Central Michigan University: merit scholarships by ACT score
Central Michigan University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 22 and reach $8,250 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 band on this grid requires living on campus for freshman AND sophomore years — CMU imposes that on awards of $2,500 or more, and its lowest cell is $3,500, so there is no exception. The condition is published on a separate policies page, not beside the grid. CMU also prints 'Award values are subject to the availability of funds' directly under the table, the figures carry no unit on the grid page itself (per academic year comes from the policies page), and the page carries no cycle year. Nothing is published below a 3.0 GPA.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship
$6,000 / year
About $24,000 over four years, if it renews.
What the next points are worth
3 more points (a 32) moves you to Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship — $6,750 a year. That is $750 more a year, or $3,000 over four years.
The question isn't whether 3 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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Want to know what one more point would change? The Merit Plan prices the next point at every school.
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The published CMU merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Central Michigan 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.
Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship
Automatic on the admission application with no essay, recommendation or interview. The bottom row is CMU's own '<22 or no score' band, so the grid states what not testing is worth at every GPA.
$8,250
Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship
ACT 32–36 · 3.95-4.0 GPA
Without a score: not available
$7,500
Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship
ACT 25–31 · 3.95-4.0 GPA
Without a score: not available
$6,750
Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship
ACT 22–24 · 3.95-4.0 GPA
Without a score: not available
$6,000
Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 3.95
$7,250
Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship
ACT 32–36 · 3.8-3.94 GPA
Without a score: not available
$6,500
Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship
ACT 25–31 · 3.8-3.94 GPA
Without a score: not available
$5,750
Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship
ACT 22–24 · 3.8-3.94 GPA
Without a score: not available
$5,000
Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 3.80
$6,750
Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship
ACT 32–36 · 3.6-3.79 GPA
Without a score: not available
$6,000
Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship
ACT 25–31 · 3.6-3.79 GPA
Without a score: not available
$5,250
Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship
ACT 22–24 · 3.6-3.79 GPA
Without a score: not available
$4,500
Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 3.60
Show the other 8 published rows
$6,250
Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship
ACT 32–36 · 3.3-3.59 GPA
Without a score: not available
$5,500
Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship
ACT 25–31 · 3.3-3.59 GPA
Without a score: not available
$4,750
Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship
ACT 22–24 · 3.3-3.59 GPA
Without a score: not available
$4,000
Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 3.30
$5,750
Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship
ACT 32–36 · 3.0-3.29 GPA
Without a score: not available
$5,000
Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship
ACT 25–31 · 3.0-3.29 GPA
Without a score: not available
$4,250
Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship
ACT 22–24 · 3.0-3.29 GPA
Without a score: not available
$3,500
Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 3.00
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship | ACT 32–36 · 3.95-4.0 GPA | not available | $8,250 |
| Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship | ACT 25–31 · 3.95-4.0 GPA | not available | $7,500 |
| Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship | ACT 22–24 · 3.95-4.0 GPA | not available | $6,750 |
| Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship | — | GPA 3.95 | $6,000 |
| Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship | ACT 32–36 · 3.8-3.94 GPA | not available | $7,250 |
| Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship | ACT 25–31 · 3.8-3.94 GPA | not available | $6,500 |
| Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship | ACT 22–24 · 3.8-3.94 GPA | not available | $5,750 |
| Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship | — | GPA 3.80 | $5,000 |
| Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship | ACT 32–36 · 3.6-3.79 GPA | not available | $6,750 |
| Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship | ACT 25–31 · 3.6-3.79 GPA | not available | $6,000 |
| Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship | ACT 22–24 · 3.6-3.79 GPA | not available | $5,250 |
| Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship | — | GPA 3.60 | $4,500 |
| Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship | ACT 32–36 · 3.3-3.59 GPA | not available | $6,250 |
| Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship | ACT 25–31 · 3.3-3.59 GPA | not available | $5,500 |
| Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship | ACT 22–24 · 3.3-3.59 GPA | not available | $4,750 |
| Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship | — | GPA 3.30 | $4,000 |
| Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship | ACT 32–36 · 3.0-3.29 GPA | not available | $5,750 |
| Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship | ACT 25–31 · 3.0-3.29 GPA | not available | $5,000 |
| Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship | ACT 22–24 · 3.0-3.29 GPA | not available | $4,250 |
| Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship | — | GPA 3.00 | $3,500 |
Source: Scholarships for incoming freshmen and transfer students · verified 2026-10-21
Does CMU superscore for scholarships?
Not stated. CMU does allow an award to be raised by later scores submitted before the first term begins, but it publishes no superscore policy, so none is recorded.
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 CMU’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.
CMU scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Apply by this date for priority consideration | December 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 Central Michigan 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.
- Scholarships for incoming freshmen and transfer studentsverified 2026-10-21
- Scholarship Policies — unit, housing requirement and stackingverified 2026-10-21
- How to apply — test policyverified 2026-10-21
- The two-year on-campus requirement applies to every band, because CMU sets the threshold at $2,500 and the grid starts at $3,500.
- At a 3.6-3.79 GPA, a 32 is worth $2,250 a year more than not testing — $9,000 over four years.
- The 30-credit renewal requirement excludes CLEP, AP, IB and dual-enrolment credit, which catches students arriving with credit banked.
- An award can be raised by a later transcript or score, but only before the first semester starts, and never lowered.
- Full-tuition awards such as Centralis cannot be combined with Maroon and Gold, and a student may hold at most two renewable merit scholarships.
- CMU's international grid is GPA-only with no ACT component, and its President's Award there is a resident-tuition-rate benefit rather than a figure.
- The Michigan Achievement Scholarship and CMU Tuition Advantage are need-based state and institutional programmes, kept out of this grid.
- CMU publishes its admitted-class averages clearly labelled as averages and does not dress them as thresholds.
- CMU is silent on the Enhanced ACT.
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 Central Michigan University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at CMU?
Automatic merit aid at Central Michigan University starts at an ACT composite of 22, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $8,250 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 CMU test-optional?
Test-optional, and CMU is explicit that a student can earn both admission and merit on GPA alone. Homeschooled applicants and those from schools that do not issue grades are the exception and must submit a score. For merit aid the answer is different: considered and strictly one-directional. CMU re-evaluates on updated transcripts or scores before the first term and says the result 'may result in a higher scholarship but not a lower one'. 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 CMU?
On CMU's published grid for the current cycle, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Maroon and Gold Merit Scholarship at $6,000 a year, about $24,000 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at CMU?
The most valuable single point on CMU's published grid is 21 to 22, at a 3.0 GPA: it moves the award by $750 a year, or $3,000 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 CMU superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated. CMU does allow an award to be raised by later scores submitted before the first term begins, but it publishes no superscore policy, so none is recorded.
When are CMU scholarship deadlines?
Apply by this date for priority consideration: December 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 CMU scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Central Michigan University's own published pages and last verified on 2026-10-21. 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 CMU. 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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