Shepherd University: merit scholarships by ACT score
Shepherd University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 24 and reach $5,000 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
Both criteria are required on the two upper bands — Shepherd states a student must meet the GPA AND one of the standardized test requirements. The Director's Scholarship is the exception and prints N/A for both tests, so a 3.00 GPA reaches it with no score at all. Out-of-state awards are three to five times the resident figure because they offset a non-resident bill. Renewal needs a 2.75 cumulative Shepherd GPA. The page carries no cycle year.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
Dean's Scholarship
$2,000 / year
About $8,000 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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Can you get merit aid at Shepherd without an ACT score?
Yes. Required on the two upper bands and not required on the lowest, which prints N/A for both tests. So a score is the difference between $1,000 and $3,000 for a West Virginian, not the difference between something and nothing.
Read the two columns in the grid below as a trade. The same award is reachable either way — with a score at a lower GPA, or with no score at a higher one. A score is worth real money to a student whose GPA sits under the test-optional line, and worth little to one comfortably above it.
“Students must meet both the GPA requirement and one of the standardized test requirements to receive the corresponding award.”
The published Shepherd merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Shepherd 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.
West Virginia residents
Students must meet the GPA requirement and one of the standardized test requirements, except on the Director's Scholarship which requires no score.
$3,000
President's Scholarship
ACT 27–36 · GPA 3.75+ or higher
Without a score: not available
$2,000
Dean's Scholarship
ACT 24–36 · GPA 3.50-3.74 with an ACT of 24-26
Without a score: not available
$1,000
Director's Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 3.00
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| President's Scholarship | ACT 27–36 · GPA 3.75+ or higher | not available | $3,000 |
| Dean's Scholarship | ACT 24–36 · GPA 3.50-3.74 with an ACT of 24-26 | not available | $2,000 |
| Director's Scholarship | — | GPA 3.00 | $1,000 |
Source: Scholarships — academic awards by GPA and test score · verified 2026-10-22
Out-of-state residents
Identical criteria, substantially larger figures, offsetting a non-resident bill rather than rewarding non-residence.
$5,000
President's Scholarship (out-of-state)
ACT 27–36 · GPA 3.75+ or higher
Without a score: not available
$4,000
Dean's Scholarship (out-of-state)
ACT 24–36 · GPA 3.50-3.74 with an ACT of 24-26
Without a score: not available
$3,000
Director's Scholarship (out-of-state)
No score needed · GPA 3.00
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| President's Scholarship (out-of-state) | ACT 27–36 · GPA 3.75+ or higher | not available | $5,000 |
| Dean's Scholarship (out-of-state) | ACT 24–36 · GPA 3.50-3.74 with an ACT of 24-26 | not available | $4,000 |
| Director's Scholarship (out-of-state) | — | GPA 3.00 | $3,000 |
Source: Scholarships — academic awards by GPA and test score · verified 2026-10-22
Does Shepherd superscore for scholarships?
Not stated. The bands are written as plain ACT ranges with no indication of whether sittings may be combined.
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 Shepherd’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 Shepherd 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 Director's Scholarship requires no score at all — Shepherd prints N/A in both test columns.
- Out-of-state awards are three to five times the resident figure, offsetting a larger bill.
- Both criteria are required on the two upper bands.
- Renewal needs a 2.75 cumulative Shepherd GPA for three additional years.
- The page carries no cycle year.
- Shepherd 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 Shepherd University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Shepherd?
Automatic merit aid at Shepherd University starts at an ACT composite of 24, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $5,000 a year at the top of the 2 grids it publishes. The bands are steps rather than a slope, so the only score that matters is the next threshold above where you are now.
Is Shepherd test-optional?
Not stated on the scholarship page. The merit position is explicit on the grid itself. For merit aid the answer is different: required on the two upper bands and not required on the lowest, which prints N/A for both tests. So a score is the difference between $1,000 and $3,000 for a West Virginian, not the difference between something and nothing. 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 Shepherd?
On Shepherd's published grid for the current cycle, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for West Virginia residents — Dean's Scholarship at $2,000 a year, about $8,000 over four years if it renews; Out-of-state residents — Dean's Scholarship (out-of-state) at $4,000 a year, about $16,000 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at Shepherd?
The most valuable single point on Shepherd's published grid is 23 to 24, at a 3.5 GPA: it moves the award by $1,000 a year, or $4,000 across a four-year degree on the West Virginia residents grid. 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 in-state or out-of-state change merit aid at Shepherd?
Yes. Shepherd publishes separate grids: West Virginia residents run $1,000 to $3,000 a year, and Out-of-state residents run $3,000 to $5,000 — a difference of $2,000 a year at the top. Check which grid applies to you before planning around a figure.
Does Shepherd superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated. The bands are written as plain ACT ranges with no indication of whether sittings may be combined.
Is this Shepherd scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Shepherd University's own published pages and last verified on 2026-10-22. 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
You know what a score is worth at Shepherd. 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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