William Paterson University: merit scholarships by ACT score
William Paterson University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 23 and reach $9,000 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 awards are automatic but allocated FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED among admitted students, with a January 1 deadline for fall, so timing matters as much as the numbers. William Paterson is test-optional for these scholarships, which means the lower score tier is also the no-score tier — a student who submits nothing is paid what a 22 is paid.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
Trustee Scholarship
$7,000 a year / year
About $28,000 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 Paterson merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from William Paterson University’s own pages for the current cycle. Nothing here is estimated: where the school states a benefit rather than a figure, that is what the table says.
Trustee Scholarship
Three GPA bands crossed with a single score threshold at 23. No separate application; awarded on admission in order of application.
$9,000 a year
Trustee Scholarship
ACT 23–36 · 4.00+
$8,000 a year
Trustee Scholarship
ACT 23–36 · 3.75–3.99
$7,000 a year
Trustee Scholarship
ACT 23–36 · 3.40–3.74
$7,000 a year
Trustee Scholarship
No score needed
$6,000 a year
Trustee Scholarship
No score needed
$5,000 a year
Trustee Scholarship
No score needed
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Trustee Scholarship | ACT 23–36 · 4.00+ | $9,000 a year |
| Trustee Scholarship | ACT 23–36 · 3.75–3.99 | $8,000 a year |
| Trustee Scholarship | ACT 23–36 · 3.40–3.74 | $7,000 a year |
| Trustee Scholarship | — | $7,000 a year |
| Trustee Scholarship | — | $6,000 a year |
| Trustee Scholarship | — | $5,000 a year |
Source: Institutional scholarships — the Trustee Scholarship matrix · verified 2026-10-24
Does William Paterson superscore for scholarships?
Yes. Yes, and William Paterson spells out the mechanism: the highest score from each test section is used when a test is taken more than once. With a single 23 threshold to clear and a flat $2,000 behind it, combining best sections across sittings is precisely the right move here.
“If submitted, SAT/ACT scores will be 'super-scored' (if taken multiple times, the highest score from each test section will be used).”
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.
William Paterson scholarship deadlines
| Entry term | Due |
|---|---|
| Fall entry | January 1 |
| Spring entry | November 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 William Paterson 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.
- The score axis has one threshold and it is flat: a 23 is worth $2,000 a year more than a 22 at every GPA, and a 36 is worth no more than a 23.
- That makes 23 the only ACT number worth aiming at here.
- William Paterson superscores, taking the highest score from each section across sittings.
- Because the scholarship is test-optional, the lower score tier doubles as the no-score tier — submitting nothing is not penalised beyond that.
- The awards are allocated first come, first served among admitted students.
- Below a 3.40 GPA the matrix publishes no award.
- The page gives no renewal GPA, only that academic performance is reviewed.
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 Paterson University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at William Paterson?
Automatic merit aid at William Paterson University starts at an ACT composite of 23, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $9,000 a year at the top. 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 Paterson test-optional?
William Paterson is test-optional for admission. For merit aid the answer is different: test-optional for the Trustee Scholarship too, in the university's own words. A score matters in exactly one way: a 23 or above pays $2,000 a year more than a 22 or below at every GPA band, and nothing above a 23 adds any more. A student with no score is treated as the lower tier rather than excluded. 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 Paterson?
On William Paterson's published grid for the current cycle, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Trustee Scholarship at $7,000 a year, about $28,000 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at William Paterson?
The most valuable single point on William Paterson's published grid is 22 to 23, at a 3.4 GPA: it moves the award by $2,000 a year, or $8,000 across a four-year degree. 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 Paterson superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Yes. Yes, and William Paterson spells out the mechanism: the highest score from each test section is used when a test is taken more than once. With a single 23 threshold to clear and a flat $2,000 behind it, combining best sections across sittings is precisely the right move here. If submitted, SAT/ACT scores will be 'super-scored' (if taken multiple times, the highest score from each test section will be used).
When are William Paterson scholarship deadlines?
Fall entry: January 1. Spring entry: November 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 William Paterson scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from William Paterson 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 Paterson. 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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