Stephens College: merit scholarships by GPA
Stephens College awards automatic merit aid from a published grid keyed to GPA — the ACT is not used. Awards start at a 2.5 GPA and reach $27,000 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
The undergraduate residential college at Stephens is women-only, and these awards are for first-time students with fewer than ten college credits. The amounts are for students living on campus — Stephens states that off-campus students see a reduction and does not publish its size. A spring start is prorated to 50%.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — a 3.60 GPA
Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship
$14,000 / year
About $56,000 over four years, if it renews.
Stephens 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 Stephens merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Stephens College’s own pages for Fall 2026 entry. Nothing here is estimated: where the school states a benefit rather than a figure, that is what the table says.
General programmes
Keyed to GPA alone, determined on acceptance, and paid per year across the fall and spring terms.
$18,000
Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship
No score needed
$16,000
Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship
No score needed
$14,000
Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship
No score needed
$12,000
Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship
No score needed
$10,000
Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship
No score needed
$8,000
Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship | — | $18,000 |
| Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship | — | $16,000 |
| Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship | — | $14,000 |
| Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship | — | $12,000 |
| Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship | — | $10,000 |
| Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship | — | $8,000 |
Source: Scholarships and awards — merit grid · verified 2026-10-24
Nursing
The same GPA axis paid at a markedly higher rate — $9,000 a year more at the top rung than a general programme.
$27,000
Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship
No score needed
$24,000
Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship
No score needed
$21,000
Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship
No score needed
$18,000
Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship
No score needed
$15,000
Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship
No score needed
$12,000
Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship | — | $27,000 |
| Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship | — | $24,000 |
| Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship | — | $21,000 |
| Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship | — | $18,000 |
| Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship | — | $15,000 |
| Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship | — | $12,000 |
Source: Scholarships and awards — merit grid · verified 2026-10-24
Does Stephens superscore for scholarships?
Not stated, and it would not move these awards. The grid uses no test 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 Stephens’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.
Stephens scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Stephens Promise — FAFSA priority date | February 1 |
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 Stephens 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 same GPA is worth $9,000 a year more in nursing than in a general programme at the top rung, and $4,000 more at the bottom.
- The grid uses no test score. A 4.0 with no ACT receives the same award as a 4.0 with a 36.
- Awards are capped at tuition and fees, and full-time means twelve or more credits.
- Students living off campus receive a reduced award. Stephens does not publish the size of the reduction.
- A spring start is prorated to 50% of the annual figure.
- Conservatory students receive audition-based awards instead and are not eligible for additional merit funds.
- The $1,000 Visit Scholarship is one-time, not annual, so it is not part of this grid.
- The page does not say whether the GPA is weighted or unweighted.
- Admission is rolling, and no deadline is published for the merit awards themselves.
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 Stephens College.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at Stephens?
Stephens College publishes a merit aid grid keyed to ACT score and GPA. See the tables on this page for the current bands.
Is Stephens test-optional?
Stephens does not require an ACT or SAT score for admission. Admission can be reached on a 2.5 cumulative GPA or an ACT of 20. For merit aid the answer is different: both money columns run off the GPA axis alone. No rung names a test score, so an ACT cannot move this award — though a 20 is one of the two routes into the college itself. 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 Stephens?
On Stephens's published grid for Fall 2026 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for General programmes — Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship at $14,000 a year, about $56,000 over four years if it renews; Nursing — Academic Merit Tuition Scholarship at $21,000 a year, about $84,000 over four years if it renews.
Does Stephens superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated, and it would not move these awards. The grid uses no test score.
When are Stephens scholarship deadlines?
Stephens Promise — FAFSA priority date: February 1. 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 Stephens scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Stephens 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
Stephens awards on GPA — but the ACT still decides what you're worth elsewhere.
Most schools in this comparison are score-keyed even though Stephens is not, so the same test still moves the money everywhere else on the list.
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