California Baptist University: merit scholarships by GPA
California Baptist University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid keyed to GPA — the ACT is not used. Awards start at a 2.95 GPA and reach $18,000 a year. Because the bands are steps rather than a slope, a hundredth of a GPA point is worth nothing inside a band and the whole step at the edge of one.
Enter a GPA below to see which band it actually lands in, what that band pays, and what the next band needs.
Read this first
The posted grid applies to students enrolling for the first time in Fall 2026, the cycle now under way; CBU has not published a Fall 2027 grid, so a student applying for next fall should expect these figures to be restated. The page also does not say explicitly that the amounts are per year, and full-time, housing and stacking rules are not stated.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — a 3.60 GPA
Dean's Scholarship
$16,000 a year / year
About $64,000 over four years, if it renews.
CBU awards this on GPA alone, so an ACT score does not change it. A higher score can still matter for admission, for honours programmes, and at other schools on the list — but not for this award.
The ACT doesn't move the money here — but it still decides admission, honours eligibility, and what they is worth at the other schools on the list, where most awards are score-keyed.
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The published CBU merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from California Baptist University’s own pages for Fall 2026 entry. Nothing here is estimated: where the school states a benefit rather than a figure, that is what the table says.
First-time freshman academic scholarships
Read on a cumulative weighted GPA, so honours and AP coursework count. Guaranteed when the GPA requirement is met.
$18,000 a year
Trustees' Scholarship
No score needed
$17,000 a year
President's Scholarship
No score needed
$16,000 a year
Dean's Scholarship
No score needed
$14,000 a year
Director's Scholarship
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Trustees' Scholarship | — | $18,000 a year |
| President's Scholarship | — | $17,000 a year |
| Dean's Scholarship | — | $16,000 a year |
| Director's Scholarship | — | $14,000 a year |
Source: Scholarships and grants · verified 2026-10-24
Does CBU superscore for scholarships?
Not applicable — CBU reads no score for admission or for this grid.
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 CBU’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 California Baptist 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.
- CBU uses the word guaranteed, which almost no California institution in this dataset does.
- The floor is a 2.95, and it pays $14,000 a year.
- The GPA is cumulative and weighted, so honours and AP coursework count toward every rung.
- The whole ladder spans $4,000 a year, so clearing 2.95 matters far more than climbing above it.
- The 3.29-to-3.30 step is the largest, worth $2,000 a year.
- No ACT score affects any rung.
- Renewal needs only a 2.0, which is among the easier conditions in this dataset.
- The posted grid is for Fall 2026 entry, not Fall 2027.
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 California Baptist University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at CBU?
California Baptist University publishes a merit aid grid keyed to ACT score and GPA. See the tables on this page for the current bands.
Is CBU test-optional?
CBU states that test scores are no longer considered in the admission decision, so a score neither helps nor hurts the application. For merit aid the answer is different: the grid names no ACT or SAT anywhere. A student with no score reaches the $18,000 top rung at a weighted 4.0 exactly as a 36 would. 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 CBU?
On CBU's published grid for Fall 2026 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Dean's Scholarship at $16,000 a year, about $64,000 over four years if it renews.
Does CBU superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not applicable — CBU reads no score for admission or for this grid.
Is this CBU scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from California Baptist 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
CBU awards on GPA — but the ACT still decides what you're worth elsewhere.
Most schools in this comparison are score-keyed even though CBU is not, so the same test still moves the money everywhere else on the list.
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