Morningside University: merit scholarships by GPA
Morningside University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid keyed to GPA — the ACT is not used. Awards start at a 3.3 GPA and reach $20,000 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
Read the 'ACT not used' label narrowly here. Morningside's Academic Scholarship — the $14,000 to $20,000 that decides the offer — is 'awarded based on your high school GPA' with no score threshold at all. But Morningside pays separately for a score: the ACT/SAT Incentive Scholarship adds a flat $500 a year for an ACT 20-23 and $1,500 a year for a 24 or better, on top of the GPA band, with scores due January 15, 2027. It is additive rather than an alternative, so it is in the notes and not in the table — adding it to a band would mean printing a combined figure Morningside never published. Two more things bend a real offer: living off campus before 91 credits cuts aid by $6,000 a year, and institutional funding is reduced if total gift aid would exceed the cost of attendance.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — a 3.60 GPA
Presidential Scholarship
$18,000 / year
About $72,000 over four years, if it renews.
Morningside 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 Morningside merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Morningside University’s own pages for 2027-28 entry. Nothing here is estimated: where the school states a benefit rather than a figure, that is what the table says.
Academic Scholarships
Automatic on admission for full-time, first-time undergraduates, with no application and no score requirement. A score is still worth submitting: the separate ACT/SAT Incentive Scholarship adds $500 a year at an ACT 20-23 and $1,500 a year at a 24 or above on top of these figures, and the $1,000 Visit Grant and $1,000 Alumni Grant stack too. Morningside states the stacking rule outright and names its one exception — only one Standout Grant from the three activity categories.
$20,000
Trustee Scholarship
No score needed
$18,000
Presidential Scholarship
No score needed
$16,000
Dean Scholarship
No score needed
$14,000
Founder Scholarship
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Trustee Scholarship | — | $20,000 |
| Presidential Scholarship | — | $18,000 |
| Dean Scholarship | — | $16,000 |
| Founder Scholarship | — | $14,000 |
Source: First-Year Scholarships — Academic Scholarships and Additional Grants, Fall 2027 entry · verified 2026-10-23
Does Morningside superscore for scholarships?
Not stated. The word superscore appears nowhere on Morningside's first-year scholarship page or in its 2027-2028 Financial Aid Guide, and Morningside publishes no undergraduate admission test policy at all. That leaves the one question a student would actually ask here unanswered: the ACT/SAT Incentive Scholarship pays at a 24, and Morningside does not say whether that 24 may be a best-of composite across sittings or has to come from one. Worth a phone call, because the gap between the two tiers is $1,000 a year.
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 Morningside’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.
Morningside scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Submit ACT/SAT scores for the ACT/SAT Incentive Scholarship | January 15, 2027 |
| Complete an official campus visit for the $1,000 Visit Grant | February 28, 2027 |
| Siouxland Proud, Mside Bound full-tuition program priority deadline | Dec. 7, 2026 |
| FAFSA deadline for the state Iowa Tuition Grant | July 1 |
| 2027-2028 FAFSA opens (Morningside's code is 001879) | October 1, 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 Morningside 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.
- First-Year Scholarships — Academic Scholarships and Additional Grants, Fall 2027 entryverified 2026-10-23
- Morningside University 2027-2028 Financial Aid Guide (PDF)verified 2026-10-23
- Undergraduate Financial Aid — federal and state grant listverified 2026-10-23
- The ACT does pay here, just not on the grid: the ACT/SAT Incentive Scholarship is a flat $500 a year for an ACT 20-23 (SAT 1030-1150) and $1,500 a year for an ACT 24+ (SAT 1160+), additive to the GPA band, with a hard score deadline of January 15, 2027. It is the only automatic ACT threshold Morningside publishes.
- Stacking is explicit and so is its one exception: 'All scholarships and grants are stackable, meaning they can be combined to maximize your financial aid package. However, students may only receive one Standout Grant from the three available categories.' The Standout Grants are Athletic (up to $10,000/yr), Visual & Performing Arts (up to $7,500/yr) and Mside Impact (up to $7,500/yr) — all ceilings rather than bands, all needing a visit, audition, coach meeting or application, so none are in the grid.
- Living off campus costs $6,000 a year: 'All Students who are approved and choose to live off-campus before reaching 91 credits will have their financial aid reduced by $6,000/year.' That is nearly a third of the top band.
- There is a hard ceiling over the whole package: 'Federal, state, and private grants/scholarships in combination with institutional funding should not exceed tuition, fees, housing, and food. If necessary, institutional funding will be reduced.' So a large state or outside award can shrink the Morningside scholarship rather than add to it — the stacking promise stops at cost of attendance.
- The Iowa Tuition Grant is STATE money and is kept out of the grid, but for an Iowa resident at an Iowa private it is the single biggest line after the Academic Scholarship: 'Iowa Tuition Grant - Up to $7,500/year', requiring Iowa residency, an SAI of $16,000 or less, and a FAFSA by July 1. It is also the reason an Iowa resident's offer looks nothing like an out-of-state offer at the same GPA.
- 'Siouxland Proud, Mside Bound' is a full-tuition package for 150 high school seniors from Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota, made up of federal, state and Morningside aid. It requires Pell eligibility, a FAFSA and an interest form, carries a Dec. 7, 2026 priority deadline, and Morningside labels it 'Limited availability' — so it is competitive and not a band.
- The $1,000 Visit Grant (official campus visit by Feb. 28, 2027, paid for four years) and the $1,000 Alumni Grant (a parent or grandparent with a Morningside bachelor's degree) are both automatic and additive, but neither carries an academic threshold, so neither is a grid row.
- A student with 27 or more transferable credits earned after high school is on a different schedule entirely: 'Students can not qualify for both Freshman and Transfer awards.' Online students and St. Luke's College students are excluded from these programs.
- The only other ACT threshold in Morningside's guide is federal rather than institutional — the TEACH Grant's 'Minimum GPA of 3.25 or 75th percentile on any ACT subscore', which converts to a loan if the four-year teaching commitment is not met.
- Morningside 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 Morningside University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Morningside?
Morningside University publishes a merit aid grid keyed to ACT score and GPA. See the tables on this page for the current bands.
Is Morningside test-optional?
Not recorded. Morningside publishes no undergraduate admission-requirements page — there is none in its sitemap, and its apply pages render no requirement text — so the dataset will not invent an admission stance. What is published is that a score is not needed for the money: the Academic Scholarship table reads GPA only, and a score pays separately. For merit aid the answer is different: optional, and quantified. The Academic Scholarship is decided on GPA alone, so a score cannot move the $14,000 to $20,000 band. A score instead triggers a separate flat award: $500 a year for an ACT 20-23, $1,500 a year for a 24 or above, added on top. That is why `meritUsesAct` is false here — it describes the grid, not the school — and why the figure is spelled out in the caveat rather than folded into a band. 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 Morningside?
On Morningside's published grid for 2027-28 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Presidential Scholarship at $18,000 a year, about $72,000 over four years if it renews.
Does Morningside superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated. The word superscore appears nowhere on Morningside's first-year scholarship page or in its 2027-2028 Financial Aid Guide, and Morningside publishes no undergraduate admission test policy at all. That leaves the one question a student would actually ask here unanswered: the ACT/SAT Incentive Scholarship pays at a 24, and Morningside does not say whether that 24 may be a best-of composite across sittings or has to come from one. Worth a phone call, because the gap between the two tiers is $1,000 a year.
When are Morningside scholarship deadlines?
Submit ACT/SAT scores for the ACT/SAT Incentive Scholarship: January 15, 2027. Complete an official campus visit for the $1,000 Visit Grant: February 28, 2027. Siouxland Proud, Mside Bound full-tuition program priority deadline: Dec. 7, 2026. FAFSA deadline for the state Iowa Tuition Grant: July 1. 2027-2028 FAFSA opens (Morningside's code is 001879): October 1, 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 Morningside scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Morningside 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
Morningside awards on GPA — but the ACT still decides what you're worth elsewhere.
Most schools in this comparison are score-keyed even though Morningside is not, so the same test still moves the money everywhere else on the list.
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