The University of Montana's Academic Achievement Scholarship (UMAAS) has an unusual structural feature worth knowing before you assume it applies to you: it's built entirely for non-residents, and Montana's own students can't use it.
See all 17 real automatic scholarship charts covered this cycle for how this compares to other public universities' own tables.
The chart (out-of-state freshmen)
| High School GPA | Annual Award |
|---|---|
| 2.99 and below | $5,000 |
| 3.00–3.349 | $12,500 |
| 3.34–3.749 | $14,000 |
| 3.75–3.949 | $16,000 |
| 3.95+ | $18,000 |
The transfer version
| College GPA | Annual Award |
|---|---|
| 2.99 and below | $0 |
| 3.00–3.249 | $5,000 |
| 3.25–3.49 | $10,000 |
| 3.5+ | $12,500 |
The part that surprises people: Montana residents can't get this scholarship at any GPA
UM's own eligibility language is explicit: "out-of-state undergraduates and transfer students pursuing their first bachelor's degree are eligible" -- and Montana residents are not. This isn't a matter of residents facing a different, less generous chart the way it works at most schools in this cluster; they're excluded from this particular scholarship entirely. A Montana resident with a 4.0 GPA gets nothing from UMAAS, while an out-of-state freshman with a GPA under 3.0 still gets $5,000/year automatically.
The second surprise: freshmen have no GPA floor, but transfers do
Look at the bottom row of each table. A freshman with any GPA at all -- even well below 3.0 -- still qualifies for $5,000/year under UMAAS. A transfer student in that same GPA range gets $0. The freshman chart has no minimum GPA requirement built in; the transfer chart does.
What this means for you
- If you're a Montana resident, don't count on UMAAS. Look at UM's resident-specific scholarship programs instead -- this particular chart isn't available to you regardless of your academic record.
- If you're an out-of-state freshman applicant, you're guaranteed at least $5,000/year automatically, even without a strong GPA -- there's no floor that excludes you entirely.
- Transfer students face a real floor that freshmen don't. A sub-3.0 college GPA as a transfer pays nothing under this program, unlike the freshman track.
- This scholarship applies only to tuition. UM describes it as "tuition-designated," meaning it can't be applied to room, board, or other costs, and can't stack with other full-tuition waivers.
- Hit the March 1 deadline -- automatic consideration happens when you apply for admission, with no separate scholarship application required.