Ouachita Baptist University: merit scholarships by ACT score
Ouachita Baptist University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 25 and reach $23,000 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
The name Ouachita gives its 3.85+ tier could not be confirmed — sources disagreed — so it is labelled by its GPA band here rather than by a name that might be wrong. The amounts themselves were read off obu.edu. Ouachita does not state whether the score and GPA awards stack; a student presumably receives one.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
Trustee's Scholarship
$23,000 a year ($92,000 over four years) / year
About $92,000 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 Ouachita merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Ouachita Baptist University’s own pages for Fall 2027 entry. Nothing here is estimated: where the school states a benefit rather than a figure, that is what the table says.
Merit scholarships
The top two awards require an ACT score and read no GPA at all. Every award beneath them reads GPA alone, through the seventh semester of high school.
$23,000 a year ($92,000 over four years)
Trustee's Scholarship
ACT 29–36 · any GPA — this award is score-only
$21,000 a year ($84,000 over four years)
President's Scholarship
ACT 25–36 · any GPA — this award is score-only
$18,000 a year ($72,000 over four years)
Merit award, 3.85+ tier
No score needed
$16,000 a year ($64,000 over four years)
Dean's Scholarship
No score needed
$13,000 a year ($52,000 over four years)
Collegiate Scholarship
No score needed
$5,000 a year ($20,000 over four years)
Opportunity Award
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Trustee's Scholarship | ACT 29–36 · any GPA — this award is score-only | $23,000 a year ($92,000 over four years) |
| President's Scholarship | ACT 25–36 · any GPA — this award is score-only | $21,000 a year ($84,000 over four years) |
| Merit award, 3.85+ tier | — | $18,000 a year ($72,000 over four years) |
| Dean's Scholarship | — | $16,000 a year ($64,000 over four years) |
| Collegiate Scholarship | — | $13,000 a year ($52,000 over four years) |
| Opportunity Award | — | $5,000 a year ($20,000 over four years) |
Source: Financial aid — Fall 2027 merit scholarships · verified 2026-10-24
Does Ouachita superscore for scholarships?
Yes. Yes. Ouachita accepts superscores for its merit awards, which matters more here than at most schools because the two largest awards are decided by the composite alone.
“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.
Ouachita scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| ACT scores accepted through | the February test date |
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 Ouachita Baptist 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.
- Without a score the ceiling is $18,000 a year. A 25 pays $21,000 at any GPA and a 29 pays $23,000.
- A student with a 4.0 and no test score is paid $3,000 a year less than a student with a 25 and a 2.6.
- The two score awards read no GPA at all — they are published as composite thresholds alone.
- The GPA used is the high school GPA through the seventh semester, so a strong senior spring comes too late.
- Ouachita accepts superscores, which is unusual enough to be worth planning a retake around given the score-only top tiers.
- The award amount is fixed for four years, and renewal needs only a 2.00 GPA.
- ACT scores are accepted only through the February test date.
- Each award is published as a four-year total as well: $92,000, $84,000, $72,000, $64,000, $52,000 and $20,000.
- OBU prints the top GPA tier as a closed 3.85–4.00 range. It is modelled open at the top, because a weighted transcript above a 4.00 must not fall off the grid and be paid nothing.
- The page does not say whether the GPA is weighted or unweighted.
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 Ouachita Baptist University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Ouachita?
Automatic merit aid at Ouachita Baptist University starts at an ACT composite of 25, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $23,000 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 Ouachita test-optional?
Ouachita's admission testing requirement is not stated on the merit page, so nothing is claimed about it here. For merit aid the answer is different: a score is optional and it is the only way past $18,000 a year. The Trustee's ($23,000) and President's ($21,000) awards require an ACT and read no GPA, so a 25 at a 2.6 GPA is paid $3,000 a year more than a 4.0 with no score at all. 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 Ouachita?
On Ouachita's published grid for Fall 2027 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Trustee's Scholarship at $23,000 a year, about $92,000 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at Ouachita?
The most valuable single point on Ouachita's published grid is 24 to 25, at a 2.5 GPA: it moves the award by $16,000 a year, or $64,000 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 Ouachita superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Yes. Yes. Ouachita accepts superscores for its merit awards, which matters more here than at most schools because the two largest awards are decided by the composite alone. Superscores are accepted.
When are Ouachita scholarship deadlines?
ACT scores accepted through: the February test date. 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 Ouachita scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Ouachita Baptist 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 Ouachita. The question is whether you can move it.
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