Montana State University in Bozeman is going after North Dakota's best and brightest.

A new merit-based scholarship is being offered to North Dakota high school graduates that could pay them up to $30,000 over a four-year period, depending on how they score on SAT or ACT examinations, just for enrolling in the school.

There are incrementally smaller awards for incoming freshman who score lower on the tests, according to Ronda Russell, MSU director of admissions and new student services.

"It's really working," Russell said. "This is the first year that we've tried something like this."

Actually, Russell said, the school's new scholarship program is open to students from across the nation and not just North Dakota. But a mass news release sent to North Dakota media outlets this week was specifically geared toward North Dakota students.

Russell said that the scholarships are not unique to MSU and are being used by other institutions across the country.

But population-challenged states such as North Dakota, which have an ever-dwindling crop of high school graduates, could have the most to lose by such initiatives.

UND: No threat

When told of the MSU scholarships and the amount of the awards, Alice Hoffert, associate vice president of enrollment management at UND, said the effort seemed to be a fairly aggressive move to draw new students. But Hoffert said that she didn't perceive it as a threat.

"At UND, we already attract and retain many of North Dakota's finest students and scholars," Hoffert said.

Hoffert said that the school is able to do it through merit-based scholarships of its own, supported heavily by the school's alumni association and foundation.

Also, UND has so-called Pace Setter scholarships, awarded to incoming freshman who graduate No. 1 or No. 2 in their high school class. Those scholarships add $500 on to any other scholarships the students might have, she said.

Hoffert said that the highest scholarship offered by MSU - $30,000- sounds comparable to UND's Presidential Scholarship Program, a four-year award given to students scoring 29 or higher on the ACT. But without knowing MSU's tuition structure, Hoffert said, she was unable to pinpoint how comparable the assistance would be to UND's.

UND markets itself and recruits aggressively in California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona and Nevada, states in which there are more high school graduates than universities to take them. The school also has full-time recruiters working in Minnesota.

However, Hoffert said, no targeted financial inducements are used beyond those efforts.

"We've been in this business almost 125 years now," Hoffert said. "We have always attracted North Dakota's best and brightest, and we've never had any need to use scholarships targeting specific states."

Russell said she's not heard any negative comments about MSU's new scholarships from university officials or enrollment managers from North Dakota or other nearby population-poor states.

"To tell you the truth, we're not going to make our bacon on North Dakota students," Russell said. "It isn't even one of our largest feeder states."

MSU, with its three campuses and current enrollment of 12,000, has grown every year for the past five years, Russell said, and has seen significant growth over a 10-year period.

Russell said MSU has had to drastically cut its Western Undergraduate Exchange Scholarship, which pays up to $30,000 over four years to freshman and transfer students from 13 states, including North Dakota.

The school now offers the WUE scholarship each year on a first come, first serve basis to 120 students who have a composite ACT score of 30, or an SAT score of 1,320. Transfer students are eligible for the award if they carry at least a 3.8 grade point average.

Apart from that scholarship, MSU is offering prospective students from North Dakota and other states a range of tuition assistance:

• Students who score a 22 to 26 on the ACT or a 1,010 to 1,190 on the SAT will qualify for $5,000 Achievement Award, or $2,000 for their first year and $1,000 per year for the students second, third and fourth years.

• Students with a 27 to 29 score on the ACT or a 1,200 to 1,310 on the SAT will qualify for a $9,000 MSU Achievement Award, or $3,000 for the student's first year and $2,000 per year for three years thereafter.

• After all of the WUE scholarships are snatched up, students with 30 or greater on the ACT or 1,320 or greater on the SAT will qualify for MSU's highest Achievement Award, $16,000 scholarship, $4,000 of which is awarded annually for four years.

"Students should apply and have their scores sent to MSU as soon as possible, because the awards are made on a first-come, first-serve basis," Russell said. To be eligible for the scholarships, students must complete a freshman scholarship application not later than Feb. 1.

Russell said the new scholarship structure is much less expensive for the school and still serves a purpose by attracting more high-quality students to MSU.

Another help, she said, is the school's beautiful natural surroundings, the nearby Rocky Mountains serving as both a source of picturesque beauty and recreation.

"We really win out here with our location with skiing and the mountains," Russell said. "It's a gorgeous location. Certainly, we have an easier job than those at North Dakota State (University in Fargo) or UND."