Southwestern College: merit scholarships by ACT score
Southwestern College awards automatic merit aid from a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 18 and reach $13,000 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
Every figure assumes living ON CAMPUS. A student living off campus has the scholarship REDUCED BY 40% — a $13,000 award becomes $7,800. The grid is stamped 2025-26 while Southwestern's scholarship competitions are already advertised for 2027 entry, so these are the last published figures.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
Provost Scholarship
$12,000 / year
About $48,000 over four years, if it renews.
What the next points are worth
1 more point (a 30) moves you to Presidential Scholarship — $13,000 a year. That is $1,000 more a year, or $4,000 over four years.
The question isn't whether a point is worth having. It's whether they can move it — which starts with knowing exactly which questions they're missing, and why.
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Want to know what one more point would change? The Merit Plan prices the next point at every school.
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The published Southwestern (KS) merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Southwestern College’s own pages for 2025-26 entry. Nothing here is estimated: where the school states a benefit rather than a figure, that is what the table says.
With an ACT or SAT score
A true matrix — both the score and the GPA move the award. Amounts assume living on campus.
$13,000
Presidential Scholarship
ACT 30–36 · 3.50+
$12,000
Provost Scholarship
ACT 30–36 · 3.00–3.49
$12,000
Provost Scholarship
ACT 25–29 · 3.50+
$11,000
Dean Scholarship
ACT 25–29 · 3.00–3.49
$11,000
Dean Scholarship
ACT 21–24 · 3.50+
$10,000
Dean Scholarship
ACT 30–36 · 2.60–2.99
$10,000
Heritage Scholarship
ACT 25–29 · 2.60–2.99
$10,000
Heritage Scholarship
ACT 21–24 · 3.00–3.49
$10,000
Heritage Scholarship
ACT 18–20 · 3.50+
$8,000
Founders Scholarship
ACT 21–24 · 2.60–2.99
$8,000
Founders Scholarship
ACT 18–20 · 3.00–3.49
$6,000
Jinx Scholarship
ACT 18–20 · 2.60–2.99
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Presidential Scholarship | ACT 30–36 · 3.50+ | $13,000 |
| Provost Scholarship | ACT 30–36 · 3.00–3.49 | $12,000 |
| Provost Scholarship | ACT 25–29 · 3.50+ | $12,000 |
| Dean Scholarship | ACT 25–29 · 3.00–3.49 | $11,000 |
| Dean Scholarship | ACT 21–24 · 3.50+ | $11,000 |
| Dean Scholarship | ACT 30–36 · 2.60–2.99 | $10,000 |
| Heritage Scholarship | ACT 25–29 · 2.60–2.99 | $10,000 |
| Heritage Scholarship | ACT 21–24 · 3.00–3.49 | $10,000 |
| Heritage Scholarship | ACT 18–20 · 3.50+ | $10,000 |
| Founders Scholarship | ACT 21–24 · 2.60–2.99 | $8,000 |
| Founders Scholarship | ACT 18–20 · 3.00–3.49 | $8,000 |
| Jinx Scholarship | ACT 18–20 · 2.60–2.99 | $6,000 |
Source: Scholarships and grants — academic scholarship grid · verified 2026-10-24
Without a test score
Two rungs only. The ceiling without a score is $8,000, against $13,000 with one.
$8,000
Academic Scholarship (no test score)
No score needed
$6,000
Academic Scholarship (no test score)
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Academic Scholarship (no test score) | — | $8,000 |
| Academic Scholarship (no test score) | — | $6,000 |
Source: Scholarships and grants — academic scholarship grid · verified 2026-10-24
Does Southwestern (KS) superscore for scholarships?
Not stated. The grid turns on ACT thresholds at 21, 25 and 30, so a student near any of them should ask in writing whether sittings can 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 Southwestern (KS)’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 Southwestern 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.
- Living off campus reduces the scholarship by 40%. A $13,000 award becomes $7,800.
- Without a test score the ceiling is $8,000; with one it is $13,000.
- This is a genuine matrix — both the score and the GPA move the award rather than one gating the other.
- The grid is stamped 2025-26 while Southwestern's competitions are advertised for 2027 entry.
- A student may hold one academic scholarship and one activity or athletic scholarship.
- Stackable add-ons of $1,000 each exist for Cowley and Sumner County residents and for alumni legacies.
- The renewal bar is a 2.0 cumulative GPA, below every entry threshold.
- The full-tuition competitions need separate applications and are tied to particular majors.
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 Southwestern College.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Southwestern (KS)?
Automatic merit aid at Southwestern College starts at an ACT composite of 18, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $13,000 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 Southwestern (KS) test-optional?
The scholarship page does not state the admission testing requirement, so nothing is claimed about it here. For merit aid the answer is different: a score is optional and worth up to $5,000 a year. Without one a student reaches $8,000 at best; with a 30 and a 3.5 the same student reaches $13,000. 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 Southwestern (KS)?
On Southwestern (KS)'s published grid for 2025-26 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for With an ACT or SAT score — Presidential Scholarship at $13,000 a year, about $52,000 over four years if it renews; Without a test score — Academic Scholarship (no test score) at $8,000 a year, about $32,000 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at Southwestern (KS)?
The most valuable single point on Southwestern (KS)'s published grid is 20 to 21, at a 2.6 GPA: it moves the award by $2,000 a year, or $8,000 across a four-year degree on the With an ACT or SAT score 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 Southwestern (KS) superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated. The grid turns on ACT thresholds at 21, 25 and 30, so a student near any of them should ask in writing whether sittings can be combined.
Is this Southwestern (KS) scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Southwestern College'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.
Other schools to check
What to do next
You know what a score is worth at Southwestern (KS). 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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