Every figure is for a student starting in fall 2027. We work each one out again whenever we update the site.
Paying for college in Montana
What the state and its colleges give families, who gets it, and how to apply.
From the state
- MUS Honor Scholarship: Montana high school seniors with a 3.4 GPA, a tuition waiver worth about $5,000 a year
- Montana STEM and Healthcare Scholarship: Montana seniors with a 3.25 GPA in a STEM or healthcare major, $1,000 to $2,000 a year
- Board-designated tuition waivers: Montana residents who are American Indian, veterans or in the National Guard
From the colleges
Merit scholarships set by grades. At this college, a student who meets the terms is sure to get one.
| College | Montana students | From other states |
|---|---|---|
| Montana State | $1,000 to $4,000 a year, from a 2.7 GPA | See below |
The other 7 colleges award scholarships on other terms. Each is in the table below.
Across state lines
Students from the other western states pay no more than 150% of resident tuition at MSU Billings, MSU Bozeman, MSU Northern, Montana Tech, UM and UM Western. A Montana student can do the same in those states. The Western Undergraduate Exchange ↓
What would each college cost your family?
See all 8 Montana colleges priced for your income, and the aid your student could get.
See costs at your income →Already have a list? Put your schools side by side →
Get reminders for the dates that matter
We'll email you on the dates that matter: when the FAFSA opens, when award letters arrive, and before you choose a college and pay the first bill. If college is two or more years away, we'll also email you when the tax year that counts begins and when it has a month left.
From the state
Montana's programs. Most come through the FAFSA or the state's own aid application; a few have their own.
MUS Honor Scholarship
For Montana high school seniors with a 3.4 GPA and the required courses, chosen by class rank and ACT or SAT score. It waives tuition, worth about $5,000 a year, for up to eight semesters at a Montana University System campus. Up to 200 are offered each year.
Source: Montana University System, Apply Montana
“The MUS Honor Scholarship is a 4-year renewable scholarship, which waives the recipient’s tuition when used at an eligible campus. Its average value at a 4-year Montana campus is $5,000 a year or $20,000 for four years. This scholarship may be retained for a maximum of 8 semesters and with proper notification is transferable to other eligible campuses.The Board of Regents intends to offer up to 200 scholarships (contingent upon continued funding of the program) annually.”
“Must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.4 at the end of the 7th semester Must be on track to meet the Board of Regents Rigorous Core Requirements -or- receive an International Baccalaureate (IB) Disploma by graduation Must take the ACT or SAT test by student’s senior year Must be a resident of the State of Montana”
“Recipients will be selected based upon class ranking as determined by the student’s grade point average (GPA) at the student’s respective high school and their ACT or SAT test score (the higher of the two if both tests are taken).”
Montana STEM and Healthcare Scholarship
For Montana high school seniors with a 3.25 GPA who declare a science, technology, engineering, math or healthcare major. It pays $1,000 the first year, $1,500 the second and third, and $2,000 the fourth.
Source: Montana University System, Apply Montana
“Students who are awarded a scholarship and continue to meet the requirements may receive; $1,000 the first year, $1,500 the second year, $1,500 the third year and $2,000 the fourth year.”
“Must obtain a cumulative high school GPA of at least 3.25 Must complete 4 years of college prep math and 3 years of college prep science by graduation Must apply to and be accepted by one of the eligible campuses Must be seeking a first certificate, or 2-year, or 4-year degree Must declare a qualifying STEM or Healthcare major”
Board-designated tuition waivers
Montana residents who are American Indian, honorably discharged veterans, or in the Montana National Guard, among other groups, have undergraduate tuition waived at Montana University System campuses.
Source: Montana University System, Apply Montana
“The Board of Regents hereby directs the campuses to grant waivers of undergraduate tuition for Montana resident students enrolled in the following categories at campuses of the Montana University System: American Indian Waiver Faculty and Staff Tuition Waiver Honorably Discharged Veteran Waiver War Orphans Waiver Surviving Dependents of Montana National Guard Member Waiver September 11, 2001 Victims Waiver Surviving Dependents of Montana Firefighters/Peace Officers Waiver Montana National Guard Waiver”
From the colleges
What each college gives for grades, what it promises on aid, and its full price.
| College | Merit scholarships | Promise on aid | Full price a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montana State University public |
| — | $26,978 |
| Montana State University Billings public |
| — | $21,201 |
| Montana State University-Northern public |
| — | $17,667 |
| Montana Technological University public |
| — | $24,516 |
| Rocky Mountain College private | None published | — | $51,054 |
| The University of Montana public |
| — | $26,694 |
| The University of Montana-Western public |
| — | $20,379 |
| University of Providence private | None published | — | $48,790 |
* The finder and our college comparison show this scholarship when you enter your student's GPA.
Each college's page has a promise's conditions, in the college's own words. “Worth asking about” marks a program the college describes in words that stop short of a promise.
Full price: tuition and fees, housing and food, and books; in state at a public university. What your family would pay after grants depends on your income: the finder shows it.
2 more Montana colleges have no page here. For 1 of them, the federal data has no cost or no price by income. The rest mainly teach graduate students or run online programs. Show them
- Carroll College
- Montana Bible College
Across state lines
The Western Undergraduate Exchange, run by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.
Coming to Montana from another western state
Students from the other western states pay no more than 150% of resident tuition at the public colleges that take part. Each college sets its own rules: a minimum GPA, majors it leaves out, early deadlines, or a limit on how many students get the rate.
In Montana, MSU Billings, MSU Bozeman, MSU Northern, Montana Tech, UM and UM Western take part, and the table shows what each gives. Montana's community colleges and two-year campuses are on the list too, and this page covers four-year colleges.
Going from Montana to another western state
A Montana student can use it the other way, at public colleges in the other western states. The group that runs the exchange has a savings finder that lists each college and what the exchange saves there.
Source: Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE)
“pay no more than 150% of the institution’s resident tuition rate”
“Residents of the following states and territories are eligible to apply for WUE: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawai’i, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, as well as American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam.”
“Each school administers WUE differently: Institutions may require a minimum GPA, exclude selected majors, have early application deadlines, and/or limit the number of students awarded the WUE rate.”
Paying the rest
Our $99 plan works out which money pays each bill, semester by semester: your savings, your 529 and your loans, in the order that costs least.
Build your plan →Best once your award letter arrives. No letter yet? Get a reminder when it does.
How we worked these out
Costs: each college's own published price where it has one, otherwise the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, carried forward to fall 2027. Grants: each program’s own page. Scholarships: each college's own page, read by us and checked against it. SmartTuition.ai is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any institution named here.