William Carey University: merit scholarships by ACT score
William Carey University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid keyed to the ACT alone, with no GPA criterion. Awards start at an ACT of 20 and reach $10,100 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
There is no GPA criterion on this grid at all — every award is keyed to the ACT alone. Living on campus is worth $2,600 to $3,000 a year at every tier, so a commuter should read the lower track.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
Trustee Scholarship
$10,100 / year
About $40,400 over four years, if it renews.
There is no higher band to reach at this GPA — more points would not change the award here. They may still matter for admission, for honours programmes, or at other schools on the list.
Knowing where a score sits is the easy part. Moving it starts with knowing exactly which questions they're being missed, and why.
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The published William Carey merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from William Carey University’s own pages for 2026-27 entry. Nothing here is estimated: where the school states a benefit rather than a figure, that is what the table says.
Students living on campus
No application needed — Carey determines and awards these on review of the academic record.
$10,100
Trustee Scholarship
ACT 27–36 · No GPA criterion published
$9,100
Presidential Scholarship
ACT 24–26 · No GPA criterion published
$7,100
Dean Scholarship
ACT 21–23 · No GPA criterion published
$5,500
Opportunity Scholarship
ACT 20 · No GPA criterion published
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Trustee Scholarship | ACT 27–36 · No GPA criterion published | $10,100 |
| Presidential Scholarship | ACT 24–26 · No GPA criterion published | $9,100 |
| Dean Scholarship | ACT 21–23 · No GPA criterion published | $7,100 |
| Opportunity Scholarship | ACT 20 · No GPA criterion published | $5,500 |
Source: Institutional aid — academic scholarships · verified 2026-10-24
Commuting students
The same ladder at a lower rate — between $2,600 and $3,000 a year less at each tier.
$7,100
Trustee Scholarship
ACT 27–36 · No GPA criterion published
$6,100
Presidential Scholarship
ACT 24–26 · No GPA criterion published
$4,500
Dean Scholarship
ACT 21–23 · No GPA criterion published
$2,900
Opportunity Scholarship
ACT 20 · No GPA criterion published
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Trustee Scholarship | ACT 27–36 · No GPA criterion published | $7,100 |
| Presidential Scholarship | ACT 24–26 · No GPA criterion published | $6,100 |
| Dean Scholarship | ACT 21–23 · No GPA criterion published | $4,500 |
| Opportunity Scholarship | ACT 20 · No GPA criterion published | $2,900 |
Source: Institutional aid — academic scholarships · verified 2026-10-24
Does William Carey superscore for scholarships?
No. No — Carey uses the HIGHEST SINGLE TEST rather than a superscore. Its wording is that eligibility is determined off the highest scored test, which means a retake has to beat an earlier sitting outright rather than topping up a section.
“If a student takes multiple tests, WCU will determine scholarship eligibility based off the highest scored test.”
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 William Carey 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.
- There is no GPA criterion on this grid. A 27 is worth $10,100 on campus whatever the transcript says.
- Living on campus is worth $2,600 to $3,000 a year at every tier.
- Carey uses the highest single test rather than a superscore, so a retake must beat the earlier sitting outright.
- Nothing is paid below an ACT 20.
- The renewal GPA rises with the award — 3.20 for the Trustee against 2.50 for the Opportunity.
- A Carey Scholar Award at a 29+ covers up to 30 hours of tuition a year plus a $900 room waiver a semester, and needs a 3.50 GPA to keep, so it is a different shape from the tiered grid and is not a band here.
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 William Carey University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at William Carey?
Automatic merit aid at William Carey University starts at an ACT composite of 20, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $10,100 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 William Carey test-optional?
The institutional aid page does not state the admission testing requirement, so nothing is claimed about it here. For merit aid the answer is different: every tier names an ACT range and Carey publishes no GPA-only alternative. A student with no score reaches none of these awards. 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 William Carey?
On William Carey's published grid for 2026-27 entry, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Students living on campus — Trustee Scholarship at $10,100 a year, about $40,400 over four years if it renews; Commuting students — Trustee Scholarship at $7,100 a year, about $28,400 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at William Carey?
The most valuable single point on William Carey's published grid is 23 to 24, on the row where it is largest: it moves the award by $2,000 a year, or $8,000 across a four-year degree on the Students living on campus 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 William Carey superscore the ACT for scholarships?
No. No — Carey uses the HIGHEST SINGLE TEST rather than a superscore. Its wording is that eligibility is determined off the highest scored test, which means a retake has to beat an earlier sitting outright rather than topping up a section. If a student takes multiple tests, WCU will determine scholarship eligibility based off the highest scored test.
Is this William Carey scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from William Carey 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.
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What to do next
You know what a score is worth at William Carey. 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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