Northern Arizona University: merit scholarships by GPA
Northern Arizona University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid keyed to GPA — the ACT is not used. Awards reach $11,000 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
The ACT plays no part in NAU's merit grids — all three run on a CORE GPA that NAU recalculates from specific coursework, so it will not match a transcript GPA. The condition that catches people is printed below the table rather than in it: a four-year merit tuition scholarship requires an NAU Campus Living experience in the first year, meaning NAU-managed housing and a meal plan, so a student planning to live at home has to weigh the award against the cost it forces. These are tuition scholarships and apply to fall and spring only. WUE is a separate track for students from western states; the out-of-state non-WUE figures are identical to the WUE ones for 2027-28.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — a 3.60 GPA
President's Scholarship
$9,000 / year
About $36,000 over four years, if it renews.
NAU 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 NAU merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Northern Arizona 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.
Arizona residents
Automatic on admission with no scholarship application. Renews automatically for three additional years if renewal criteria are met, and applies to fall and spring semesters only.
$11,000
Lumberjack Scholars Award
No score needed · GPA 3.75
$9,000
President's Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 3.50
$6,500
Dean's with Distinction
No score needed · GPA 3.40
$5,000
Dean's Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 3.00
$2,500
Opportunity Award
No score needed · GPA 1.00
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lumberjack Scholars Award | — | GPA 3.75 | $11,000 |
| President's Scholarship | — | GPA 3.50 | $9,000 |
| Dean's with Distinction | — | GPA 3.40 | $6,500 |
| Dean's Scholarship | — | GPA 3.00 | $5,000 |
| Opportunity Award | — | GPA 1.00 | $2,500 |
Source: Freshman scholarships — 2027-28 awards · verified 2026-10-21
Western Undergraduate Exchange states
For students from WUE member states, keyed to an unweighted high school core GPA. The same amounts as the out-of-state non-WUE track for 2027-28, though WUE itself is a separate tuition-rate programme.
$6,500
Summit Award (WUE)
No score needed · GPA 3.75
$6,000
Peak Award (WUE)
No score needed · GPA 3.50
$5,000
Ascent Award (WUE)
No score needed · GPA 3.00
$2,500
Trailhead Award (WUE)
No score needed · GPA 1.00
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summit Award (WUE) | — | GPA 3.75 | $6,500 |
| Peak Award (WUE) | — | GPA 3.50 | $6,000 |
| Ascent Award (WUE) | — | GPA 3.00 | $5,000 |
| Trailhead Award (WUE) | — | GPA 1.00 | $2,500 |
Source: Freshman scholarships — 2027-28 awards · verified 2026-10-21
Out-of-state, non-WUE
Students from states outside the WUE compact. For 2027-28 NAU publishes the same four amounts as the WUE track. Non-residents also pay a new $16,000 Flagstaff Advantage Rate tuition figure from fall 2027.
$6,500
Summit Award
No score needed · GPA 3.75
$6,000
Peak Award
No score needed · GPA 3.50
$5,000
Ascent Award
No score needed · GPA 3.00
$2,500
Trailhead Award
No score needed · GPA 1.00
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Summit Award | — | GPA 3.75 | $6,500 |
| Peak Award | — | GPA 3.50 | $6,000 |
| Ascent Award | — | GPA 3.00 | $5,000 |
| Trailhead Award | — | GPA 1.00 | $2,500 |
Source: Freshman scholarships — 2027-28 awards · verified 2026-10-21
Does NAU superscore for scholarships?
Not stated, and moot — no NAU merit award uses a score, so there is no threshold a superscore could unlock.
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 NAU’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 Northern Arizona 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.
- The ACT is irrelevant to every dollar on this page. For a student weighing NAU against a score-keyed school like Alabama, that is the whole comparison.
- The core GPA is recalculated by NAU from specific coursework and will not match a transcript GPA.
- A four-year merit tuition scholarship requires NAU-managed housing and a meal plan in the first year — a real cost attached to the award.
- These are tuition scholarships and apply to fall and spring semesters only, not summer.
- NAU publishes an award for students admitted below a 3.0, which most schools in this dataset do not.
- Access2Excellence covers 100% of tuition for Arizona residents with household income up to $65,000, and for members of Arizona's 22 federally recognised tribes regardless of income or residency.
- From fall 2027 eligible non-residents pay a $16,000 annual tuition rate under the Flagstaff Advantage Rate.
- Online students are excluded from Access2Excellence.
- NAU 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 Northern Arizona University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at NAU?
Northern Arizona University publishes a merit aid grid keyed to ACT score and GPA. See the tables on this page for the current bands.
Is NAU test-optional?
NAU does not state an admission test stance on its freshman scholarship page. What the page makes unambiguous is that no merit award on it is keyed to a score. For merit aid the answer is different: not used. All three grids are published against a high school core GPA and the ACT appears nowhere in NAU's merit criteria. 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 NAU?
On NAU's published grid for 2027-28 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Arizona residents — President's Scholarship at $9,000 a year, about $36,000 over four years if it renews; Western Undergraduate Exchange states — Peak Award (WUE) at $6,000 a year, about $24,000 over four years if it renews; Out-of-state, non-WUE — Peak Award at $6,000 a year, about $24,000 over four years if it renews.
Does in-state or out-of-state change merit aid at NAU?
Yes. NAU publishes separate grids: Arizona residents run $2,500 to $11,000 a year, and Out-of-state, non-WUE run $2,500 to $6,500 — a difference of $4,500 a year at the top. Check which grid applies to you before planning around a figure.
Does NAU superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated, and moot — no NAU merit award uses a score, so there is no threshold a superscore could unlock.
Is this NAU scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Northern Arizona 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
NAU awards on GPA — but the ACT still decides what you're worth elsewhere.
Most schools in this comparison are score-keyed even though NAU is not, so the same test still moves the money everywhere else on the list.
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