Belhaven University: merit scholarships by ACT score
Belhaven University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 18 and reach $17,500 a year. Because the bands are steps rather than a slope, one point is worth nothing inside a band and the whole step at the edge of one.
Enter a score and a GPA below to see which band it actually lands in, what that band pays, and exactly how many points the next one needs.
Read this first
Every Belhaven amount is published as a RANGE and the page does not say what decides where a student lands in it — the figures here are the assured low end. $5,000 of each award is earmarked for campus housing, and no commuter figure is published, so a student living at home should expect less. The page never uses the word automatic, so confirm the award in writing.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
President's Scholarship
$17,500–$18,000 a year ($5,000 toward campus housing, the remainder toward educational expenses) / year
About $70,000 over four years, if it renews.
There is no higher band to reach at this GPA — more points would not change the award here. They may still matter for admission, for honours programmes, or at other schools on the list.
Knowing where a score sits is the easy part. Moving it starts with knowing exactly which questions they're being missed, and why.
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Can you get merit aid at Belhaven without an ACT score?
Yes. A score is optional and it is worth real money. The no-test Advantage Scholarship starts at $14,000 a year; a 20 with a 2.5 reaches $15,000, and a 26 with a 3.5 reaches $17,500. So a score is worth $3,500 a year at the top of this grid, and nothing below an 18.
Read the two columns in the grid below as a trade. The same award is reachable either way — with a score at a lower GPA, or with no score at a higher one. A score is worth real money to a student whose GPA sits under the test-optional line, and worth little to one comfortably above it.
“A high school cumulative GPA of 3.5 or above / An ACT of 26 or above”
The published Belhaven merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Belhaven University’s own pages for 2027-28 entry. Nothing here is estimated: where the school states a benefit rather than a figure, that is what the table says.
First-year scholarships
Each tier needs both a GPA and a score, except the Advantage Scholarship, which needs no score at all. The thresholds are floors, so a strong score with a middling GPA lands on Dean's rather than on nothing.
$17,500–$18,000 a year ($5,000 toward campus housing, the remainder toward educational expenses)
President's Scholarship
ACT 26–36 · 3.50+
Without a score: not available
$15,000–$17,000 a year ($5,000 toward campus housing, the remainder toward educational expenses)
Dean's Scholarship
ACT 20–36 · 2.50+
Without a score: not available
$14,000–$15,500 a year ($5,000 toward campus housing, the remainder toward educational expenses)
Achievement Grant
ACT 18–19 · 2.50+
Without a score: not available
$14,000–$15,500 a year ($5,000 toward campus housing, the remainder toward educational expenses)
Advantage Scholarship (no test score)
No score needed · GPA 2.75
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| President's Scholarship | ACT 26–36 · 3.50+ | not available | $17,500–$18,000 a year ($5,000 toward campus housing, the remainder toward educational expenses) |
| Dean's Scholarship | ACT 20–36 · 2.50+ | not available | $15,000–$17,000 a year ($5,000 toward campus housing, the remainder toward educational expenses) |
| Achievement Grant | ACT 18–19 · 2.50+ | not available | $14,000–$15,500 a year ($5,000 toward campus housing, the remainder toward educational expenses) |
| Advantage Scholarship (no test score) | — | GPA 2.75 | $14,000–$15,500 a year ($5,000 toward campus housing, the remainder toward educational expenses) |
Source: First-year scholarships — 2027-28 rates · verified 2026-10-24
Does Belhaven superscore for scholarships?
Not stated. Belhaven names ACT thresholds but does not say which composite it reads, so a student planning a retake should confirm in writing.
With nothing published, plan for the stricter reading: look up your best single sitting in the grid above, work out your superscore as well, and ask Belhaven’s financial aid office which one they read before you count on the higher band.
Comparing schools? See which colleges superscore for scholarships — 66 of 501 commit to it, 52 say they do not, and the rest never say.
Belhaven scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Early Acceptance (decision by December 15, adds $1,500) | December 1 |
| Priority application | June 1 |
| Distinguished Merit Scholarship (competitive) | March 1 |
Scores take roughly two to four weeks to arrive, and official reports sent to schools can take longer, so the last useful test date is several weeks before the printed deadline. Check which test dates still make it.
Where these numbers came from
Every figure on this page was read from Belhaven University’s own published pages, linked below with the date we last confirmed them. We do not estimate a missing band or interpolate a value.
- First-year scholarships — 2027-28 ratesverified 2026-10-24
- How to apply — test-optional policy and deadlinesverified 2026-10-24
- Every amount is a published range, not a figure. The numbers here are the assured low end of each range.
- $5,000 of each award is earmarked for campus housing. Belhaven publishes no commuter equivalent, so a student living at home should expect less than any figure on the grid.
- A score is worth $3,500 a year at the top: the no-test Advantage route starts at $14,000, and a 26 with a 3.5 starts at $17,500.
- Below an 18 a score is worth nothing here — the lowest test tier starts at 18, and the no-test route pays the same floor.
- The President's tier needs BOTH a 3.5 GPA and a 26 ACT. A 30 with a 3.2 lands on Dean's instead.
- The Dean's and President's thresholds are floors, so the tiers overlap and a student receives the better one they fully qualify for.
- The Achievement Grant uses a literal closed range, 18–19, rather than a floor.
- The Distinguished Merit Scholarship pays $25,000 living on campus but needs a 3.5 GPA, a 30 ACT and an interview, so it is not a band here.
- An older version of the page showed a 2.75 GPA floor for Dean's and Achievement; the live page says 2.50.
Check before you rely on it. Grids change by entry year and schools update them without notice. This page is a reproduction with a date on it, not a guarantee, and it is not financial aid advice. ClutchACT is not affiliated with Belhaven University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Belhaven?
Automatic merit aid at Belhaven University starts at an ACT composite of 18, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $17,500 a year at the top. The bands are steps rather than a slope, so the only score that matters is the next threshold above where you are now.
Is Belhaven test-optional?
A student may apply test-optional with a cumulative GPA of at least 2.75. Some majors, including Education and Nursing, still require scores. For merit aid the answer is different: a score is optional and it is worth real money. The no-test Advantage Scholarship starts at $14,000 a year; a 20 with a 2.5 reaches $15,000, and a 26 with a 3.5 reaches $17,500. So a score is worth $3,500 a year at the top of this grid, and nothing below an 18. Being admitted without a score and qualifying for money without a score are two separate questions.
How much is a 30 on the ACT worth at Belhaven?
On Belhaven's published grid for 2027-28 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for President's Scholarship at $17,500 a year, about $70,000 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at Belhaven?
The most valuable single point on Belhaven's published grid is 25 to 26, at a 3.5 GPA: it moves the award by $2,500 a year, or $10,000 across a four-year degree. The same point is worth less at other GPAs, and most points move nothing at all — the grid steps rather than slopes, which is why the only score worth aiming at is the next threshold.
Does Belhaven superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated. Belhaven names ACT thresholds but does not say which composite it reads, so a student planning a retake should confirm in writing.
When are Belhaven scholarship deadlines?
Early Acceptance (decision by December 15, adds $1,500): December 1. Priority application: June 1. Distinguished Merit Scholarship (competitive): March 1. The application and the official score report are both due by that date, and ACT scores take roughly two to four weeks to arrive — so the last useful test date is several weeks earlier than the deadline suggests.
Is this Belhaven scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Belhaven University's own published pages and last verified on 2026-10-24. The sources are linked at the bottom of the page with that date. Grids change by entry year, so check the source before relying on a figure for a decision.
Other schools to check
What to do next
You know what a score is worth at Belhaven. The question is whether you can move it.
A grid tells you the target. It does not tell you which questions are costing the points between here and there. That takes about three minutes to find out.
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