Elmhurst University: merit scholarships by GPA
Elmhurst University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid keyed to GPA — the ACT is not used. Awards start at a 3.0 GPA and reach $28,000 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 GPA is WEIGHTED on a 4.0 scale, so the top rung at 4.20 is unreachable without weighting — read the weighted number off your transcript, not the unweighted one. Elmhurst does not state whether these amounts are annual or a total. Awards also consider grade patterns and curriculum strength, so the grid is the published schedule rather than a purely mechanical one.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — a 3.60 GPA
Academic Scholarship (Elmhurst publishes no tier name)
$24,000 / year
About $96,000 over four years, if it renews.
Elmhurst 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 Elmhurst merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Elmhurst University’s own pages for Fall 2027 entry. Nothing here is estimated: where the school states a benefit rather than a figure, that is what the table says.
First-year students starting Fall 2027
Keyed to a WEIGHTED high school GPA on a 4.0 scale. Every admitted student reaches a rung — the lowest has no floor.
$28,000
Academic Scholarship (Elmhurst publishes no tier name)
No score needed
$26,000
Academic Scholarship (Elmhurst publishes no tier name)
No score needed
$24,000
Academic Scholarship (Elmhurst publishes no tier name)
No score needed
$22,000
Academic Scholarship (Elmhurst publishes no tier name)
No score needed
$18,000
Academic Scholarship (Elmhurst publishes no tier name)
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Academic Scholarship (Elmhurst publishes no tier name) | — | $28,000 |
| Academic Scholarship (Elmhurst publishes no tier name) | — | $26,000 |
| Academic Scholarship (Elmhurst publishes no tier name) | — | $24,000 |
| Academic Scholarship (Elmhurst publishes no tier name) | — | $22,000 |
| Academic Scholarship (Elmhurst publishes no tier name) | — | $18,000 |
Source: Scholarships and other awards — Fall 2027 first-year grid · verified 2026-10-24
Does Elmhurst superscore for scholarships?
Not stated, and it would not move the published grid, which uses no test score.
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 Elmhurst’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 Elmhurst 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 and other awards — Fall 2027 first-year gridverified 2026-10-24
- First-year admission requirements — test policyverified 2026-10-24
- The GPA is WEIGHTED. The top rung at 4.20 cannot be reached on an unweighted scale at all.
- Elmhurst says a test-optional application carries the same scholarship opportunities as a standard one, which is a direct answer most schools never give.
- The Fall 2027 tiers have no award names — the page prints GPA windows against amounts only.
- The lowest rung has no floor ("2.99 or lower"), so every admitted student reaches at least $18,000.
- The page does not state whether the amounts are annual or a four-year total.
- Awards also consider grade patterns, level of curriculum, strength of the core curriculum and dual credit, so the grid is not purely mechanical.
- Spring 2027 entrants are offered a different, NAMED set of tiers — Presidential $26,000, Dean's $24,000, Founders $22,000, Trustee $18,000, Blue & White $14,000 — with no GPA criteria published, so those are not bands here.
- Students in the online nursing programmes are not eligible.
- Talent and music awards need an audition or portfolio review, so they are competitive rather than part of this grid.
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 Elmhurst University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Elmhurst?
Elmhurst University publishes a merit aid grid keyed to ACT score and GPA. See the tables on this page for the current bands.
Is Elmhurst test-optional?
A score is not needed to be considered for admission. For merit aid the answer is different: elmhurst states outright that a test-optional application and a standard one carry the same scholarship opportunities, and no rung of the grid names a score. So not testing costs nothing on this grid — though the page does say writing skills or test scores are among the things considered alongside GPA. 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 Elmhurst?
On Elmhurst's published grid for Fall 2027 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Academic Scholarship (Elmhurst publishes no tier name) at $24,000 a year, about $96,000 over four years if it renews.
Does Elmhurst superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated, and it would not move the published grid, which uses no test score.
Is this Elmhurst scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Elmhurst 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
Elmhurst awards on GPA — but the ACT still decides what you're worth elsewhere.
Most schools in this comparison are score-keyed even though Elmhurst is not, so the same test still moves the money everywhere else on the list.
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