Northern Illinois University: merit scholarships by GPA
Northern Illinois University 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 $8,000 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
Your ACT score cannot change this award. NIU states that it does not consider ACT or SAT scores for merit scholarships and looks at high school GPA instead, so every figure below is set by GPA alone — a 36 is worth the same as no score at all.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — a 3.60 GPA
Freshman Merit Scholarship
$4,000 / year
About $16,000 over four years, if it renews.
Northern Illinois 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 Northern Illinois merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Northern Illinois University’s own pages for fall 2026 and beyond entry. Nothing here is estimated: where the school states a benefit rather than a figure, that is what the table says.
Incoming domestic freshmen
Automatic on the application for admission — there is no separate scholarship application. NIU uses the GPA printed on your high school transcript, weighted or unweighted, on a 4.0 scale. Students admitted before fall 2026 keep the amount in their original award letter instead.
$8,000
Freshman Merit Scholarship
No score needed
$7,000
Freshman Merit Scholarship
No score needed
$6,000
Freshman Merit Scholarship
No score needed
$4,000
Freshman Merit Scholarship
No score needed
$3,000
Freshman Merit Scholarship
No score needed
$1,000
Freshman Merit Scholarship
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Freshman Merit Scholarship | — | $8,000 |
| Freshman Merit Scholarship | — | $7,000 |
| Freshman Merit Scholarship | — | $6,000 |
| Freshman Merit Scholarship | — | $4,000 |
| Freshman Merit Scholarship | — | $3,000 |
| Freshman Merit Scholarship | — | $1,000 |
Source: Freshman Merit Scholarships — GPA tiers and award amounts · verified 2026-10-23
Does Northern Illinois superscore for scholarships?
No. No — and for the strongest reason available: there is no score for NIU to superscore. NIU never uses the word 'superscore' anywhere on its merit or admission-requirements pages, so the policy is unstated in those terms, but the answer follows directly from the sentence that is stated, that NIU does not consider ACT or SAT scores for merit scholarships. Sending every sitting changes nothing at NIU.
This matters more than it sounds. A student whose superscore crosses a band but whose best single sitting does not will be paid on the lower band. Look up your best single sitting in the grid above, then find what is costing you points on one test.
Comparing schools? See which colleges superscore for scholarships — 66 of 501 commit to it, 52 say they do not, and the rest never say.
Northern Illinois scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Freshman merit scholarship priority deadline (summer or fall admission) | February 1 |
| Spring admission merit scholarship priority deadline | October 1 |
| Transfer merit scholarship priority deadline (summer or fall) | March 1 |
| After the priority deadline, while money lasts | Rolling, if funds remain available |
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 Northern Illinois 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.
- Freshman Merit Scholarships — GPA tiers and award amountsverified 2026-10-23
- Application Requirements — Test Scores and GPAverified 2026-10-23
- Scholarship Renewal — merit renewal criteriaverified 2026-10-23
- Merit Scholarships: Frequently Asked Questionsverified 2026-10-23
- Scholarship Deadlinesverified 2026-10-23
- The ACT is worth nothing here. NIU writes that it does not consider ACT or SAT scores for general admission or merit scholarships, and that "Research shows that GPA is a better indicator of success in college". A 36 and a blank score line pay the same award.
- NIU uses the GPA your transcript reports, "whether weighted or unweighted", so a weighted scale can place you in a higher tier than an unweighted one would — worth checking which figure your school sends. The top row is written as plain "4.0" with 3.90–3.99 beneath it, and because a weighted GPA counts, anything at or above 4.0 sits in the $8,000 row rather than falling off the top of the grid.
- The tier edges are where the money is. Crossing 3.49 to 3.50 is worth $1,000 a year, and 3.69 to 3.70 is worth $2,000 a year — $4,000 and $8,000 over the four years NIU prints alongside each tier.
- Late is a maybe, not a no: NIU says merit scholarships "will continue to be awarded on a rolling basis after the priority deadline if funds remain available". That is funding-dependent language, so apply by February 1 if you can.
- NIU's own pages disagree on the freshman priority date. The scholarships overview lists December 1 for summer or fall freshmen, while both merit-specific pages — Freshman Merit Scholarships and Scholarship Deadlines — say February 1. The two specific pages agree, but confirm with the scholarship office before relying on it.
- Illinois MAP grants and AIM HIGH are state programmes, not NIU money, and are not in the grid. NIU Partnership Awards are NIU's own matching commitment to AIM HIGH and need a FAFSA — the freshman page says February 1, the merit FAQ says December 1, and neither is GPA-keyed.
- Separate from the grid: the Huskie Legacy Award pays $1,000 in the first year to a student whose parent graduated from NIU, automatically and with no deadline. A Presidential Scholarship appears in NIU's renewal criteria with a 3.3 GPA and Honors requirement, but NIU publishes no amount or entry threshold for it, so it is not in the grid either.
- The award can be reduced by other institutional aid. It covers tuition, mandatory fees, on-campus housing, meal plans, a standard parking permit and bookstore books, and any remainder is neither refunded nor rolled forward. Graduating early forfeits the unused years — a full-year amount cannot be applied to a single semester.
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 Illinois University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Northern Illinois?
Northern Illinois University publishes a merit aid grid keyed to ACT score and GPA. See the tables on this page for the current bands.
Is Northern Illinois test-optional?
NIU does not look at a score at all for general admission. A cumulative high school GPA of 3.00 or higher on a 4.00 scale guarantees general admission, with limited-admission nursing the stated exception; below a 3.00 NIU runs a holistic application review. For merit aid the answer is different: a score does not move the money here, and that is NIU's own stated position rather than something inferred from a silent page. Every dollar in the table is set by the GPA on your transcript. Retaking the ACT cannot raise this award by a cent — raising your GPA across a tier edge is the only lever NIU publishes. 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 Northern Illinois?
On Northern Illinois's published grid for fall 2026 and beyond entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Freshman Merit Scholarship at $4,000 a year, about $16,000 over four years if it renews.
Does Northern Illinois superscore the ACT for scholarships?
No. No — and for the strongest reason available: there is no score for NIU to superscore. NIU never uses the word 'superscore' anywhere on its merit or admission-requirements pages, so the policy is unstated in those terms, but the answer follows directly from the sentence that is stated, that NIU does not consider ACT or SAT scores for merit scholarships. Sending every sitting changes nothing at NIU.
When are Northern Illinois scholarship deadlines?
Freshman merit scholarship priority deadline (summer or fall admission): February 1. Spring admission merit scholarship priority deadline: October 1. Transfer merit scholarship priority deadline (summer or fall): March 1. After the priority deadline, while money lasts: Rolling, if funds remain available. 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 Northern Illinois scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Northern Illinois 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
Northern Illinois awards on GPA — but the ACT still decides what you're worth elsewhere.
Most schools in this comparison are score-keyed even though Northern Illinois is not, so the same test still moves the money everywhere else on the list.
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