Florida Atlantic University: merit scholarships by ACT score
Florida Atlantic University publishes merit aid criteria as a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 25 and reach $10,000 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
FAU states in four separate places that these awards are competitive and not guaranteed, and that meeting the criteria does not secure one. Treat the table as the threshold to be considered, not as money you can count on.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
No automatic award at this combination
A 29 with a 3.60 GPA does not reach the published grid under Non-Florida residents. That is not a verdict on admission — only on automatic merit.
Knowing where a score sits is the easy part. Moving it starts with knowing exactly which questions they're being missed, and why.
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The published Florida Atlantic merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Florida Atlantic 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.
Non-Florida residents
Open to US citizens and permanent residents. The top two tiers include the HOOT Scholarship, which FAU values at $27,000 over four years and which covers six credits a year of non-resident tuition.
$10,000
Spirit of Atlantic with HOOT
ACT 32–36 · 4.00
$8,000
Spirit of Atlantic with HOOT
ACT 29–36 · 3.90+
$1,000
Spirit of Atlantic
ACT 27–36 · 3.85+
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Spirit of Atlantic with HOOT | ACT 32–36 · 4.00 | $10,000 |
| Spirit of Atlantic with HOOT | ACT 29–36 · 3.90+ | $8,000 |
| Spirit of Atlantic | ACT 27–36 · 3.85+ | $1,000 |
Source: Freshman Scholarships · verified 2026-10-23
Florida residents
$5,000
FAU 100 / Spirit of Atlantic
ACT 32–36 · 4.00
$2,000
Spirit of Atlantic
ACT 29–36 · 3.90+
$1,000
Spirit of Atlantic
ACT 27–36 · 3.85+
$500
Spirit of Atlantic
ACT 25–36 · 3.70+
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| FAU 100 / Spirit of Atlantic | ACT 32–36 · 4.00 | $5,000 |
| Spirit of Atlantic | ACT 29–36 · 3.90+ | $2,000 |
| Spirit of Atlantic | ACT 27–36 · 3.85+ | $1,000 |
| Spirit of Atlantic | ACT 25–36 · 3.70+ | $500 |
Source: Freshman Scholarships · verified 2026-10-23
Does Florida Atlantic superscore for scholarships?
Yes. FAU superscores the ACT and, since the 2025-26 cycle, builds that composite from English, Mathematics and Reading only — Science is excluded. The policy is written for admission and FAU recalculates GPA 'for admission and scholarship purposes', but it does not say in so many words that the superscore carries to scholarships.
“The ACT composite score (or, if using multiple test attempts, the composite superscore) used by FAU for admissions will now only include the English, Mathematics, and Reading subsections.”
So the number that matters here is your superscore, not your best single test. Work out your superscore and look that score up in the grid above — it may sit a band higher than the one you have been planning around.
Comparing schools? See which colleges superscore for scholarships — 66 of 501 commit to it, 52 say they do not, and the rest never say.
Florida Atlantic scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Complete admissions application with test scores for merit consideration | 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 Florida Atlantic 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.
- Competitive, not guaranteed. FAU says so four times on the same page, including that awards depend on the competitiveness of the entering class.
- Both conditions must be met at every tier, and the GPA floor rises with the score — a 32 with a 3.9 is the second tier.
- A December ACT still counts. A February one does not, and FAU will not offer an award after a student enrols.
- Renewal needs 30 credits a year and 15 a term, stricter than the 24 and 12 most schools in this dataset use.
- FAU ignores ACT Science in its superscore, but Florida's Bright Futures requires a Science score — so a Florida student should still sit it even though FAU will not count it.
- FAU publishes both January 15 and January 14 as the deadline on the same page. The 15th appears twice and in the body copy.
- Bright Futures is a state-funded award, not FAU money, and is not in the grid above.
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 Florida Atlantic University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Florida Atlantic?
Automatic merit aid at Florida Atlantic University starts at an ACT composite of 25, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $10,000 a year at the top of the 2 grids it publishes. The bands are steps rather than a slope, so the only score that matters is the next threshold above where you are now.
Is Florida Atlantic test-optional?
FAU's admission test requirement is not stated separately, though scores are part of a complete file for scholarship consideration. For merit aid the answer is different: a score is required and the timing is strict: a December sitting counts, anything later does not, and no award is offered once a student has enrolled. Being admitted without a score and qualifying for money without a score are two separate questions.
How much is one more ACT point worth at Florida Atlantic?
The most valuable single point on Florida Atlantic's published grid is 28 to 29, at a 3.9 GPA: it moves the award by $7,000 a year, or $28,000 across a four-year degree on the Non-Florida residents grid. 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 Florida Atlantic superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Yes. FAU superscores the ACT and, since the 2025-26 cycle, builds that composite from English, Mathematics and Reading only — Science is excluded. The policy is written for admission and FAU recalculates GPA 'for admission and scholarship purposes', but it does not say in so many words that the superscore carries to scholarships. The ACT composite score (or, if using multiple test attempts, the composite superscore) used by FAU for admissions will now only include the English, Mathematics, and Reading subsections.
When are Florida Atlantic scholarship deadlines?
Complete admissions application with test scores for merit consideration: 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 Florida Atlantic scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Florida Atlantic 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
You know what a score is worth at Florida Atlantic. 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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