Merit aid by ACT score

Verified Oct 24, 2026

Most automatic merit aid is awarded off a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA, where each band pays a fixed amount per year. Because the bands are steps rather than a slope, one ACT point is worth nothing inside a band and the entire step at the edge of one. Enter a score below to see both.

Search by name, city or state. Not here yet? Ask and we’ll add it.

29
3.60
Residency
State

At a 29 with a 3.60, this score reaches a published award at 476 of 501 schools listed — worth up to $160,000 over four years at the best of them.

Which one point is worth the most? Run these two numbers against every grid and we will name the single threshold that pays you most to reach.

Show me my biggest award
Sort
  • UW-Green Bay

    Green Bay, WI

    100% remission

    Phoenix Scholar Award — Gold

    Top band at this GPA

  • Arkansas

    Fayetteville, ARGPA only

    80% of the out-of-state tuition difference

    New Arkansan NRTA

    ACT not used here

  • Troy

    Troy, AL

    Tuition at the in-state rate

    The Chancellor's Scholarship

    Top band at this GPA

  • UL Lafayette

    Lafayette, LA

    Semester awards of $2,000 academic and $1,000 housing for eight semesters, $24,000 total

    Magnolia Scholarship

    Top band at this GPA

  • LSU

    Baton Rouge, LA

    Award amounts range from $500 annually to $4,600 annually plus applicable TOPS award amount

    Merit Scholarship

    Top band at this GPA

  • SDSU

    Brookings, SD

    Minimum award of $3,000 (SDSU does not state the period)

    Jackrabbit Guarantee Scholarship

    Top band at this GPA

  • BGSU

    Bowling Green, OH

    Covers half of BGSU's non-resident fee

    BG Success Scholarship (score route)

    Top band at this GPA

  • Idaho

    Moscow, IDGPA only

    WUE Scholars Merit Award + $1,000, nearly $17,000

    WUE Scholars Merit Award

    ACT not used here

  • Alabama A&M

    Normal, AL

    Covers the cost of tuition

    AAMU Merit Scholarship

    Top band at this GPA

  • Valparaiso

    Valparaiso, INGPA only

    Presidential Scholarship, published as $31,000 to $33,000

    Presidential Scholarship

    ACT not used here

  • WNMU

    Silver City, NM

    Full in-state tuition and applicable fees, 15–18 credits per semester, plus $1,500 a year toward housing

    Silver Package

    Top band at this GPA

  • USI

    Evansville, INGPA only

    Award pays the difference between resident and non-resident tuition

    Out-of-State Merit Scholarship

    ACT not used here

  • Delaware State

    Dover, DE

    Covers the gap between tuition and any Federal Title IV or state grant funding

    Full Tuition Scholarship

    Top band at this GPA

  • GGC

    Lawrenceville, GAGPA only

    In-state tuition rate

    Presidential Academic Out-of-State Award

    ACT not used here

  • Seton Hall

    South Orange, NJ

    $4,000 - $25,000

    University Scholarship

    Top band at this GPA

  • St. Bonaventure

    St. Bonaventure, NY

    awarded on the basis of your three year cumulative high school average (freshman through junior year), rigor of courses and SAT or ACT scores

    Presidential, Friars, Provost, Achievement or Incentive award

    Top band at this GPA

  • Niagara

    Lewiston, NY

    determined by a thorough evaluation of the student's high school transcript and/or submitted standardized test scores

    Trustees', Presidential, Deans', Achievement award or NU Grant

    Top band at this GPA

  • Loyola Maryland

    Baltimore, MD

    based on a student's GPA, course selection, and test scores (if submitted)

    Presidential, Dean's or Loyola Scholarship

    Top band at this GPA

  • Mercer

    Macon, GA

    $18,000 to $27,000 per year

    First-year merit scholarship

    Top band at this GPA

  • Drake

    Des Moines, IA

    $26,000–$36,500 per year

    Presidential Scholarship

    Top band at this GPA

Sorted by what this score and GPA are worth over four years.

Figures come from each school’s own published grid, read from the source and dated on that school’s page. Last confirmed between 2026-10-19 and 2026-10-25. Four-year figures assume the award renews.

Every number above moves with one thing: the score. Finding out which questions are costing the points takes about three minutes.

Find their weak spots free →

Free · About 3 minutes · No account needed

Schools in this dataset

Each school has its own page with the full grid, deadlines, superscore policy, and the sources every figure came from.

AK4 schools

Alabama19 schools

Arizona4 schools

Arkansas15 schools

CA7 schools

Colorado7 schools

CT4 schools

DE2 schools

FL9 schools

Georgia8 schools

HI4 schools

Idaho6 schools

IL18 schools

Indiana21 schools

Iowa15 schools

Kansas14 schools

Kentucky16 schools

Louisiana13 schools

MA8 schools

MD4 schools

ME5 schools

Michigan21 schools

Mississippi11 schools

Missouri20 schools

MN9 schools

Montana5 schools

NC7 schools

Nebraska10 schools

Nevada3 schools

New Mexico5 schools

NH2 schools

NJ6 schools

North Dakota7 schools

NY17 schools

Ohio23 schools

Oklahoma11 schools

OR9 schools

PA17 schools

South Carolina11 schools

South Dakota5 schools

Tennessee17 schools

Texas28 schools

Utah6 schools

VA10 schools

VT2 schools

Washington6 schools

West Virginia11 schools

WI19 schools

What to do next

Every number on this page moves with one thing.

A grid tells you the target. It does not tell you which questions are costing the points between here and there — and at most of these schools, one point is the difference between two bands. Finding out takes about three minutes.

Find my biggest award →I’m a parent

Free · About 3 minutes · No account needed

“Test-optional” does not tell you what it costs to skip the ACT

This is the most expensive misunderstanding in the process, because the phrase describes admission and families read it as describing money. Those are separate policies, and schools land in two different places.

Sometimes a score is required for the money anyway. At the University of Alabama, a score is needed for 2027 admission only if the GPA is below 3.0 — but every band on both scholarship grids is keyed to a test score, and only an official composite counts. A family can read “test-optional”, skip the ACT, get admitted, and never find out they walked past a grid worth five figures a year.

Sometimes there is a genuine test-optional route, at a price. The University of Kentucky publishes a full test-optional column: the same award, reachable with no score at all — at a higher GPA. A 3.50 GPA with a 25 ACT earns what a 3.50 alone does not.

Which means the useful question is never “is this school test-optional?” It is “what does skipping the test cost at this school, for this GPA?” Every school page here answers that directly, with both policies stated side by side.

How this data is gathered and verified

Every number here is a reproduction of something a university published, not an estimate, a scrape of another aggregator, or an average. The rules we hold ourselves to:

  • Every figure names its source. Each band stores the URL it was read from, and that link is on the page.
  • Nothing is interpolated. If a school states a benefit rather than a dollar amount, the table says exactly that. A missing band stays missing.
  • Every school carries a verification date, shown on its page and in the comparison above. Past 120 days the badge stops asserting freshness and says it is due a re-check, rather than showing an old date in confident green.
  • Coverage follows accuracy. A school is added when its figures have been confirmed, not to make the list longer.

This is a reference, not financial aid advice, and not a guarantee of any award. Grids change without notice — check the linked source before making a decision on a figure. ClutchACT is not affiliated with any university listed.

Frequently asked questions

What ACT score do you need for a merit scholarship?

There is no national answer, and at a growing number of schools the ACT is not the criterion at all. Where a school does key merit to a score, entry bands commonly begin around 24 to 26 and larger awards cluster at 30 and above — but others, including Kansas, Arizona State and Utah, award on GPA alone, so a higher score changes nothing there. The only figure that matters is the published one at the schools on your list.

Is this merit aid data accurate?

Every figure is read from the school's own published page, stored with the URL it came from, and carries the date a human last confirmed it. We never estimate a missing band or interpolate a value. Grids change by entry year, so each page shows its verification date and links the source so you can check it yourself before relying on it.

Does test-optional mean my child doesn't need an ACT score?

Not necessarily, because the phrase describes admission rather than money. Some schools are test-optional to get in and still key every dollar of merit aid to a test score — the University of Alabama is that case. Others, like the University of Kentucky, publish a real test-optional scholarship route but ask for a higher GPA to use it. The question worth asking is what skipping the test costs at a specific school for a specific GPA.

How much is one more ACT point worth?

It depends entirely on whether that point crosses a band edge. Inside a band it is worth nothing. At the edge it is worth the whole step — on Alabama's published out-of-state grid, moving from a 29 to a 30 is worth $9,000 a year, or $36,000 over four years. This tool shows the next step for each school rather than an average.

Which colleges give automatic merit scholarships for ACT scores?

Mostly large public universities recruiting out-of-state students, plus less selective private colleges competing on price. Highly selective schools generally award need-based aid only, so a score affects admission there rather than cost. We only list schools that publish criteria you can actually quote.

Related tools and guides