McDaniel College: merit scholarships by GPA
McDaniel College 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 $33,000 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
McDaniel's merit table is keyed to high school GPA alone — no ACT or SAT score appears in it, and submitting a score cannot move the award. The two columns are a residency split, not a choice: living on campus pays $10,000 to $11,000 a year more than commuting at every band, and the same GPA is worth $33,000 or $22,000 depending only on where you sleep. Below a 2.99 GPA the table prints 'Contact your admissions counselor' rather than a figure, so there is no band here for a sub-3.0 GPA even though McDaniel's prose says merit awards start at $7,500. And McDaniel describes institutional scholarships as resting 'not only on academic achievement but on leadership, involvement, character and writing as well', so treat the table as the published floor of what a GPA earns rather than the whole decision.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — a 3.60 GPA
McDaniel Merit Scholarship
$30,000 / year
About $120,000 over four years, if it renews.
McDaniel 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 McDaniel merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from McDaniel College’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.
Living on campus
Awarded automatically off the admission application — McDaniel says there is no separate scholarship form. The $1,000-a-year Visit Incentive Grant is the one award McDaniel states is added on top of these figures; a Legacy or Green Terror Impact Scholarship replaces them instead.
$33,000
McDaniel Merit Scholarship
No score needed
$30,000
McDaniel Merit Scholarship
No score needed
$29,000
McDaniel Merit Scholarship
No score needed
$28,000
McDaniel Merit Scholarship
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| McDaniel Merit Scholarship | — | $33,000 |
| McDaniel Merit Scholarship | — | $30,000 |
| McDaniel Merit Scholarship | — | $29,000 |
| McDaniel Merit Scholarship | — | $28,000 |
Source: McDaniel Scholarships — Merit Scholarships for First-Year Students table · verified 2026-10-23
Commuting
The same four GPA rows, $10,000 to $11,000 lower at every step. McDaniel applies the commuter figure to its other institutional awards too, and reduces the award mid-degree if a resident student becomes a commuter.
$22,000
McDaniel Merit Scholarship
No score needed
$20,000
McDaniel Merit Scholarship
No score needed
$19,000
McDaniel Merit Scholarship
No score needed
$18,000
McDaniel Merit Scholarship
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| McDaniel Merit Scholarship | — | $22,000 |
| McDaniel Merit Scholarship | — | $20,000 |
| McDaniel Merit Scholarship | — | $19,000 |
| McDaniel Merit Scholarship | — | $18,000 |
Source: McDaniel Scholarships — Merit Scholarships for First-Year Students table · verified 2026-10-23
Does McDaniel superscore for scholarships?
Not stated — and at McDaniel the question does not arise. The word 'superscore' appears on neither the scholarship page nor the first-year admissions page, and since the merit table has no score axis at all, no combination of sittings changes the award.
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 McDaniel’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.
McDaniel scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Early Decision Application Deadline for fall semester | November 1 |
| Early Action I Application Deadline for fall semester | November 15 |
| Final deadline if you wish to be considered for the Direct-Entry Nursing Program, Dorsey Scholarship consideration, Lumen Scholars program, or our SASS Elevate Program | December 15 |
| Early Action II Application Deadline for fall semester | December 15 |
| Regular Decision Deadline for fall semester | February 1 |
| Preferred FAFSA Submission Deadline (and the hard cutoff for Maryland state aid) | March 1 |
| Regular Decision Final Deadline for fall semester | July 15 |
| Visit campus before applying to qualify for the doubled Visit Incentive Grant | Nov. 15, 2026 |
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 McDaniel College’s own published pages, linked below with the date we last confirmed them. We do not estimate a missing band or interpolate a value.
- McDaniel Scholarships — Merit Scholarships for First-Year Students tableverified 2026-10-23
- First-Year Student Admissions — test-optional policyverified 2026-10-23
- Important Dates & Deadlinesverified 2026-10-23
- Scholarship FAQ's — automatic consideration, combining and renewal rulesverified 2026-10-23
- Legacy Scholarship Program — service-based alternative to the merit tableverified 2026-10-23
- Visit Incentive Grant — the one award McDaniel says is added to meritverified 2026-10-23
- Financial Support for Maryland Students — state scholarships and grantsverified 2026-10-23
- Below a 2.99 GPA the table prints 'Contact your admissions counselor' in both money columns, so there is no published figure and no band here. McDaniel's prose says merit awards 'range from $7,500 to $33,000 annually' — a floor $20,500 below the lowest cell in the table, which is where a sub-3.0 GPA presumably lands. Ask the college; do not assume $28,000.
- Commuting is the single most expensive decision on this page: $11,000 a year at the top band, $10,000 at the bottom. McDaniel applies the same split to its Legacy and Green Terror Impact awards and states that a student who moves from resident to commuter status has the award cut from $33,000 to $22,000 mid-degree.
- You get one institutional award, not a stack. 'Admitted students will receive only one McDaniel Merit or Legacy Scholarship and these awards cannot be combined' — and the award also replaces any smaller McDaniel scholarship won earlier, such as a Summer Science Academy or Carroll County Grant award.
- The Legacy Scholarships (educator, military and first responder, health professional, public servant) and the Green Terror Impact Scholarship for children and grandchildren of McDaniel or Western Maryland College graduates all pay the top-band figures — $33,000 residential, $22,000 commuting — with no GPA in the criteria. A qualifying family connection reaches the top of this grid without a 3.90.
- The Visit Incentive Grant is the exception to the no-stacking rule and McDaniel says so outright: 'The Visit Incentive Grant totals $4,000 ($1,000/year) and is added to any merit scholarships a student may receive.' Visiting campus by Nov. 15, 2026 and before completing an application doubles it to $2,000 a year. It is additive money, so it is not a track or a band.
- The Dorsey Scholars Program (full tuition, room and board for four years) and the Presidential Scholarship are competitions with a December 15 application deadline, decided on an invitation to campus — not lookups. McDaniel states that a Dorsey or Presidential award 'completely replace[s]' a standing scholarship and that 'the scholarships are never added together'. Neither is in the grid.
- Carroll County, Maryland residents who finish the free Carroll County Scholars programme are 'guaranteed a college scholarship of $100,000 ($25,000 per year)' and can compete for full tuition. That is a residency-and-programme award with no GPA gate, so it sits outside the grid — and at $25,000 a year it is below the on-campus merit table at every band.
- Maryland's Guaranteed Access Grant and the Delegate and Senatorial Scholarships are state money, not McDaniel's, and none of it is in this grid. Two consequences worth knowing: all state aid needs the FAFSA by March 1, a deadline McDaniel says it cannot get an exception to; and a Guaranteed Access Grant — $18,000 for 2025-26 — can push total aid past direct costs, at which point McDaniel reduces its own need-based grant first, then Visit Grants, and touches the merit scholarship only as a last resort, 'never below the amount of the current year GA Grant'.
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 McDaniel College.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at McDaniel?
McDaniel College publishes a merit aid grid keyed to ACT score and GPA. See the tables on this page for the current bands.
Is McDaniel test-optional?
Test-optional, and stated plainly on McDaniel's first-year admissions page (cited here as mcdaniel-admissions). A score can be submitted but is never required, and McDaniel says a student who believes scores do not reflect their achievement 'can choose to omit test scores'. For merit aid the answer is different: not used. Every band on McDaniel's merit table is published against a high school GPA, and no ACT or SAT threshold appears anywhere on the scholarship page — the award is read off the transcript GPA. McDaniel does not publish a sentence addressing test scores for scholarships specifically, so the quote here is the table's own footnote, from the McDaniel Scholarships page, which names GPA as the thing that sets the amount. 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 McDaniel?
On McDaniel's published grid for the current cycle, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Living on campus — McDaniel Merit Scholarship at $30,000 a year, about $120,000 over four years if it renews; Commuting — McDaniel Merit Scholarship at $20,000 a year, about $80,000 over four years if it renews.
Does McDaniel superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated — and at McDaniel the question does not arise. The word 'superscore' appears on neither the scholarship page nor the first-year admissions page, and since the merit table has no score axis at all, no combination of sittings changes the award.
When are McDaniel scholarship deadlines?
Early Decision Application Deadline for fall semester: November 1. Early Action I Application Deadline for fall semester: November 15. Final deadline if you wish to be considered for the Direct-Entry Nursing Program, Dorsey Scholarship consideration, Lumen Scholars program, or our SASS Elevate Program: December 15. Early Action II Application Deadline for fall semester: December 15. Regular Decision Deadline for fall semester: February 1. Preferred FAFSA Submission Deadline (and the hard cutoff for Maryland state aid): March 1. Regular Decision Final Deadline for fall semester: July 15. Visit campus before applying to qualify for the doubled Visit Incentive Grant: Nov. 15, 2026. 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 McDaniel scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from McDaniel College'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
McDaniel awards on GPA — but the ACT still decides what you're worth elsewhere.
Most schools in this comparison are score-keyed even though McDaniel is not, so the same test still moves the money everywhere else on the list.
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