York University: merit scholarships by ACT score
York University awards automatic merit aid from a published grid crossing ACT score with GPA. Awards start at an ACT of 24 and reach $6,500 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
York's awards are alternatives: a student qualifies on GPA OR on an ACT score OR on an SAT score, not all three. The page also describes the awards as ranging "up to $6,500 per year", so treat the tier figures as the published amounts rather than a guarantee, and confirm in writing. Full-time enrolment is required.
Unweighted, as the school asks for it.
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Example — an ACT 29 with a 3.60 GPA
Larsen Scholarship
$5,000 / year
About $20,000 over four years, if it renews.
What the next points are worth
4 more points (a 33) moves you to Trustees Scholarship (ACT route) — $6,500 a year. That is $1,500 more a year, or $6,000 over four years.
The question isn't whether 4 points is worth having. It's whether they can move them — which starts with knowing exactly which questions they're missing, and why.
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Want to know what one more point would change? The Merit Plan prices the next point at every school.
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The published York merit aid grid
Reproduced in full from York 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.
Academic scholarships
Each award is reachable on GPA alone or on an ACT score alone. A student receives one award, not both routes.
$6,500
Trustees Scholarship
No score needed
$6,500
Trustees Scholarship (ACT route)
ACT 33–36 · any GPA
$5,000
Larsen Scholarship
No score needed
$5,000
Larsen Scholarship (ACT route)
ACT 30–32 · any GPA
$4,000
Childress Scholarship
No score needed
$4,000
Childress Scholarship (ACT route)
ACT 27–29 · any GPA
$3,500
York Scholarship
No score needed
$3,500
York Scholarship (ACT route)
ACT 24–26 · any GPA
| Award | With a score | Per year |
|---|---|---|
| Trustees Scholarship | — | $6,500 |
| Trustees Scholarship (ACT route) | ACT 33–36 · any GPA | $6,500 |
| Larsen Scholarship | — | $5,000 |
| Larsen Scholarship (ACT route) | ACT 30–32 · any GPA | $5,000 |
| Childress Scholarship | — | $4,000 |
| Childress Scholarship (ACT route) | ACT 27–29 · any GPA | $4,000 |
| York Scholarship | — | $3,500 |
| York Scholarship (ACT route) | ACT 24–26 · any GPA | $3,500 |
Source: Scholarships — academic award tiers · verified 2026-10-24
Does York superscore for scholarships?
Not stated. York's scholarship page does not use the word, so a student planning a retake should confirm in writing whether a superscore is read.
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 York’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.
Where these numbers came from
Every figure on this page was read from York 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 criteria are alternatives. A 3.9 GPA with a 21 ACT still reaches the $6,500 Trustees tier on GPA alone.
- The ACT windows are closed and leave a gap: a 23 reaches no ACT tier, and the lowest ACT route named is a 24.
- On the ACT route the top tier starts at 33 — three points above the 30 that tops out most grids in this dataset.
- The SAT routes are 1490–1600, 1390–1480, 1280–1380 and 1160–1270, matching the four ACT windows.
- The Valedictorian/Salutatorian award requires a 27+ ACT and proof of rank, and York says it stacks with other awards up to $16,800.
- A National Merit award exists but York states it is not stackable with any other York scholarship.
- The Faith and Learning award ($15,500, or full tuition) needs a separate application, so it is not on this grid.
- York publishes no deadline for the academic awards.
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 York University.
Frequently asked questions
What ACT score do you need for a scholarship at York?
Automatic merit aid at York University starts at an ACT composite of 24, alongside the published GPA minimum, and reaches $6,500 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 York test-optional?
York's application page names a minimum ACT of 18 or SAT of 970 alongside GPA minimums, but publishes no test-optional statement, so the admission requirement is not claimed here. For merit aid the answer is different: a score is one of three routes to each award. A student with no ACT still reaches the top $6,500 tier at a 3.75 GPA, and a student with a weaker GPA can reach the same tier on a 33. 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 York?
On York's published grid for the current cycle, an ACT of 30 with a 3.6 GPA qualifies for Larsen Scholarship (ACT route) at $5,000 a year, about $20,000 over four years if it renews.
How much is one more ACT point worth at York?
The most valuable single point on York's published grid is 32 to 33, on the row where it is largest: it moves the award by $1,500 a year, or $6,000 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 York superscore the ACT for scholarships?
Not stated. York's scholarship page does not use the word, so a student planning a retake should confirm in writing whether a superscore is read.
Is this York scholarship data current?
Every figure on this page was read from York 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
You know what a score is worth at York. 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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