Northwest Nazarene University: merit scholarships by ACT score
Northwest Nazarene University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 22 and reach $22,000 a year. Because the bands are steps rather than a slope, one point is worth nothing inside a band and the whole step at the edge of one.
Enter a score and a GPA below to see which band it actually lands in, what that band pays, and exactly how many points the next one needs.
Read this first
Only the top rung reads a score — a 4.0 with a 22 ACT reaches $22,000 while a 4.0 without one reaches $20,000, and below a 4.0 the test is worth nothing. NNU's own scholarship page walls automated requests, so these figures were confirmed from an archived capture rather than a live read, and the page does not state whether the amounts are per year. Students below a 3.0 are told they still qualify but no figure is published for them.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
Merit Scholarship
$17,000 a year toward tuition / year
About $68,000 over four years, if it renews.
There is no higher band to reach at this GPA — more points would not change the award here. They may still matter for admission, for honours programmes, or at other schools on the list.
Knowing where a score sits is the easy part. Moving it starts with knowing exactly which questions they're being missed, and why.
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The published NNU merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Northwest Nazarene University’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.
Merit scholarships
All first-time traditional freshmen are considered automatically on completing NNU's application for admission and financial aid. The money must be applied to tuition.
$22,000 a year toward tuition
Merit Scholarship
ACT 22–36 · 4.00+ with a 22 ACT or 1100 SAT
$20,000 a year toward tuition
Merit Scholarship
No score needed
$18,000 a year toward tuition
Merit Scholarship
No score needed
$17,000 a year toward tuition
Merit Scholarship
No score needed
$15,000 a year toward tuition
Merit Scholarship
No score needed
$14,000 a year toward tuition
Merit Scholarship
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Merit Scholarship | ACT 22–36 · 4.00+ with a 22 ACT or 1100 SAT | $22,000 a year toward tuition |
| Merit Scholarship | — | $20,000 a year toward tuition |
| Merit Scholarship | — | $18,000 a year toward tuition |
| Merit Scholarship | — | $17,000 a year toward tuition |
| Merit Scholarship | — | $15,000 a year toward tuition |
| Merit Scholarship | — | $14,000 a year toward tuition |
Source: Grants and scholarships · verified 2026-10-24
Does NNU superscore for scholarships?
Not stated. With a single 22 threshold doing all the work, a student near it should ask whether the better composite is read.
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 NNU’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 Northwest Nazarene 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.
- A 22 composite with a 4.0 is worth $2,000 a year more than a 4.0 alone.
- At any GPA below a 4.0 the ACT does nothing on this grid.
- The floor is a 3.0 at $14,000 a year, so most of the award is in qualifying rather than climbing.
- The whole ladder spans $8,000 a year.
- The money must be applied to tuition costs.
- Renewal needs only a 2.5 cumulative NNU GPA.
- NNU says students below a 3.0 still qualify for something but publishes no figure for it.
- The Aldersgate Honors College route also reaches $22,000 at a 3.5 with a 22, but it needs honours admission, so it is not a band here.
- Whether the GPA is weighted is not stated.
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 Northwest Nazarene University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at NNU?
Automatic merit aid at Northwest Nazarene University starts at an ACT composite of 22, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $22,000 a year at the top. The bands are steps rather than a slope, so the only score that matters is the next threshold above where you are now.
Is NNU test-optional?
NNU's admission testing requirement is not stated on either scholarship page, so nothing is claimed about it here. For merit aid the answer is different: a score is needed for the top rung only. A 22 ACT alongside a 4.0 is worth $2,000 a year; at any lower GPA the test does nothing on this grid. 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 NNU?
On NNU's published grid for the current cycle, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Merit Scholarship at $17,000 a year, about $68,000 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at NNU?
The most valuable single point on NNU's published grid is 21 to 22, at a 4.0 GPA: it moves the award by $2,000 a year, or $8,000 across a four-year degree. The same point is worth less at other GPAs, and most points move nothing at all — the grid steps rather than slopes, which is why the only score worth aiming at is the next threshold.
Does NNU superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated. With a single 22 threshold doing all the work, a student near it should ask whether the better composite is read.
Is this NNU scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Northwest Nazarene University'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.
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What to do next
You know what a score is worth at NNU. The question is whether you can move it.
A grid tells you the target. It does not tell you which questions are costing the points between here and there. That takes about three minutes to find out.
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