Calvin University: merit scholarships by ACT score
Calvin University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 22 and reach $20,000 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
Calvin's table prints GPA, SAT, ACT and CLT columns against each award but never says in a sentence that they are alternatives; the reading here follows the table layout and Calvin's statement that test-optional applicants are judged on GPA alone. The bottom award is a $10,000 to $12,000 range, and its 3.0 floor comes from Calvin's guarantee rather than the table, which says only "3.49 and below". Calvin's two pages also give different deadlines for updated grades — May 1 on the scholarship page, April 30 on the admissions page.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
President's Scholarship — on a score
$18,000 a year / year
About $72,000 over four years, if it renews.
What the next points are worth
2 more points (a 31) moves you to Trustee's Scholarship — on a score — $20,000 a year a year. That is $2,000 more a year, or $8,000 over four years.
The question isn't whether 2 points is worth having. It's whether they can move them — which starts with knowing exactly which questions they're missing, and why.
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Can you get merit aid at Calvin without an ACT score?
Yes. A 31 reaches the $20,000 top award where the GPA route needs a 3.95 — so a student at a 3.5 with a 31 collects $20,000 against the $14,000 their transcript alone would pay.
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.
“For students who apply as test optional, only GPA will be used to determine an academic scholarship.”
The published Calvin merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Calvin 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.
Academic scholarships
A 3.0 guarantees an award. Each tier prints a GPA threshold and a score threshold side by side, and renews for a total of five years.
$20,000 a year
Trustee's Scholarship — on a score
ACT 31–36 · No GPA needed on the score route
Without a score: not available
$20,000 a year
Trustee's Scholarship — on GPA
No score needed · GPA 3.95
$18,000 a year
President's Scholarship — on a score
ACT 28–30 · No GPA needed on the score route
Without a score: not available
$18,000 a year
President's Scholarship — on GPA
No score needed · GPA 3.85
$16,000 a year
Provost's Scholarship — on a score
ACT 25–27 · No GPA needed on the score route
Without a score: not available
$16,000 a year
Provost's Scholarship — on GPA
No score needed · GPA 3.75
$14,000 a year
Dean's Scholarship — on a score
ACT 22–24 · No GPA needed on the score route
Without a score: not available
$14,000 a year
Dean's Scholarship — on GPA
No score needed · GPA 3.50
$10,000 to $12,000 a year
Faculty's Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 3.00
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trustee's Scholarship — on a score | ACT 31–36 · No GPA needed on the score route | not available | $20,000 a year |
| Trustee's Scholarship — on GPA | — | GPA 3.95 | $20,000 a year |
| President's Scholarship — on a score | ACT 28–30 · No GPA needed on the score route | not available | $18,000 a year |
| President's Scholarship — on GPA | — | GPA 3.85 | $18,000 a year |
| Provost's Scholarship — on a score | ACT 25–27 · No GPA needed on the score route | not available | $16,000 a year |
| Provost's Scholarship — on GPA | — | GPA 3.75 | $16,000 a year |
| Dean's Scholarship — on a score | ACT 22–24 · No GPA needed on the score route | not available | $14,000 a year |
| Dean's Scholarship — on GPA | — | GPA 3.50 | $14,000 a year |
| Faculty's Scholarship | — | GPA 3.00 | $10,000 to $12,000 a year |
Source: Academic scholarships — 2027-2028 · verified 2026-10-24
Does Calvin superscore for scholarships?
Not stated. With thresholds at 31, 28, 25 and 22, a student near any of them should ask directly.
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 Calvin’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.
Calvin scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Free application | November 1 |
| Named competitive scholarships | December 1, extended to January 20 |
| Updated GPA or test scores — Calvin's pages disagree | May 1, or April 30 |
| Appeals | July 8 |
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 Calvin 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.
- Academic scholarships — 2027-2028verified 2026-10-24
- Affordabilityverified 2026-10-24
- First-year studentsverified 2026-10-24
- Calvin says plainly that a 3.0 guarantees an academic scholarship.
- A 31 reaches the $20,000 top award; the GPA route needs a 3.95.
- A student at a 3.5 with a 31 collects $20,000 rather than the $14,000 their GPA alone pays.
- The score thresholds are 31, 28, 25 and 22 against GPA thresholds of 3.95, 3.85, 3.75 and 3.50.
- The bottom award is a $10,000 to $12,000 range rather than a figure.
- The GPA is unweighted, so honours coursework does not help cross rungs a tenth of a point apart.
- The award renews for a total of five years, not four.
- Calvin's table never states in words that GPA and score are alternatives; the reading here follows the layout.
- Its two pages give different deadlines for updated grades, May 1 and April 30.
- A National Merit Finalist add-on of $2,000 a year, and the named December 1 scholarships, are competitive and not bands here.
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 Calvin University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Calvin?
Automatic merit aid at Calvin University starts at an ACT composite of 22, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $20,000 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 Calvin test-optional?
And a submitted score is a parallel route to each award rather than an extra requirement. For merit aid the answer is different: a 31 reaches the $20,000 top award where the GPA route needs a 3.95 — so a student at a 3.5 with a 31 collects $20,000 against the $14,000 their transcript alone would pay. 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 Calvin?
On Calvin's published grid for 2027-28 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for President's Scholarship — on a score at $18,000 a year, about $72,000 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at Calvin?
The most valuable single point on Calvin's published grid is 24 to 25, on the row where it is largest: it moves the award by $2,000 a year, or $8,000 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 Calvin superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated. With thresholds at 31, 28, 25 and 22, a student near any of them should ask directly.
When are Calvin scholarship deadlines?
Free application: November 1. Named competitive scholarships: December 1, extended to January 20. Updated GPA or test scores — Calvin's pages disagree: May 1, or April 30. Appeals: July 8. 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 Calvin scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Calvin 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.
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What to do next
You know what a score is worth at Calvin. The question is whether you can move it.
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