Simpson College: merit scholarships by GPA
Simpson College awards automatic merit aid from a published grid keyed to GPA — the ACT is not used. Awards reach $42,000 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
Simpson describes its published figures as the MINIMUM scholarship awards for incoming first-year students, so unlike the 'up to' framing used by many private colleges here, the number is a floor an offer can exceed. Students are automatically considered once accepted, on academic and personal criteria rather than a score. The figures are large and flat — $35,000 at the bottom and $42,000 at the top — so the whole range of academic achievement is worth $7,000 a year against a high private sticker price. These are the Fall 2027 figures.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — a 3.60 GPA
Presidential Scholarship
$40,000 / year
About $160,000 over four years, if it renews.
Simpson 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 Simpson merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Simpson College’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.
First-year scholarships, Fall 2027
Automatically considered on acceptance. Simpson states the chart shows the minimum award, not a maximum.
$42,000
Founder's Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 4.00
$40,000
Presidential Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 3.50
$37,000
Dean's Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 3.25
$35,000
Simpson/Endowed Scholarship
No score needed · GPA 1.00
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Founder's Scholarship | — | GPA 4.00 | $42,000 |
| Presidential Scholarship | — | GPA 3.50 | $40,000 |
| Dean's Scholarship | — | GPA 3.25 | $37,000 |
| Simpson/Endowed Scholarship | — | GPA 1.00 | $35,000 |
Source: First-Year Scholarships, Fall 2027 · verified 2026-10-22
Does Simpson superscore for scholarships?
Not stated, and moot — no merit band here uses a score.
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 Simpson’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 Simpson College’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 published figures are minimums rather than ceilings, which is unusual among the private colleges here.
- Every admitted student is published a figure; the floor is $35,000 below a 3.25.
- Every admitted student is automatically considered with no separate application.
- Simpson 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 Simpson College.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Simpson?
Simpson College publishes a merit aid grid keyed to ACT score and GPA. See the tables on this page for the current bands.
Is Simpson test-optional?
Not stated on the scholarship page. No merit band here uses a score. For merit aid the answer is different: not used. Every band is published against a high school GPA and no ACT threshold appears in the 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 Simpson?
On Simpson's published grid for Fall 2027 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Presidential Scholarship at $40,000 a year, about $160,000 over four years if it renews.
Does Simpson superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated, and moot — no merit band here uses a score.
Is this Simpson scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Simpson College'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
Simpson awards on GPA — but the ACT still decides what you're worth elsewhere.
Most schools in this comparison are score-keyed even though Simpson is not, so the same test still moves the money everywhere else on the list.
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