count for both the ACT and SAT. Scores must be earned through senior year and before the deadline.
- March 1: be fully admitted with final test scores to be automatically considered.
- May 1: accept the scholarship.
- Renewal: a 2.5 Southern Miss GPA and 15 credit hours every fall and spring, for four years. Full-tuition awards rise if tuition goes up.
What this means for you
- Get to 3.25 if you can. It's the most valuable line on the chart.
- Retest for a 32. Superscoring makes the full-tuition line reachable for more students.
- Finish testing by March 1. That's the cutoff for automatic consideration.
- Compare it with Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Louisiana Tech, which waives out-of-state fees for Mississippi students, or check all charts at once with the scholarship finder.