Cornerstone University: merit scholarships by GPA
Cornerstone University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid keyed to GPA — the ACT is not used. Awards start at a 2.5 GPA and reach $10,000 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
Cornerstone's academic scholarship table is keyed to WEIGHTED high school GPA alone — no ACT, SAT or CLT score appears in it, and Cornerstone says test scores 'are not required' for admission either. Two consequences worth planning around: the top Trustee's band starts at 4.3, so an unweighted 4.0 transcript lands on the $8,000 President's row rather than the $10,000 one; and the award is not frozen at the offer — 'Academic awards may increase through March 1 of your senior year when you submit an updated transcript.' Below a 2.50 GPA Cornerstone publishes no figure at all. These numbers also follow a 22% tuition cut Cornerstone made for 2024-2025, so read them against Cornerstone's own price rather than a higher sticker elsewhere.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — a 3.60 GPA
Dean's Scholarship
$4,000 / year
About $16,000 over four years, if it renews.
Cornerstone 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 Cornerstone merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Cornerstone 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 academic scholarships
Automatic off the admission application — 'No separate scholarship application is required' — and read off the weighted high school GPA. The President's Fellows Program ($10,000), Leadership Scholarship ($1,000), Missionary Family Scholarship ($1,000) and the Out-of-State Grant ($2,500) are separate awards with their own applications or residency conditions, so none of them is a band here.
$10,000
Trustee's Scholarship
No score needed
$8,000
President's Scholarship
No score needed
$5,000
Chancellor's Scholarship
No score needed
$4,000
Dean's Scholarship
No score needed
$2,000
Partners for Success Award
No score needed
$1,000
Cornerstone University Assistance
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Trustee's Scholarship | — | $10,000 |
| President's Scholarship | — | $8,000 |
| Chancellor's Scholarship | — | $5,000 |
| Dean's Scholarship | — | $4,000 |
| Partners for Success Award | — | $2,000 |
| Cornerstone University Assistance | — | $1,000 |
Source: On-Campus Undergraduate Scholarships & Grants — Academic Scholarships table (2027-2028) · verified 2026-10-23
Does Cornerstone superscore for scholarships?
Not stated, and at Cornerstone it cannot matter. The word 'superscore' appears on neither the scholarships page nor the admissions page, and because every merit band is a weighted-GPA band, no combination of test sittings changes the award.
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 Cornerstone’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.
Cornerstone scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Last date an updated transcript can RAISE your academic scholarship | March 1 of your senior year |
| Honors Program scholarship consideration — students must apply by | December 1 |
| Missionary Family Scholarship — must be admitted by this date for the upcoming fall, application deadline the same day | January 10 |
| Leadership Scholarship application deadline | January 15 |
| Enrollment deposit due (fall) | August 1 |
| Enrollment deposit due (spring) | January 15 |
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 Cornerstone 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.
- On-Campus Undergraduate Scholarships & Grants — Academic Scholarships table (2027-2028)verified 2026-10-23
- Admissions — requirements FAQ and test policyverified 2026-10-23
- The top band is effectively weighted-only. The Trustee's Scholarship row reads '4.3 & above' against a weighted high school GPA, so a student with a perfect unweighted 4.0 and no honours or AP weighting cannot reach the $10,000 row and lands on the $8,000 President's row instead. This lookup's GPA slider stops at 4.3, which is exactly Cornerstone's threshold and no higher.
- The award can go UP after it is offered. 'Academic awards may increase through March 1 of your senior year when you submit an updated transcript.' A first-semester-senior grade push that moves a 3.69 to a 3.70 is worth $1,000 a year here, or $4,000 over a degree — and it is the only school in this dataset that invites the re-read in writing.
- Below a 2.50 GPA the table simply stops: Cornerstone publishes no figure, and the FAQ's range confirms the floor — 'academic scholarships for incoming first-year students range from $1,000 to $10,000 per year based on GPA'. There is no band here for a sub-2.50 GPA, and no 'contact us' amount to infer one from.
- Michigan students at the lower end of the family-income range can have tuition fully covered, and this is the single biggest number on the page. The Cornerstone Commitment Grant means 'no out-of-pocket tuition' for a Michigan resident with a family AGI of $65,000 or less, or who qualifies for the full Federal Pell Grant and the maximum Michigan Achievement Scholarship regardless of AGI — but Cornerstone caps it so the total of institutional, state and federal gift aid 'will not exceed the cost of tuition', and says 'The amount of the Commitment Grant will not increase in future years.' That cap means a bigger merit award does not necessarily mean a bigger total for a Commitment Grant student.
- The Michigan Achievement Scholarship and the Michigan Tuition Grant are STATE money, not Cornerstone's, and neither is in this grid. The confusion matters more here than almost anywhere, because the Achievement Scholarship is specifically available at Michigan private colleges and because Cornerstone's own Commitment Grant eligibility is written in terms of 'the maximum Michigan Achievement Scholarship' — so the state award is woven into Cornerstone's offer language while remaining the state's money, applied for through the FAFSA and subject to state funding, not Cornerstone's.
- Two $1,000 awards carry a residency condition the merit bands do not: both the Leadership Scholarship (3.0 GPA, spiritual maturity and church involvement, apply by Jan. 15) and the Missionary Family Scholarship (3.0 GPA, families serving overseas, admitted and applied by Jan. 10) say 'Must live on campus to remain eligible.' Commuting forfeits them.
- The President's Fellows Program pays $10,000 a year — matching the top merit band — and is a mentorship cohort rather than a GPA lookup, with no published threshold. The Honors Program says only that 'Select Honors Program recipients may receive a scholarship' with awards varying and a December 1 application. Neither is automatic, so neither is a band.
- Three additive Cornerstone awards sit outside the grid and all require the FAFSA: the Out-of-State Grant ($2,500, for non-Michigan residents, who must also live on campus), the American Middle Class Grant ('up to $2,000 per year' for full-time students who do NOT receive the full Pell Grant) and the Cornerstone Influence Grant, which varies with the Student Aid Index. Transfer students read a shorter table that tops out at the $8,000 President's Scholarship for a 4.0 — there is no Trustee's row for transfers.
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 Cornerstone University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Cornerstone?
Cornerstone University publishes a merit aid grid keyed to ACT score and GPA. See the tables on this page for the current bands.
Is Cornerstone test-optional?
Optional, and Cornerstone names three tests rather than two — the CLT (Classic Learning Test) is accepted alongside the ACT and SAT. None is required; the academic requirements are a high school diploma or equivalent, plus college transcripts for transfers, with supplemental requirements on some degrees. For merit aid the answer is different: not used. Every row of the academic scholarship table is a weighted high school GPA band, Cornerstone's own FAQ answers the question as a GPA question, and no ACT, SAT or CLT number appears anywhere on the scholarships page. Sending a score cannot move this award — resending a better TRANSCRIPT can, up to March 1 of senior year. 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 Cornerstone?
On Cornerstone's published grid for 2027-28 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Dean's Scholarship at $4,000 a year, about $16,000 over four years if it renews.
Does Cornerstone superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated, and at Cornerstone it cannot matter. The word 'superscore' appears on neither the scholarships page nor the admissions page, and because every merit band is a weighted-GPA band, no combination of test sittings changes the award.
When are Cornerstone scholarship deadlines?
Last date an updated transcript can RAISE your academic scholarship: March 1 of your senior year. Honors Program scholarship consideration — students must apply by: December 1. Missionary Family Scholarship — must be admitted by this date for the upcoming fall, application deadline the same day: January 10. Leadership Scholarship application deadline: January 15. Enrollment deposit due (fall): August 1. Enrollment deposit due (spring): January 15. 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 Cornerstone scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Cornerstone University's own published pages and last verified on 2026-10-23. 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
Cornerstone awards on GPA — but the ACT still decides what you're worth elsewhere.
Most schools in this comparison are score-keyed even though Cornerstone is not, so the same test still moves the money everywhere else on the list.
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