Wyoming Scholarships & Grants (2027): Hathaway Scholarship, Wyoming’s Tomorrow & Wyoming Works Deadlines

How Wyoming Aid Actually Works

Wyoming state aid has two front doors: the Hathaway application at your Wyoming college, and the FAFSA. There is no state grant portal. The Wyoming Department of Education writes the rules; the college checks eligibility and pays the award.

• Door 1, the Hathaway application (at the college). Opens the merit award. The college verifies the high school GPA, test score, and Success Curriculum level, plus Wyoming residency. Contact the financial aid or admissions office at the college your student will attend.
• Door 2, the FAFSA. Opens the Hathaway need-based supplement, the federal Pell Grant, and most college need-based aid. Hathaway’s merit award does not require it. The supplement does, every year.
• Where it works. Only at nine schools: the University of Wyoming and the eight community colleges (Casper, Central Wyoming, Eastern Wyoming, Gillette, Laramie County, Northwest, Sheridan, and Western Wyoming).

What changed in 2026

If a handout is older than July 2026, assume it is wrong on at least three points.

• Award amounts rose (Senate File 47, effective July 1, 2026). Honors went from $1,680 to $2,360 per semester, Performance from $1,260 to $1,770, Opportunity and Provisional from $840 to $1,180.
• The need supplement cap rose from $1,575 to $2,120 a year for Performance, Opportunity, and Provisional students. The minimum payment rose from $105 to $150 per semester. Honors was never capped.
• Wyoming’s Tomorrow (adults 24 and older) dropped its continuous-enrollment rule for awards from fall 2026 forward (HB 25, 2026).
• What did not pass: a lump-sum version of Hathaway (SF 36) failed in the House, and a bill to allow a smaller award at private Wyoming colleges (HB 57) failed introduction. Hathaway still works only at UW and the community colleges.

Myths that cost real money

• Myth: “Hathaway is automatic.” Eligibility is automatic once the requirements are met. The money is not. No application at the college, no award, and a late application costs a semester.
• Myth: “Hathaway isn’t need-based, so we can skip the FAFSA.” The merit award doesn’t need it. The need supplement, Pell, and college need aid all do. For an Honors student, skipping the FAFSA can leave five figures a year on the table.
• Myth: “It has to be the ACT.” The ACT, SAT, and CLT are all accepted, and ACT superscores count.
• Myth: “Dropping to part-time ends Hathaway.” Part-time is allowed and paid at a prorated amount. What ends it is not finishing the credits you enrolled for, or skipping a fall or spring semester. See the semester-off trap.

The Hathaway Scholarship: Four Tiers, Three Gates

Every tier takes three things: a high school GPA, a test score, and the Hathaway Success Curriculum. Miss any one and the student drops a tier. The GPA and test score earn the tier; the course list is the gate families forget.

Amounts apply to courses beginning on or after July 1, 2026 (W.S. 21-16-1304 and 1305 as amended by SF 47). Full-time means 12 or more non-remedial credits; fewer credits are paid at a prorated amount. The SAT and CLT are accepted too: the law sets each cutoff as a national percentile, so ask your college for the matching SAT or CLT score. The Hathaway GPA may be weighted for advanced courses; your counselor can tell you how your district calculates it.

The Success Curriculum, in plain English

A semester of a college course (1000 level or higher) usually counts as a full year of high school content, and approved courses taken before ninth grade count too. A course taken the summer after senior year counts only if the graduation date on the official transcript comes after the course ends.

Your move: ask the counselor for the student’s current Success Curriculum level in writing, and ask which single course, if any, would move it up.

How to keep it

• College GPA: 2.25 for Opportunity and Provisional; 2.50 for Performance and Honors. An Honors or Performance student between 2.25 and 2.49 drops to the Opportunity amount until the GPA is back at 2.50, then the original tier returns.
• Complete what you enroll in: 12 non-remedial credits each semester if full-time, 6 if part-time.
• Stay enrolled every fall and spring. This is the one that quietly ends awards. See the semester-off trap.
• The clocks: apply within four years of high school graduation, then use the award within six years of starting it.
• The tier never goes up in college. It is set by high school results only.

The Fine Print: The Semester Off That Costs You Hathaway

Skip one fall or spring semester and Hathaway stops. Getting it back means paying for a full semester yourself, and that semester still burns time on the six-year clock.

Families plan around GPA. The rule that actually ends awards is continuous enrollment. A Hathaway student must be enrolled at an eligible Wyoming college every fall and every spring after the award starts. A semester off to work, a family emergency, a transfer that leaves a gap: any of these ends eligibility.

• To regain it, the student enrolls in and completes one fall or spring semester at the same status as the last semester they were paid (full-time or part-time), with no Hathaway money for that semester. Summer cannot be used to fix continuous enrollment.
• The six-year clock keeps running. Semesters of ineligibility count against it.
• Remedial courses don’t count. They are not paid, they don’t count toward the 12 credits, and they can’t be used to regain eligibility. A student placed into two remedial classes can be enrolled full-time on the schedule and part-time for Hathaway.
• Withdrawing mid-semester is its own trap. Enroll full-time and finish with 9 credits, and the student fails Satisfactory Academic Progress. Regaining takes at least six completed non-remedial credits, and summer can be used for this one.

Major Wyoming Programs

Four state programs matter, and two of them are for adults, not graduating seniors. Most seniors will use Hathaway plus the need supplement. Parents going back to school should read the last two cards.

The Retest Lever: One ACT Point Can Be Worth Five Figures

Hathaway’s cutoffs are cliffs, and Wyoming lets students keep climbing until classes start. A senior sitting just under 19, 21, or 25 should retest.

• 24 to 25 (Honors), with a 3.5 GPA and the full curriculum: the merit award rises $590 a semester, $4,720 over eight semesters. For a family with financial need, it also switches the supplement from 25 percent capped at $2,120 to 100 percent of unmet need above $2,000. See the worked example in How aid stacks.
• 20 to 21 (Performance), with a 3.0 GPA: $590 more per semester, $4,720 over eight semesters.
• 18 to 19 (Opportunity), with a 2.5 GPA and the full curriculum: the same $1,180 per semester as Provisional, but usable at UW from day one and for eight semesters instead of four.

Three rules make the lever work: ACT superscores count, the SAT and CLT are accepted, and a score can be sent to the college up until the start of courses. A June ACT after graduation still counts.

Your move: compare your student’s best scores (superscored) to the cutoffs today. If the gap is one or two points, register for the next test date and the one after it.

Wyoming Aid Deadlines

The state sets almost no calendar dates. The college does. These are the dates that repeat every year, then the chain for the Class of 2027. A priority deadline is the date to be in line for limited money; after it, aid may still exist but is not guaranteed.

Dates that repeat every year

The Class of 2027 chain

How Wyoming Aid Stacks

Hathaway merit stacks with Pell and college scholarships. The need supplement is calculated last, after everything else, so every other grant shrinks it dollar for dollar (or 25 cents on the dollar below Honors).

• The supplement’s math subtracts the Hathaway merit award, Pell, and all other grants and scholarships before it pays.
• The cost of attendance used is capped at the college’s standard undergraduate budget before individual adjustments.
• Wyoming’s Tomorrow cannot be paid in the same semester as Hathaway.
• Total aid cannot exceed the cost of attendance. If it would, the college reduces something.

Worked example 1: four-year, on campus at UW (illustrative)

Illustrative numbers, not UW’s published budget. One tier apart, the family’s share differs by $11,340 a year. The family’s share can be met with savings, work, or loans.

Worked example 2: community college commuter (illustrative)

Illustrative. Even a middle-income family with a modest gap clears the $2,000 line here, which is why the FAFSA is worth filing.

Common Ways Wyoming Aid Gets Lost

Almost every lost Hathaway dollar is a process problem, not a student problem.

Who Benefits Most

Low-income families

The biggest winners, if the student reaches Honors. Pell plus Hathaway Honors plus the uncapped need supplement can leave a family responsible for little more than its SAI and the $2,000 student commitment. Below Honors, the supplement is real but capped at $2,120.

Middle-income families

Hathaway is a flat amount that doesn’t shrink as income rises, which makes it more valuable here than most need-based aid. File the FAFSA anyway: a family with a moderate SAI can still clear the $2,000 line at UW’s on-campus budget.

High-achieving students

Honors is the target, and the Success Curriculum is the usual reason a strong student misses it. Check the fourth year of math and science, and the four years of arts, career and technical education, or world language.

Students who test poorly

Provisional Opportunity takes a 17 ACT or a WorkKeys score of 12, and it opens a path to UW through a community college associate degree. The SAT and CLT are options too.

Adult and returning students

Wyoming’s Tomorrow (24 and older) and Wyoming Works (approved career programs at community colleges) are built for you. Wyoming’s Tomorrow dropped its continuous-enrollment rule in 2026.

First-gen families

The rules are generous; the process is where money is lost. Write down the Hathaway coordinator’s name the day your student is admitted, and ask before every change in enrollment. You’re allowed to ask as many times as you need. Our grade-level checklists and guide to comparing aid offers can help.

Colleges That Stack Best With Hathaway

Hathaway pays the same dollar amount at all nine eligible colleges, so the college decision moves two things: what the school adds on top, and the cost of attendance that drives the need supplement.

The flagship: University of Wyoming

• University of Wyoming (Laramie). Automatic Cowboy Commitment awards for Wyoming residents (confirm enrollment by May 1 for fall), the competitive Trustees’ Scholars Award (December 1), the Cowboy Need Grant (FAFSA before February 1), and WyoScholarships donor awards (mostly mid-March). The only place Hathaway pays for a bachelor’s degree.

Not yet in our database

We have not yet verified institutional scholarships at Wyoming’s eight community colleges: Casper College, Central Wyoming College, Eastern Wyoming College, Gillette College, Laramie County Community College, Northwest College, Sheridan College, and Western Wyoming Community College. All eight take Hathaway. We would rather leave them without numbers than publish a guess; see each college’s financial aid page through the Hathaway eligible colleges list. Wyoming Catholic College, the state’s private four-year college, does not take Hathaway.

The two-year and transfer pathway

• Honors, Performance, and Opportunity: up to four full-time semesters at a community college, then the rest at UW, or all eight at UW.
• Provisional: four full-time semesters at a community college; extendable at UW after an associate degree, or at the community college after a certificate.
• Cautions: the transfer must happen between semesters with no gap (continuous enrollment), both financial aid offices must be told, and the six-year clock does not pause.
• Your move: ask UW transfer admissions which community college courses apply to the intended major before the first semester, not after the fourth.

Out-of-state hook: families just across the line

The University of Wyoming offers automatic Brown and Gold Commitment awards to nonresidents, a Good Neighbor Award for students from nearby states, and participates in the Western Undergraduate Exchange. Hathaway itself never travels: it is for Wyoming graduates at Wyoming colleges. Wyoming students looking out of state should read our Western Undergraduate Exchange guide.

Compare schools side by side with the CRP Scholarship Search Tool, or browse by grades with Scholarships by GPA.

Smaller Programs Worth Checking

Wyoming State Aid FAQs

Does Wyoming require an ACT score for the Hathaway Scholarship?

Yes, every tier requires a test score, but it does not have to be the ACT. The Wyoming Department of Education accepts the ACT, SAT, or CLT. The published cutoffs are a 25 ACT for Honors, 21 for Performance, 19 for Opportunity, and 17 (or a WorkKeys score of 12) for Provisional Opportunity. Ask your college which SAT or CLT score matches each cutoff, because the law sets the bar as a national percentile, not as a single test’s score.

How much is the Hathaway Scholarship in 2027?

Since July 1, 2026, the full-time amounts are $2,360 per semester for Honors, $1,770 for Performance, and $1,180 for Opportunity and Provisional Opportunity. That is $4,720, $3,540, and $2,360 per year. Students with financial need can add the need-based supplement: up to $2,120 per year for most tiers, and the full unmet need above $2,000 for Honors.

What is the Hathaway Scholarship deadline?

There is no single state deadline. The student applies through the Wyoming college they will attend, and the application must be complete before the first day of classes in the term the award starts. A late application starts the award the following term. The outer limit is four years (48 months) from the high school graduation date on the official transcript.

Can you lose the Hathaway Scholarship?

Yes. Every fall and spring, a student must keep the college GPA (2.25 for Opportunity and Provisional, 2.50 for Performance and Honors), complete the credits they enrolled for (12 non-remedial credits full-time, 6 part-time), and stay enrolled. The scholarship can be regained, but semesters spent regaining it are not paid and still count against the six-year clock.

Does Wyoming state aid cover housing?

The base Hathaway award is a fixed dollar amount per semester set in state law, and how it lands on the bill is up to the college, so ask the financial aid office. The need-based supplement is calculated against the college’s full cost of attendance, which includes housing and food. For Honors students with financial need, that means state aid can reach well past tuition.

Does the Hathaway Scholarship accept superscores?

Yes for the ACT. The Wyoming Department of Education says an ACT superscore can be used to meet the cutoff for any tier. Scores can also arrive late: a test taken after graduation, such as a June ACT, still counts if the score reaches the college before classes start.

Can you get both the Hathaway Scholarship and Wyoming’s Tomorrow?

Not in the same semester. Wyoming’s Tomorrow is for Wyoming residents 24 and older, and a student cannot receive it for an enrollment period in which they receive a Hathaway Scholarship. It is built for adults who are not using Hathaway.

Can you use the Hathaway Scholarship out of state or at a private college?

No. Hathaway pays only at the University of Wyoming and the state’s eight community colleges: Casper, Central Wyoming, Eastern Wyoming, Gillette, Laramie County, Northwest, Sheridan, and Western Wyoming. A 2026 bill to allow a smaller award at private Wyoming colleges (HB 57) failed introduction. Students heading out of state should look at the Western Undergraduate Exchange instead.