Bethel University: merit scholarships by ACT score
Bethel University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 20 and reach $12,000 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 figure Bethel publishes on this grid is worded "up to", so the amounts are ceilings rather than promises. A student needs at least an 18 ACT or a 2.5 GPA to be eligible at all, and the award depends on living on campus — the commuter column pays substantially less at every tier. The figures come from Bethel's scholarship PDF.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
Academic Scholarship (score route)
Up to $6,000 a year / year
About $24,000 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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The published Bethel (TN) merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Bethel University’s own pages for the current cycle. Nothing here is estimated: where the school states a benefit rather than a figure, that is what the table says.
Living on campus
Each tier is reachable on an ACT score OR on a GPA. The Heritage award is the exception and requires both a 27 and a 3.75.
Up to $12,000 a year
Heritage Scholarship
ACT 27–36 · 3.75+
Up to $6,000 a year
Academic Scholarship (score route)
ACT 27–36 · any qualifying GPA
Up to $6,000 a year
Academic Scholarship
No score needed
Up to $4,000 a year
Academic Scholarship (score route)
ACT 25–26 · any qualifying GPA
Up to $4,000 a year
Academic Scholarship
No score needed
Up to $2,000 a year
Academic Scholarship (score route)
ACT 23–24 · any qualifying GPA
Up to $2,000 a year
Academic Scholarship
No score needed
Up to $1,000 a year
Academic Scholarship (score route)
ACT 20–22 · any qualifying GPA
Up to $1,000 a year
Academic Scholarship
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Heritage Scholarship | ACT 27–36 · 3.75+ | Up to $12,000 a year |
| Academic Scholarship (score route) | ACT 27–36 · any qualifying GPA | Up to $6,000 a year |
| Academic Scholarship | — | Up to $6,000 a year |
| Academic Scholarship (score route) | ACT 25–26 · any qualifying GPA | Up to $4,000 a year |
| Academic Scholarship | — | Up to $4,000 a year |
| Academic Scholarship (score route) | ACT 23–24 · any qualifying GPA | Up to $2,000 a year |
| Academic Scholarship | — | Up to $2,000 a year |
| Academic Scholarship (score route) | ACT 20–22 · any qualifying GPA | Up to $1,000 a year |
| Academic Scholarship | — | Up to $1,000 a year |
Source: Undergraduate scholarships (PDF) · verified 2026-10-24
Commuting
The same criteria paid at a markedly lower rate. A commuter with a 27 receives less than a resident with a 23.
Up to $8,000 a year
Heritage Scholarship
ACT 27–36 · 3.75+
Up to $3,600 a year
Academic Scholarship (score route)
ACT 27–36 · any qualifying GPA
Up to $3,600 a year
Academic Scholarship
No score needed
Up to $2,400 a year
Academic Scholarship (score route)
ACT 25–26 · any qualifying GPA
Up to $2,400 a year
Academic Scholarship
No score needed
Up to $1,200 a year
Academic Scholarship (score route)
ACT 23–24 · any qualifying GPA
Up to $1,200 a year
Academic Scholarship
No score needed
Up to $600 a year
Academic Scholarship (score route)
ACT 20–22 · any qualifying GPA
Up to $600 a year
Academic Scholarship
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Heritage Scholarship | ACT 27–36 · 3.75+ | Up to $8,000 a year |
| Academic Scholarship (score route) | ACT 27–36 · any qualifying GPA | Up to $3,600 a year |
| Academic Scholarship | — | Up to $3,600 a year |
| Academic Scholarship (score route) | ACT 25–26 · any qualifying GPA | Up to $2,400 a year |
| Academic Scholarship | — | Up to $2,400 a year |
| Academic Scholarship (score route) | ACT 23–24 · any qualifying GPA | Up to $1,200 a year |
| Academic Scholarship | — | Up to $1,200 a year |
| Academic Scholarship (score route) | ACT 20–22 · any qualifying GPA | Up to $600 a year |
| Academic Scholarship | — | Up to $600 a year |
Source: Undergraduate scholarships (PDF) · verified 2026-10-24
Does Bethel (TN) superscore for scholarships?
Not stated in the scholarship PDF, so a student planning a retake should confirm in writing which composite the thresholds are read against.
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 Bethel (TN)’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.
Where these numbers came from
Every figure on this page was read from Bethel 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.
- The dorm column pays well above the commuter column at every tier — $6,000 against $3,600 at the top, $4,000 against $2,400 below it.
- A commuter with a 27 ACT is paid less than a resident with a 23.
- Every tier except the Heritage is an either/or: an ACT score or a GPA, not both.
- The Heritage award requires a 27 AND a 3.75 and doubles the rung beneath it, so a 3.74 moving to a 3.75 with a 27 in hand is the most valuable boundary on the page.
- Eligibility floors are an 18 ACT or a 2.5 GPA. Below both there is no award on this grid.
- Every amount is published as "up to", so the figures are ceilings.
- The Hendrix full-ride award is a competition, not a grid rung.
- The PDF publishes no renewal condition and no entry year.
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 Bethel University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Bethel (TN)?
Automatic merit aid at Bethel University starts at an ACT composite of 20, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $12,000 a year at the top of the 2 grids it publishes. The bands are steps rather than a slope, so the only score that matters is the next threshold above where you are now.
Is Bethel (TN) test-optional?
The scholarship PDF names an 18 ACT as a scholarship eligibility floor but does not state the admission requirement, so nothing is claimed about admission here. For merit aid the answer is different: a score is an alternative route to every tier, so it can only help: a 27 reaches the same rung as a 3.75 GPA. The one award that needs both is the Heritage, which requires a 27 AND a 3.75 and pays double the tier below it. 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 Bethel (TN)?
On Bethel (TN)'s published grid for the current cycle, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Living on campus — Academic Scholarship (score route) at $6,000 a year, about $24,000 over four years if it renews; Commuting — Academic Scholarship (score route) at $3,600 a year, about $14,400 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at Bethel (TN)?
The most valuable single point on Bethel (TN)'s published grid is 26 to 27, at a 3.75 GPA: it moves the award by $6,000 a year, or $24,000 across a four-year degree on the Living on campus grid. 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 Bethel (TN) superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated in the scholarship PDF, so a student planning a retake should confirm in writing which composite the thresholds are read against.
Is this Bethel (TN) scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Bethel 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 Bethel (TN). The question is whether you can move it.
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