University of North Florida: merit scholarships by ACT score
University of North Florida awards automatic merit aid from a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 21 and reach $14,000 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 GPA is UNF's own RECALCULATED weighted GPA, adding 0.5 for honours and 1.0 for AP, IB, AICE and dual-enrolment courses — which is why its awards ask for figures above 4.0. You cannot read your rung off your transcript. UNF's Provost's Award needs a 4.5, which is above this tool's GPA scale, so it appears in the notes rather than the grid. Amounts assume 30 credit hours a year, awards are made "based on qualifications and availability" and after January 15 on a funds-available basis, and the non-resident figures are estimated tuition waivers rather than cash.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
← Drag either slider to your own numbers
Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
No automatic award at this combination
A 29 with a 3.60 GPA does not reach the published grid under Florida residents. That is not a verdict on admission — only on automatic merit.
Knowing where a score sits is the easy part. Moving it starts with knowing exactly which questions they're being missed, and why.
Free preview of the top schools · the full ranked list, with deadlines, is $19.
Want to know what one more point would change? The Merit Plan prices the next point at every school.
Free · no account, no card · the first school is on this screen
The published UNF merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from University of North Florida’s own pages for 2027-28 entry. Nothing here is estimated: where the school states a benefit rather than a figure, that is what the table says.
Florida residents
Awarded automatically with no scholarship application. The Dean's Award asks for a HIGHER recalculated GPA than the President's awards, in exchange for a much lower score.
$5,000 a year
President's Platinum
ACT 29–36 · 4.1+ recalculated
$4,000 a year
President's Gold
ACT 27–36 · 3.9+ recalculated
$3,000 a year
President's Silver
ACT 25–36 · 3.7+ recalculated
$1,000 a year
Dean's Award
ACT 21–36 · 4.2+ recalculated
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| President's Platinum | ACT 29–36 · 4.1+ recalculated | $5,000 a year |
| President's Gold | ACT 27–36 · 3.9+ recalculated | $4,000 a year |
| President's Silver | ACT 25–36 · 3.7+ recalculated | $3,000 a year |
| Dean's Award | ACT 21–36 · 4.2+ recalculated | $1,000 a year |
Source: Admissions scholarships — resident and non-resident grids · verified 2026-10-24
Non-residents
Partial waivers of the out-of-state portion of tuition. UNF labels these figures an estimated value.
$14,000 a year, as a partial out-of-state tuition waiver
First Coast Scholarship
ACT 28–36 · 3.9+ recalculated
$10,000 a year, as a partial out-of-state tuition waiver
Atlantic Scholarship
ACT 26–36 · 3.7+ recalculated
$6,000 a year, as a partial out-of-state tuition waiver
Sunshine Scholarship
ACT 24–36 · 3.5+ recalculated
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| First Coast Scholarship | ACT 28–36 · 3.9+ recalculated | $14,000 a year, as a partial out-of-state tuition waiver |
| Atlantic Scholarship | ACT 26–36 · 3.7+ recalculated | $10,000 a year, as a partial out-of-state tuition waiver |
| Sunshine Scholarship | ACT 24–36 · 3.5+ recalculated | $6,000 a year, as a partial out-of-state tuition waiver |
Source: Admissions scholarships — resident and non-resident grids · verified 2026-10-24
Does UNF superscore for scholarships?
Yes. Yes. UNF states it takes the highest subsection across multiple attempts and builds a new composite — and it accepts updated scores up to January 15, so a retake aimed at a single tier boundary is a workable strategy here. The statement appears on the admissions page rather than the scholarship page.
“UNF superscores tests for applicants, meaning we will consider your highest subsection across multiple attempts of an exam and create a new composite score.”
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.
UNF scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Applied and admitted by, for scholarship priority | January 15, 2027 |
| Updated test scores considered through | January 15, 2027 |
| Priority application | November 18 |
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 University of North Florida’s own published pages, linked below with the date we last confirmed them. We do not estimate a missing band or interpolate a value.
- Admissions scholarships — resident and non-resident gridsverified 2026-10-24
- Scholarships — automatic award statementverified 2026-10-24
- Freshman admissions — test requirement and superscore policyverified 2026-10-24
- Scholarship FAQ — renewal and credit-hour conditionsverified 2026-10-24
- A score is required to apply to UNF at all, so there is no test-optional question here.
- UNF superscores and accepts updated scores through January 15, which makes a targeted retake unusually worthwhile.
- The GPA is recalculated by UNF with +0.5 for honours and +1.0 for AP, IB, AICE and dual enrolment, so the rung cannot be read off a transcript.
- The Dean's Award needs a 4.2 recalculated GPA — higher than the top President's award — in exchange for only a 21 ACT.
- UNF also publishes a Provost's Award of $2,000 a year at a 4.5 recalculated GPA with a 21 ACT. It is not a row on this grid because a 4.5 is above the top of the GPA scale this tool reads, so the lookup could never return it — but it is real, and a student with a heavily weighted transcript should ask about it.
- Non-resident awards are partial waivers of the out-of-state tuition portion, and UNF calls the figures an estimated value.
- A non-resident at a 3.9 with a 28 is credited $14,000, against $4,000 for a resident at the same profile.
- Amounts assume 30 credit hours a year.
- These awards are not stackable with other UNF scholarships, but do stack with Bright Futures up to the cost of attendance.
- The National Merit award — up to $24,797 a year in state and $39,197 out of state — requires Finalist status with UNF listed first, so it is not a band.
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 University of North Florida.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at UNF?
Automatic merit aid at University of North Florida starts at an ACT composite of 21, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $14,000 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 UNF test-optional?
UNF requires a score to apply as a first-time-in-college student — there is no test-optional route into the university. For merit aid the answer is different: every scholarship row names a score alongside a recalculated GPA, and a score is required for admission in the first place. UNF will consider updated scores received by January 15, though it says upgrades are not guaranteed. 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 UNF?
On UNF's published grid for 2027-28 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Non-residents — Sunshine Scholarship at $6,000 a year, about $24,000 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at UNF?
The most valuable single point on UNF's published grid is 25 to 26, at a 3.7 GPA: it moves the award by $4,000 a year, or $16,000 across a four-year degree on the Non-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 UNF?
Yes. UNF publishes separate grids: Florida residents run $1,000 to $5,000 a year, and Non-residents run $6,000 to $14,000 — a difference of $9,000 a year at the top. Check which grid applies to you before planning around a figure.
Does UNF superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Yes. Yes. UNF states it takes the highest subsection across multiple attempts and builds a new composite — and it accepts updated scores up to January 15, so a retake aimed at a single tier boundary is a workable strategy here. The statement appears on the admissions page rather than the scholarship page. UNF superscores tests for applicants, meaning we will consider your highest subsection across multiple attempts of an exam and create a new composite score.
When are UNF scholarship deadlines?
Applied and admitted by, for scholarship priority: January 15, 2027. Updated test scores considered through: January 15, 2027. Priority application: November 18. 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 UNF scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from University of North Florida'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 UNF. 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.
Free · About 3 minutes · No account needed · Not affiliated with University of North Florida