Madonna University: merit scholarships by ACT score
Madonna University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 22 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
Madonna publishes two alternative routes to every award, and both are in the grid below: a GPA alone, or a lower GPA together with an ACT score. A 3.8 with no score earns the same $14,000 St. Francis award as a 3.6 with a 28, so at Madonna a score is worth exactly two tenths of a GPA point at every tier. The rows marked 'ACT route' require BOTH numbers; the rows marked 'GPA route' require no score at all, and Madonna states that outright — 'you are not required to submit ACT/SAT scores to be considered for admission or merit-based awards'. Two caveats: Madonna describes merit consideration as happening 'during the holistic admission review process', so read the thresholds as the published qualification rather than the whole decision; and the award applies only to the Livonia campus, never to online programmes.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
St. Francis Scholarship (ACT 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.
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Can you get merit aid at Madonna without an ACT score?
Yes. Optional in the strongest and most useful sense: Madonna states in the same sentence that a score is not required for merit, AND publishes exactly what one is worth. Every award level has a GPA-only qualification and an alternative qualification that pairs a lower GPA with an ACT score two tenths below it. So a score never blocks an award here, and it can lift one — the $14,000 St. Francis award reaches down from a 3.8 to a 3.6 for a student with a 28.
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.
“Madonna University is test-optional. This means you are not required to submit ACT/SAT scores to be considered for admission or merit-based awards.”
The published Madonna merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Madonna 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.
Direct from High School merit scholarships
Automatic off the admission application and the FAFSA — 'The scholarship does not require a separate scholarship application.' Each award level appears twice below, once for the GPA-alone route and once for the lower-GPA-plus-ACT route Madonna publishes alongside it; a student qualifies on either and receives the better figure, not both. The affiliation awards (Alumni Legacy $2,000, Catholic High School $4,000, Performing Arts $3,000) are additive money with their own terms, not a second grid.
$14,000
St. Francis Scholarship (GPA route)
No score needed · GPA 3.80
$12,000
St. Clare Scholarship (GPA route)
No score needed · GPA 3.60
$10,000
St. Felix Scholarship (GPA route)
No score needed · GPA 3.40
$8,000
Blessed Mary Angela Scholarship (GPA route)
No score needed · GPA 3.20
$6,000
Sr. M Paula Tokarski Scholarship (GPA route)
No score needed · GPA 2.80
$14,000
St. Francis Scholarship (ACT route)
ACT 28–36 · 3.6+ GPA — both required on this route
Without a score: GPA 3.80
$12,000
St. Clare Scholarship (ACT route)
ACT 26–36 · 3.4+ GPA — both required on this route
Without a score: GPA 3.60
$10,000
St. Felix Scholarship (ACT route)
ACT 24–36 · 3.2+ GPA — both required on this route
Without a score: GPA 3.40
$8,000
Blessed Mary Angela Scholarship (ACT route)
ACT 22–36 · 3.0+ GPA — both required on this route
Without a score: GPA 3.20
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Francis Scholarship (GPA route) | — | GPA 3.80 | $14,000 |
| St. Clare Scholarship (GPA route) | — | GPA 3.60 | $12,000 |
| St. Felix Scholarship (GPA route) | — | GPA 3.40 | $10,000 |
| Blessed Mary Angela Scholarship (GPA route) | — | GPA 3.20 | $8,000 |
| Sr. M Paula Tokarski Scholarship (GPA route) | — | GPA 2.80 | $6,000 |
| St. Francis Scholarship (ACT route) | ACT 28–36 · 3.6+ GPA — both required on this route | GPA 3.80 | $14,000 |
| St. Clare Scholarship (ACT route) | ACT 26–36 · 3.4+ GPA — both required on this route | GPA 3.60 | $12,000 |
| St. Felix Scholarship (ACT route) | ACT 24–36 · 3.2+ GPA — both required on this route | GPA 3.40 | $10,000 |
| Blessed Mary Angela Scholarship (ACT route) | ACT 22–36 · 3.0+ GPA — both required on this route | GPA 3.20 | $8,000 |
Source: Scholarships and Grants — Merit-Based Scholarships table and test-optional statement · verified 2026-10-23
Does Madonna superscore for scholarships?
Not stated. The word 'superscore' appears nowhere on Madonna's scholarships page, its admission requirements page or its merit Terms and Conditions, and the grid says only '28+ ACT / 1300+ SAT' without saying whether that composite may be assembled across sittings. Since the ACT route is what reaches an award two tenths of a GPA point lower, the answer is worth $2,000 a year to a borderline student — so ask Admissions rather than assuming either way.
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 Madonna’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 Madonna 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 Grants — Merit-Based Scholarships table and test-optional statementverified 2026-10-23
- First-Year Student Merit-Based Scholarship Terms and Conditions (effective Fall 2024)verified 2026-10-23
- Admission Requirements — application requirements and test-optional policyverified 2026-10-23
- Federal and State Aid Programs — Michigan Achievement Scholarship, Tuition Grant, TIPverified 2026-10-23
- An ACT score is worth exactly two tenths of a GPA point at every tier, which makes this one of the few grids where the trade is legible. $14,000 needs a 3.8, or a 3.6 with a 28. $12,000 needs a 3.6, or a 3.4 with a 26. $10,000 needs a 3.4, or a 3.2 with a 24. $8,000 needs a 3.2, or a 3.0 with a 22. Below a 3.0 GPA the ACT column stops helping entirely — the $6,000 Sr. M Paula Tokarski award is GPA-only at 2.8+, and Madonna publishes no award at all below 2.8 for a student coming straight from high school.
- The 12-credit renewal rule is stricter than the usual one, and the exclusion list is where students lose it: 'Credits earned through Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB), College-Level Exam Program (CLEP), prior learning (e.g., transfer credits), course competency examinations and repeated credits do not count toward the full-time credits.' A student who arrives with dual-enrolment credit and then registers for nine graded credits is part-time for scholarship purposes that semester.
- The award is campus-locked and programme-locked: 'The scholarship can only be used toward the payment of costs incurred on the Livonia campus of Madonna University. The scholarship is not applicable or transferable to online programs or to any other college or university.' Moving a degree online forfeits it, and Madonna publishes a separate scholarship page for online undergraduates.
- The figure can be cut by other people's money. Madonna says the scholarship 'may be reduced if a student receives other grants, scholarships, or benefits restricted to tuition from outside agencies or third-party entities, or if a student's total federal, state, and other institutional awards would exceed the tuition/cost of attendance.' It is also a fixed dollar amount that never grows: it 'will not be increased on the basis of any potential increase in the tuition/cost of attendance over four years', nor adjusted if Madonna raises amounts for later cohorts. Four years of tuition inflation therefore erodes it.
- Madonna publishes no application or scholarship deadline, which is why the deadlines list here is empty — but the Terms and Conditions do set an unnamed one: 'The scholarship offer must be accepted by the deadline or funds may expire or be offered to other students. Late applications may not receive full consideration, regardless of eligibility.' That is a funds-exhaustion clause with no date attached, so the practical advice is to apply and accept early and ask Admissions for the date in writing. Deferring entry restarts the whole question: 'decisions on (1) admission, (2) scholarship and (3) need-based financial aid are not automatically approved for the new term'.
- Three affiliation awards are additive and keyed to who you are rather than to grades: Alumni Legacy ($2,000, a parent or grandparent is a Madonna graduate), Catholic High School ($4,000, for a Catholic high school graduate — a quarter of the St. Felix award for nothing but where you went) and Performing Arts ($3,000, at the director's discretion). Felician-Sponsored Ministries employees and their dependents get an award that 'Varies'. One hard exclusion applies: 'students can receive either affiliation scholarships or athletic scholarships, but not both.'
- The Michigan Achievement Scholarship, Michigan Competitive Scholarship and Michigan Tuition Grant are STATE money, not Madonna's, and none of them is in this grid — and at Madonna the confusion is almost built in, because the university's own prose puts them in the same sentence as its academic awards ('The Michigan Achievement Scholarship and Michigan Tuition Grant, in partnership with other federal grants and academic awards, can help those who...'), and its Commitment to Affordable Learning award is written in terms of a student receiving the maximum Pell Grant and the Michigan Achievement Scholarship. The Achievement Scholarship is specifically available at Michigan private colleges like Madonna, is applied for through the FAFSA, and is subject to state funding and state deadlines rather than Madonna's. Madonna also participates in both phases of the state Tuition Incentive Program (TIP) and in Michigan Promise programmes, which are likewise not institutional money.
- The FAFSA is a condition, not just a suggestion: 'All scholarship applicants are required to submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) (code 002282) to be considered for additional financial aid', and the merit Terms and Conditions list a complete admission application AND the FAFSA as the two things that constitute applying. A student who skips the FAFSA is testing a position Madonna has not published.
- Two groups read different numbers. Transfer students use a third column on the same table — 3.8+ for $14,000 down to a transfer-only Sr. M Raynelda Makarewicz award of $4,000 at a 2.5+ cumulative college GPA, which has no direct-from-high-school equivalent and so is not a band here. International students are told only that awards 'range from $4,000 to $14,000 per year, outlined in the chart above'. The merit Terms and Conditions carried here are dated 'Effective Fall 2024' and the table itself prints no entry year, so confirm the figures for the cycle you are applying in.
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 Madonna University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Madonna?
Automatic merit aid at Madonna University starts at an ACT composite of 22, 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 Madonna test-optional?
Optional, and Madonna has held the position since the pandemic and reconfirmed it since. 'ACT/SAT score(s) optional' is printed in the application requirements list itself, and admission runs on a holistic review built around the transcript and a required essay. Madonna publishes a typical admitted profile of a 2.8 cumulative high school GPA and no score at all. For merit aid the answer is different: optional in the strongest and most useful sense: Madonna states in the same sentence that a score is not required for merit, AND publishes exactly what one is worth. Every award level has a GPA-only qualification and an alternative qualification that pairs a lower GPA with an ACT score two tenths below it. So a score never blocks an award here, and it can lift one — the $14,000 St. Francis award reaches down from a 3.8 to a 3.6 for a student with a 28. 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 Madonna?
On Madonna's published grid for the current cycle, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for St. Francis Scholarship (ACT route) at $14,000 a year, about $56,000 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at Madonna?
The most valuable single point on Madonna's published grid is 21 to 22, at a 3.0 GPA: 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 Madonna superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated. The word 'superscore' appears nowhere on Madonna's scholarships page, its admission requirements page or its merit Terms and Conditions, and the grid says only '28+ ACT / 1300+ SAT' without saying whether that composite may be assembled across sittings. Since the ACT route is what reaches an award two tenths of a GPA point lower, the answer is worth $2,000 a year to a borderline student — so ask Admissions rather than assuming either way.
Is this Madonna scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Madonna 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.
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What to do next
You know what a score is worth at Madonna. The question is whether you can move it.
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