These were the minimum requirements for merit aid in 13 states in 2003:
Arkansas -- 2.5 grade-point average in high school core courses and 19 on the ACT
Florida -- 3.0 to 3.5 GPA and 970 to 1270 on the SAT
Georgia -- 3.0 GPA
Kentucky -- 2.5 GPA
Louisiana -- 2.5 to 3.5 GPA and state mean on the ACT
Maryland -- 3.0 GPA in core courses
Michigan -- Level 2 of state test or 75th percentile on SAT or ACT
Mississippi -- 2.5 GPA and 15 on the ACT
Nevada -- 3.0 GPA and pass state high school test
New Mexico -- 2.5 GPA in first semester of college
South Carolina -- 3.0 GPA and 1100 SAT or 24 ACT
Tennessee -- 3.0 to 3.75 GPA and 890 to 1280 SAT
West Virginia -- 3.0 GPA in core courses and 1000 SAT or 21 ACT.
SOURCE: Susan Dynarski, "The New Merit Aid," in "College Choices: The Economics of Where to Go, When to Go and How to Pay for It," The National Bureau of Economic Research.
Virginia and the District do not have taxpayer-funded merit scholarships.
