University of Idaho's Go Idaho! program is a clean, four-tier GPA-only ladder -- no test score, no resident/non-resident split within the program -- with one gap worth knowing about between what it takes to qualify and what it takes to keep the money.
See all 17 real automatic scholarship charts covered this cycle for how this compares to other public universities' own tables.
The chart
| Tier | High School GPA | Annual Award |
|---|---|---|
| Vandal Merit | 3.0–3.39 | $1,000 |
| Vandal Excellence | 3.4–3.749 | $4,000 |
| Vandal Summit | 3.75–3.899 | $5,000 |
| Vandal Pride | 3.9–4.0 | $7,500 |
The part that surprises people: a 0.5-point gap between qualifying and keeping it
Every tier above requires at least a 3.0 high school GPA to qualify. But once you're enrolled, Go Idaho! is "guaranteed for up to four years" as long as you maintain just a 2.5 cumulative University of Idaho GPA -- half a full point below the minimum needed to earn even the lowest, $1,000 tier in the first place. For a student who barely qualified at 3.0 in high school, the actual bar to keep the award drops well below where they started, not just slightly below it.
What this means for you
- The GPA that gets you in isn't the GPA that keeps you in -- and it's a big enough gap to matter. A rough first semester at Idaho doesn't put a Go Idaho! recipient at nearly the same risk it would at a school where the renewal bar tracks closer to the entry bar.
- This is entirely GPA-driven. If your test scores are strong but your GPA sits in a lower band, a test-optional application won't move you into a higher tier here the way it might at a school like Alabama that factors in ACT/SAT.
- Award amounts and tier levels are explicitly "subject to change" on Idaho's own page -- confirm the current cycle's numbers directly before counting on last year's figures.
- This chart is specific to Idaho high school students. Out-of-state and WUE applicants use separate scholarship programs, not this table.