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 South Dakota
What the state and its colleges give families, who gets it, and how to apply.
From the state
- South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship: South Dakota graduates with a 24 ACT and a 3.0 GPA, or a 28 ACT
- South Dakota Advantage: new students from eleven nearby states pay the resident rate
From the colleges
Merit scholarships. No college here publishes a scholarship by grades that a student is sure to get. The terms of each are in the table below.
Across state lines
Students from the other western states pay no more than 150% of resident tuition at Black Hills State, Dakota State, Northern State, Mines, South Dakota State and USD. A South Dakota student can do the same in those states. The Western Undergraduate Exchange ↓
What would each college cost your family?
See all 10 South Dakota 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
South Dakota's programs. Most come through the FAFSA or the state's own aid application; a few have their own.
South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship
For South Dakota high school graduates with a 24 on the ACT and a 3.0 GPA, or a 28 on the ACT alone. It pays $1,500 in each of the first three years and $3,000 in the fourth, at the state's public universities and four private ones. A student keeps it with a 3.0 college GPA.
Source: South Dakota Board of Regents
“ACT SCORE: Have an ACT Composite or Super Score* of 24 or higher before the beginning of post secondary education. If using a SAT score, the sum of the verbal and mathematics scores on the SAT must be at least 1180.”
“Option 2 (higher ACT requirement, but no curriculum or GPA requirement) RESIDENT STATUS: Be a resident of South Dakota at the time of high school graduation ACT SCORE: Have an ACT Composite or Super Score* of 28 or higher. If using an SAT score, the sum of the verbal and mathematics scores on the SAT must be at least 1310”
“Dollar Amount Year of Attendance $1,500.00 First Year $1,500.00 Second Year $1,500.00 Third Year $3,000.00 Fourth Year”
“RESIDENT STATUS: Be a resident of South Dakota at the time of high school graduation”
“Recipients must maintain a cumulative 3.0 grade point average on a 4.0 scale”
South Dakota Advantage
New freshmen and transfers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming pay the resident tuition rate at the state's public universities.
Source: Northern State University
“*Includes new freshmen and transfers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming.”
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Augustana University private |
| — | $56,703 |
| Black Hills State University public |
| — | $22,154 |
| Dakota State University public |
| — | $20,308 |
| Dakota Wesleyan University private | None published | — | $47,572 |
| Mount Marty University private | None published | — | $51,407 |
| Northern State University public |
| — | $23,302 |
| South Dakota School of Mines and Technology public |
| — | $24,102 |
| South Dakota State University public |
| — | $22,262 |
| University of Sioux Falls private | None published | — | $36,702 |
| University of South Dakota public |
| — | $22,612 |
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.
1 more South Dakota college has no page here. The federal data has no cost or no price by income for it. Show it
- Kairos University
Across state lines
The Western Undergraduate Exchange, run by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.
Coming to South Dakota 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 South Dakota, Black Hills State, Dakota State, Northern State, Mines, South Dakota State and USD take part, and the table shows what each gives. South Dakota also gives its resident rate to new students from eleven nearby states, which is lower than the exchange rate at most of these colleges.
Going from South Dakota to another western state
A South Dakota 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.