Western Washington University: merit scholarships and what the school publishes
Western Washington University publishes merit aid criteria as published criteria. Awards start at a 3.25 GPA. 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 3.25 is described as minimum eligibility rather than a guarantee, and it is the only published threshold WWU has — the Western Award for Excellence is a $10,000 to $14,000 range whose 3.00 figure describes past recipients rather than a rule, and the Washington resident award is a $1,000 to $4,000 range with no tiers. WUE is limited to residents of WUE states, cannot be combined with the Western Award, and both are fall-quarter entry only. All GPAs are unweighted.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — a 3.60 GPA
Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE)
Reduces non-resident tuition to 150% of the in-state rate for up to four years — about $14,910 in 2026-27
WWU 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 WWU merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from Western Washington University’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.
Residents of Western Undergraduate Exchange states
The only WWU award with a published criterion. Applicants are considered automatically from the admission application, and the 3.25 is stated as minimum eligibility rather than a guarantee.
Reduces non-resident tuition to 150% of the in-state rate for up to four years — about $14,910 in 2026-27
Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE)
No score needed · GPA 3.25
| Award | With a score | No score | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Undergraduate Exchange (WUE) | — | GPA 3.25 | Reduces non-resident tuition to 150% of the in-state rate for up to four years — about $14,910 in 2026-27 |
Source: First-year out-of-state scholarships · verified 2026-10-24
Does WWU superscore for scholarships?
No. WWU does not superscore ACT results, though it does superscore the SAT — so for the ACT a single sitting is what counts.
This matters more than it sounds. A student whose superscore crosses a band but whose best single sitting does not will be paid on the lower band. Look up your best single sitting in the grid above, then find what is costing you points on one test.
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 Western Washington 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.
- First-year out-of-state scholarshipsverified 2026-10-24
- Washington resident first-year scholarshipsverified 2026-10-24
- First-year admissionsverified 2026-10-24
- The 3.25 unweighted WUE floor is the only published threshold WWU has.
- WUE reduces non-resident tuition to 150% of the in-state rate — worth about $14,910 a year in 2026-27.
- Clearing the 3.25 is minimum eligibility, not a guarantee.
- The Western Award for Excellence is a $10,000 to $14,000 range with no threshold; its 3.00 figure describes past recipients.
- The Washington resident Admissions Achievement Award is a $1,000 to $4,000 range with no tiers.
- WUE and the Western Award cannot be combined, and both are fall-quarter entry only.
- All GPAs are unweighted.
- WWU does not superscore the ACT.
- The older Western Academic Award still listed on third-party sites now returns a 404 on WWU's own site.
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 Western Washington University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at WWU?
Western Washington University publishes a merit aid grid keyed to ACT score and GPA. See the tables on this page for the current bands.
Is WWU test-optional?
WWU states that a score on file changes nothing about either admission or merit consideration. For merit aid the answer is different: no published criterion reads a score. The one threshold WWU gives is an unweighted 3.25 GPA for WUE eligibility. Being admitted without a score and qualifying for money without a score are two separate questions.
Does WWU superscore the ACT for scholarships?
No. WWU does not superscore ACT results, though it does superscore the SAT — so for the ACT a single sitting is what counts.
Is this WWU scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from Western Washington University'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
WWU awards on GPA — but the ACT still decides what you're worth elsewhere.
Most schools in this comparison are score-keyed even though WWU is not, so the same test still moves the money everywhere else on the list.
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