John Brown University: merit scholarships by ACT score
John Brown University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 20 and reach $14,000 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
JBU uses SUPERSCORES and applies a ratchet: it looks at the GPA and the superscore and uses 'the option that provides the best result', so submitting a score can only raise an award. Above this ladder — a 3.9 GPA or a 29 ACT — JBU publishes no figure at all, only an invitation to a Scholarship Competition with its own admission deadline of October 22 for the autumn event, so the strongest applicants face a deadline the rest of the grid does not. Renewal needs a 3.0. The page carries no cycle year.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
← Drag either slider to your own numbers
Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
Academic Scholarship (superscore route)
$14,000 / year
About $56,000 over four years, if it renews.
There is no higher band to reach at this GPA — more points would not change the award here. They may still matter for admission, for honours programmes, or at other schools on the list.
Knowing where a score sits is the easy part. Moving it starts with knowing exactly which questions they're being missed, and why.
Free preview of the top schools · the full ranked list, with deadlines, is $19.
Want to know what one more point would change? The Merit Plan prices the next point at every school.
Email me every school that pays at a 29 and 3.60
This page is one school. We have read the published grids at 501, and the email sends the ten that pay you most — five public, five private — with what each one awards. No account.
One email with your breakdown, plus occasional ACT tips. Unsubscribe in one tap.
Free · no account, no card · the first school is on this screen
Can you get merit aid at John Brown without an ACT score?
Yes. Optional and never harmful. JBU considers the GPA and the superscore together and uses whichever produces the better result, so a score can lift a student a band and cannot drop them one.
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.
“JBU will consider your high school GPA and superscore for the ACT, SAT and CLT (should you submit them) to determine your eligibility for a merit scholarship”
The published John Brown merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from John Brown 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.
Academic scholarships, first-time college students
No scholarship application: apply for admission and optionally submit official test scores. Above the top row here, a 3.9 GPA or 29 ACT earns an invitation to JBU's Scholarship Competition instead of a published amount.
$14,000
Academic Scholarship (GPA route)
No score needed · GPA 3.80
$14,000
Academic Scholarship (superscore route)
ACT 28–36 · ACT superscore 28+ — no GPA required on this route
Without a score: not available
$13,000
Academic Scholarship (GPA route)
No score needed · GPA 3.70
$13,000
Academic Scholarship (superscore route)
ACT 27–36 · ACT superscore 27+ — no GPA required on this route
Without a score: not available
$11,000
Academic Scholarship (GPA route)
No score needed · GPA 3.60
$11,000
Academic Scholarship (superscore route)
ACT 26–36 · ACT superscore 26+ — no GPA required on this route
Without a score: not available
$9,000
Academic Scholarship (GPA route)
No score needed · GPA 3.40
$9,000
Academic Scholarship (superscore route)
ACT 24–36 · ACT superscore 24+ — no GPA required on this route
Without a score: not available
$8,000
Academic Scholarship (GPA route)
No score needed · GPA 3.20
$8,000
Academic Scholarship (superscore route)
ACT 21–36 · ACT superscore 21+ — no GPA required on this route
Without a score: not available
$7,000
Academic Scholarship (GPA route)
No score needed · GPA 3.00
$7,000
Academic Scholarship (superscore route)
ACT 20–36 · ACT superscore 20+ — no GPA required on this route
Without a score: not available
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academic Scholarship (GPA route) | — | GPA 3.80 | $14,000 |
| Academic Scholarship (superscore route) | ACT 28–36 · ACT superscore 28+ — no GPA required on this route | not available | $14,000 |
| Academic Scholarship (GPA route) | — | GPA 3.70 | $13,000 |
| Academic Scholarship (superscore route) | ACT 27–36 · ACT superscore 27+ — no GPA required on this route | not available | $13,000 |
| Academic Scholarship (GPA route) | — | GPA 3.60 | $11,000 |
| Academic Scholarship (superscore route) | ACT 26–36 · ACT superscore 26+ — no GPA required on this route | not available | $11,000 |
| Academic Scholarship (GPA route) | — | GPA 3.40 | $9,000 |
| Academic Scholarship (superscore route) | ACT 24–36 · ACT superscore 24+ — no GPA required on this route | not available | $9,000 |
| Academic Scholarship (GPA route) | — | GPA 3.20 | $8,000 |
| Academic Scholarship (superscore route) | ACT 21–36 · ACT superscore 21+ — no GPA required on this route | not available | $8,000 |
| Academic Scholarship (GPA route) | — | GPA 3.00 | $7,000 |
| Academic Scholarship (superscore route) | ACT 20–36 · ACT superscore 20+ — no GPA required on this route | not available | $7,000 |
Source: Scholarships — academic scholarship eligibility for first-time college students · verified 2026-10-21
Does John Brown superscore for scholarships?
Yes. Yes, and named in the sentence that defines eligibility. Combined with the ratchet — JBU uses whichever of GPA and superscore helps more — there is no downside to sitting the ACT again.
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.
John Brown scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Admission deadline for the autumn Scholarship Competition | October 22 |
| Autumn Scholarship Competition | November 1-2 |
| Admission deadline for the spring Scholarship Competition | January 22 |
| Spring Scholarship Competition | January 31-February 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 John Brown 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.
- The ratchet is the finding: JBU uses the better of the GPA and the superscore, so a score cannot lower an award.
- Above this ladder there is no published figure — a 3.9 GPA or a 29 ACT buys an invitation to compete, not an amount.
- A student may attend only one Scholarship Competition event.
- The GPA and ACT bands move together, so either measure can carry a student up the ladder.
- The step from 3.6 to 3.7 (or 26 to 27) is worth $2,000 a year, the largest single step on the ladder.
- JBU separately publishes an Arkansas-resident award requiring the FAFSA and the maximum Federal Pell Grant, which must be reapplied for each year.
- The page carries no cycle year.
- John Brown 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 John Brown University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at John Brown?
Automatic merit aid at John Brown University starts at an ACT composite of 20, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $14,000 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 John Brown test-optional?
Scores are explicitly optional — JBU's own application checklist reads 'Submit official test scores (optional)'. For merit aid the answer is different: optional and never harmful. JBU considers the GPA and the superscore together and uses whichever produces the better result, so a score can lift a student a band and cannot drop them 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 John Brown?
On John Brown's published grid for the current cycle, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Academic Scholarship (superscore route) at $14,000 a year, about $56,000 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at John Brown?
The most valuable single point on John Brown's published grid is 25 to 26, at a GPA of act superscore 26+ — no gpa required on this route: 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 John Brown superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Yes. Yes, and named in the sentence that defines eligibility. Combined with the ratchet — JBU uses whichever of GPA and superscore helps more — there is no downside to sitting the ACT again.
When are John Brown scholarship deadlines?
Admission deadline for the autumn Scholarship Competition: October 22. Autumn Scholarship Competition: November 1-2. Admission deadline for the spring Scholarship Competition: January 22. Spring Scholarship Competition: January 31-February 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 John Brown scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from John Brown 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 John Brown. 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.
Free · About 3 minutes · No account needed · Not affiliated with John Brown University