North Central College: merit scholarships by GPA
North Central College awards automatic merit aid from a published grid keyed to GPA — the ACT is not used. Awards start at a 3.23 GPA and reach $30,000 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
North Central's top window runs to 5.00, which implies a weighted scale, while the footnote on the same table says GPAs are recalculated to a 4.0 scale. The two conflict, so confirm which number your rung is read against. The page also describes a holistic review with high school profiles referenced as needed, so the grid is the published schedule rather than a guarantee.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
← Drag either slider to your own numbers
Example — a 3.60 GPA
Honor Scholarship
$28,000 a year / year
About $112,000 over four years, if it renews.
North Central 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
The published North Central merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from North Central 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.
First-year academic scholarships
Awarded during the admission review, keyed to cumulative high school GPA. Every admitted student reaches a rung — the lowest has no floor.
$30,000 a year
Presidential Scholarship
No score needed
$29,000 a year
Dean Scholarship
No score needed
$28,000 a year
Honor Scholarship
No score needed
$26,500 a year
Achievement Scholarship
No score needed
$25,500 a year
Academic Scholarship
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Presidential Scholarship | — | $30,000 a year |
| Dean Scholarship | — | $29,000 a year |
| Honor Scholarship | — | $28,000 a year |
| Achievement Scholarship | — | $26,500 a year |
| Academic Scholarship | — | $25,500 a year |
Source: First-year scholarships · verified 2026-10-24
Does North Central superscore for scholarships?
Not stated, and it would not matter. North Central's merit awards use no test score.
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 North Central’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 North Central 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.
- Every admitted student reaches at least $25,500 a year, and the entire ladder spans $4,500 — the compressed shape means the GPA moves far less money than the $30,000 headline suggests.
- These are tuition discounts against a private sticker price, not cash.
- The top window runs to 5.00 while the footnote says GPAs are recalculated to a 4.0 scale. The page does not reconcile the two.
- A separate Presidential Housing Award pays $3,000 a year to students at a 4.25 or above who live on campus. It reads as an add-on, but the page does not say whether it stacks, so it is not a band here.
- GPA can be re-evaluated after senior fall, so a stronger first semester may move a student up a rung.
- The page describes a holistic review and says high school profiles are referenced as needed.
- An alumni referral award has a March 15 date; nothing is published for the merit awards themselves.
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 Central College.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at North Central?
North Central College publishes a merit aid grid keyed to ACT score and GPA. See the tables on this page for the current bands.
Is North Central test-optional?
The first-year scholarships page does not state an admission testing requirement, so nothing is claimed about it here. For merit aid the answer is different: the ACT and SAT are not mentioned anywhere on the page. Every rung is keyed to cumulative high school GPA, so a score is worth nothing toward merit at North Central. 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 North Central?
On North Central's published grid for the current cycle, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Honor Scholarship at $28,000 a year, about $112,000 over four years if it renews.
Does North Central superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated, and it would not matter. North Central's merit awards use no test score.
Is this North Central scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from North Central College's own published pages and last verified on 2026-10-24. 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
North Central awards on GPA — but the ACT still decides what you're worth elsewhere.
Most schools in this comparison are score-keyed even though North Central 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 Central College