Marshall University: merit scholarships by ACT score
Marshall University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 30 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
At Marshall the ACT buys exactly one thing: the step up to Level 1, which needs a 3.9 GPA and a 30. Levels 2, 3 and 4 publish no score requirement at all, so below Level 1 a higher ACT adds nothing. These figures are also LAST-DOLLAR ceilings — Marshall adjusts them against other grants, scholarships and waivers, so the amount received can be less than the amount published.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
← Drag either slider to your own numbers
Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
John Marshall Level 3
$2,000 / year
About $8,000 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
The published Marshall merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Marshall University’s own pages for 2026-27 entry. Nothing here is estimated: where the school states a benefit rather than a figure, that is what the table says.
West Virginia residents
The resident rate. Marshall's awards are last-dollar, so these are maximums rather than additive cash.
$5,500
John Marshall Level 1
ACT 30–36 · 3.9
Without a score: not available
$3,000
John Marshall Level 2
No score needed · GPA 3.80
$2,000
John Marshall Level 3
No score needed · GPA 3.50
$1,250
John Marshall Level 4
No score needed · GPA 3.00
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Marshall Level 1 | ACT 30–36 · 3.9 | not available | $5,500 |
| John Marshall Level 2 | — | GPA 3.80 | $3,000 |
| John Marshall Level 3 | — | GPA 3.50 | $2,000 |
| John Marshall Level 4 | — | GPA 3.00 | $1,250 |
Source: Incoming First-time Freshmen Merit-based Scholarships · verified 2026-10-21
Metro rate — designated nearby out-of-state counties
'Metro' is Marshall's own residency class for nearby out-of-state counties, charged between the resident and non-resident rates. Marshall publishes the award difference but not the county list.
$8,000
John Marshall Level 1
ACT 30–36 · 3.9
Without a score: not available
$4,200
John Marshall Level 2
No score needed · GPA 3.80
$3,000
John Marshall Level 3
No score needed · GPA 3.50
$2,000
John Marshall Level 4
No score needed · GPA 3.00
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Marshall Level 1 | ACT 30–36 · 3.9 | not available | $8,000 |
| John Marshall Level 2 | — | GPA 3.80 | $4,200 |
| John Marshall Level 3 | — | GPA 3.50 | $3,000 |
| John Marshall Level 4 | — | GPA 3.00 | $2,000 |
Source: Incoming First-time Freshmen Merit-based Scholarships · verified 2026-10-21
Non-residents
Where the ACT is worth the most here: clearing a 30 with a 3.9 moves a non-resident from $9,000 to $14,000 a year.
$14,000
John Marshall Level 1
ACT 30–36 · 3.9
Without a score: not available
$9,000
John Marshall Level 2
No score needed · GPA 3.80
$7,000
John Marshall Level 3
No score needed · GPA 3.50
$5,000
John Marshall Level 4
No score needed · GPA 3.00
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Marshall Level 1 | ACT 30–36 · 3.9 | not available | $14,000 |
| John Marshall Level 2 | — | GPA 3.80 | $9,000 |
| John Marshall Level 3 | — | GPA 3.50 | $7,000 |
| John Marshall Level 4 | — | GPA 3.00 | $5,000 |
Source: Incoming First-time Freshmen Merit-based Scholarships · verified 2026-10-21
Does Marshall superscore for scholarships?
Yes. Yes, and unusually generously — Marshall combines the highest sub-scores across different test dates to build a superscore, and uses it whenever it beats the single-sitting composite. Note the exception: superscores are NOT used for its Honors College award.
“Marshall University also combines the highest sub-scores from different test dates (from the same test) to create a superscore total or composite.”
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.
Marshall scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| None published — Marshall states no application deadline for the John Marshall Scholarship | Not stated |
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 Marshall 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.
- Incoming First-time Freshmen Merit-based Scholarshipsverified 2026-10-21
- Undergraduate Catalog — admission and test policyverified 2026-10-21
- Last-dollar is the thing to understand here: Marshall says awards 'may be adjusted based on other grants, scholarships, waivers, or tuition assistance received'. The published figure is a ceiling.
- Only Level 1 names a score. A student at a 3.5 or 3.8 GPA gains nothing in this grid from a higher ACT.
- The renewal GPA rises after the first year, from 2.5 to 2.75 — easy to miss.
- The Honors College award adds $500 a year at a 3.5 GPA and a 26 ACT, but requires accepting admission to the Honors College, and superscores do not count toward it.
- The Alumni Legacy Tuition Reduction Scholarship is ACT-keyed but valued as a tuition-rate difference rather than a dollar figure, requires an active alumnus parent or grandparent, and cannot be combined with any other Marshall award.
- The scholarships do not apply to distance-education programmes.
- Marshall's transfer awards are GPA-only, with no ACT component at all.
- Marshall 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 Marshall University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Marshall?
Automatic merit aid at Marshall University starts at an ACT composite of 30, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $14,000 a year at the top of the 3 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 Marshall test-optional?
Not required. A 3.0 GPA is admitted without scores and without conditions; with a score the bar is a 2.00 GPA and a 19 ACT. For merit aid the answer is different: considered rather than required, because only Level 1 uses a score. Where a score is used it must be official — Marshall does not accept self-reported scores for merit. 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 Marshall?
On Marshall's published grid for 2026-27 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for West Virginia residents — John Marshall Level 3 at $2,000 a year, about $8,000 over four years if it renews; Metro rate — designated nearby out-of-state counties — John Marshall Level 3 at $3,000 a year, about $12,000 over four years if it renews; Non-residents — John Marshall Level 3 at $7,000 a year, about $28,000 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at Marshall?
The most valuable single point on Marshall's published grid is 29 to 30, at a 3.9 GPA: it moves the award by $5,000 a year, or $20,000 across a four-year degree on the Non-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 in-state or out-of-state change merit aid at Marshall?
Yes. Marshall publishes separate grids: West Virginia residents run $1,250 to $5,500 a year, and Non-residents run $5,000 to $14,000 — a difference of $8,500 a year at the top. Check which grid applies to you before planning around a figure.
Does Marshall superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Yes. Yes, and unusually generously — Marshall combines the highest sub-scores across different test dates to build a superscore, and uses it whenever it beats the single-sitting composite. Note the exception: superscores are NOT used for its Honors College award. Marshall University also combines the highest sub-scores from different test dates (from the same test) to create a superscore total or composite.
When are Marshall scholarship deadlines?
None published — Marshall states no application deadline for the John Marshall Scholarship: Not stated. 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 Marshall scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Marshall 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 Marshall. 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 Marshall University