North Carolina Central University: merit scholarships by GPA
North Carolina Central 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 $7,500 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
The amounts are on NCCU's current page but the GPA attached to each tier appears only on a quick-guide PDF dated 2020, and that flyer disagrees with the live pages on renewal — 3.25 with two years of housing and community service on the flyer, 3.3 with first-year housing on the FAQ. The pages also contradict each other on whether the GPA is weighted. NCCU does not say whether the figures are annual, per semester or a total, and the FAQ describes the award as contributing toward any outstanding amount owed, which reads as last-dollar rather than additive. On-campus housing in the first year and an annual FAFSA by October 1 are required. Each tier is printed as a minimum and is read here as a floor.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
← Drag either slider to your own numbers
Example — a 3.60 GPA
Chancellor's Scholarship — Rising Eagle
$3,500 / year
About $14,000 over four years, if it renews.
NCCU 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.
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 NCCU without an ACT score?
Yes. A score is optional for 2027-28, but NCCU still prints the threshold it would have to clear — a 23 — and states that superscores are accepted. The award itself is described elsewhere as based on the cumulative GPA with test scores not required.
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.
“minimum SAT score of 1100 or ACT score of 23. (Superscores are accepted. Test scores are optional for those seeking the Chancellor's Scholarship for the 2027–2028 academic year.)”
The published NCCU merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from North Carolina Central 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.
Chancellor's Cycle of Success Scholarship
Not applied for: offered to selected students on the entering GPA. The tier thresholds come from the 2020 quick guide.
$7,500
Chancellor's Scholarship — Soaring Eagle
No score needed · GPA 3.75
$3,500
Chancellor's Scholarship — Rising Eagle
No score needed · GPA 3.50
$2,500
Chancellor's Scholarship — Eagle-In-Flight
No score needed · GPA 3.30
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chancellor's Scholarship — Soaring Eagle | — | GPA 3.75 | $7,500 |
| Chancellor's Scholarship — Rising Eagle | — | GPA 3.50 | $3,500 |
| Chancellor's Scholarship — Eagle-In-Flight | — | GPA 3.30 | $2,500 |
Source: Chancellor's Cycle of Success Scholarship · verified 2026-10-25
Does NCCU superscore for scholarships?
Yes. NCCU accepts a superscore against the printed 23, which matters for anyone submitting a score while it is optional.
“Superscores are accepted.”
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.
NCCU scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Confirm attendance | May 1 |
| FAFSA, annually | October 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 North Carolina Central 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.
- Chancellor's Cycle of Success Scholarshipverified 2026-10-25
- Success scholarships quick guide (PDF, 2020)verified 2026-10-25
- Selection guidelinesverified 2026-10-25
- Chancellor's Scholar FAQsverified 2026-10-25
- The amounts are on the current page; the GPA for each tier is only on a 2020 flyer.
- The gap between Soaring Eagle and Rising Eagle is $4,000 — more than Rising Eagle itself pays.
- A quarter of a GPA point, from a 3.50 to a 3.75, more than doubles the award.
- NCCU does not say whether the figures are annual, per semester or a total.
- The FAQ describes the award as contributing toward any outstanding amount owed, which reads as last-dollar.
- Deposits, mandatory fees and fines are excluded.
- A score is optional for 2027-28, but the printed threshold is an ACT 23 and superscores are accepted.
- The selection guidelines say "weighted or unweighted" while the FAQ says weighted.
- On-campus housing in the first year and an annual FAFSA by October 1 are required.
- The Cheatham-White Scholarship is fully funded but has its own selection process, asking a 4.0 with a 28, so it is not a band.
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 North Carolina Central University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at NCCU?
North Carolina Central University publishes a merit aid grid keyed to ACT score and GPA. See the tables on this page for the current bands.
Is NCCU test-optional?
NCCU's admission test policy is not quoted here; the scholarship pages address scores only for the award. For merit aid the answer is different: a score is optional for 2027-28, but NCCU still prints the threshold it would have to clear — a 23 — and states that superscores are accepted. The award itself is described elsewhere as based on the cumulative GPA with test scores not required. 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 NCCU?
On NCCU's published grid for 2027-28 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Chancellor's Scholarship — Rising Eagle at $3,500 a year, about $14,000 over four years if it renews.
Does NCCU superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Yes. NCCU accepts a superscore against the printed 23, which matters for anyone submitting a score while it is optional. Superscores are accepted.
When are NCCU scholarship deadlines?
Confirm attendance: May 1. FAFSA, annually: October 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 NCCU scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from North Carolina Central University's own published pages and last verified on 2026-10-25. 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
NCCU awards on GPA — but the ACT still decides what you're worth elsewhere.
Most schools in this comparison are score-keyed even though NCCU is not, so the same test still moves the money everywhere else on the list.
Free · About 3 minutes · No account needed · Not affiliated with North Carolina Central University