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Bushnell scholarships and merit aid

The short answer

Bushnell may be worth checking, but its awards do not follow a simple grades-and-scores chart. Start with the published scholarships below.

Where does your student land?

Verified Jul 2026
1 school source to explore

Published rules, with the school sources close at hand. Confirm the details before you count on an award.

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The award collection

Published scholarships

These amounts and requirements come from the school’s own published pages. Open an award to see who qualifies and how to keep it.

Where does your student land?

  1. GPA Scholarships (first-year grid)$6,000-$16,000Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    GPA Scholarships (first-year grid)

    $6,000-$16,000

    Published rangeNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    GPA
    3.90-4.00→$16,000; 3.80-3.89→$14,000; 3.65-3.79→$13,000; 3.50-3.64→$12,000; 3.35-3.49→$11,000; 3.20-3.34→$10,000; 3.00-3.19→$8,000; 2.80-2.99→$6,000
    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for GPA Scholarships (first-year grid)

    Who qualifies

    'Merit scholarships based on academic achievement are considered only at the time of admittance to the university.' Page says FAFSA completion automatically considers you 'for most scholarships' but does not label the GPA grid itself automatic.

    How to keep it

    Renewal terms not stated on the page.

    Worth knowing

    Pure GPA grid — no test-score component published. No aid-year label on the page.

  2. Private Christian High School Scholarship$4,000Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Private Christian High School Scholarship

    $4,000

    Published amountNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Private Christian High School Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Graduating seniors from Christian high schools

    How to keep it

    Renewable up to four years.

  3. International Student Scholarship$12,000Not automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    International Student Scholarship

    $12,000

    Published amountNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    Open award details for International Student Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    International students enrolled in Bushnell's traditional daytime undergraduate program

  4. Campus Visit Scholarship$1,000 (one-time)Not automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Campus Visit Scholarship

    $1,000 (one-time)

    Published award termsNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    Open award details for Campus Visit Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Traditional undergraduate students who attend and complete a formal campus visit

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  • “it told me what to ask and what the renewal GPA looked like, which I was not going to find on my own”Melissa

What makes Bushnell different

DRAFT: Bushnell publishes a clean eight-band GPA scholarship grid ($6,000 at 2.80 up to $16,000 at 3.90+, set once at admission), plus flat add-ons for Christian-school grads ($4,000), visits ($1,000), church ties, and family connections.

Merit tiers4See who qualifies
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team

Selection beyond grades and scores

Start with the selection process.

These awards are not recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read each award's selection rules, application steps and dates. Meeting a minimum is not an award offer.

  1. Read the selection rules

    Look for the school's stated criteria and whether an additional application is needed.

  2. Check the application dates

    Confirm the current admission and scholarship deadlines directly with the school.

  3. Know what happens next year

    Check renewal, credit requirements and how other aid affects the award.

The fine print / Three questions to carry forward

Before you count on it.

Does it apply to us? Confirm the entering year, residency and every eligibility condition.

Can we keep it? Check renewal GPA, credits and how long the award lasts.

Can we combine it? Ask how outside scholarships and other school awards change the offer.

Take Bushnell's decision sheet

A printable research summary, source links and room for your questions.

See what could change an award

What families often miss

  1. 'Merit scholarships based on academic achievement are considered only at the time of admittance to the university' — the GPA grid is locked at admission.

  2. Bushnell states 'By completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), you will automatically be considered for most scholarships' — skipping it can cost consideration for institutional money (including the $600-$10,000 Bushnell Need Grant).

  3. The page publishes no renewal GPA or term limit for the GPA grid (unlike the Private Christian High School award's 'renewable up to four years'). Get renewal conditions in writing.

  4. Endowed funds for declared ministry or music majors require 'a separate application... due by March 1st of each year.'

  5. A completed formal campus visit is worth a guaranteed $1,000 one-time scholarship.

  6. Performing Arts and Athletic awards are 'Renewable with ongoing Ensemble participation' / 'ongoing athletic participation' — quitting the ensemble or team ends the award.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

DRAFT: GPA-strong students (no test scores involved) read their award straight off the grid; Christian-high-school grads, pastors' kids, and DOC/Christian Church members layer on flat awards; the grid is set only at admission, so apply with your best GPA.

Cost and graduation facts

Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Bushnell, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.

Average annual net price by family income at Bushnell, academic year 2021-22
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$17,924
$30,001–$48,000$21,033
$48,001–$75,000$12,656
$75,001–$110,000$22,084
$110,001+$23,361
All income levels (average)$20,789

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Total cost of attendance (sticker), AY 2021-22
$47,143
Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$35,800
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$20,789

That works out to an average 56% discount off the sticker price above — both figures come from the same federal AY 2021-22 Scorecard report, not a number the school itself published.

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
56%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
76%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$23,500 (~$249/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$53,623
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
37%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
59%
See other scholarships and cost examples

Other Bushnell scholarships worth checking

These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.

Amount$500-$1,000EligibilityLeadership activities in church, high school, college, or community

Talent category.

Source

Amount$1,000-$2,000EligibilityTalent category (criteria not detailed)

Source

AmountAmount variesEligibilityExceptional music ability + participation in a Bushnell ensemble group

Renewable with ongoing Ensemble participation.

Source

Amount$1,500EligibilityChildren or grandchildren of Bushnell/Northwest Christian University alumni

Source

Amount$1,500EligibilityFirst generation of family to attend college

Source

Amount$2,500EligibilityStudents who attend a Disciples of Christ (DOC) or Christian Church/Church of Christ (COC)

Church grant.

Source

Amount$1,500EligibilityChildren of pastors or missionaries from a Christian church

Source

AmountUp to $1,000EligibilityBushnell matches any donation by the student's home church

Source

Amount$1,000 (each student)EligibilityStudents with a dependent sibling attending Bushnell

Source

Amount$600-$10,000 per academic yearEligibilityFull-time traditional daytime undergrads with FAFSA-demonstrated need

Need-based, not merit.

Source

AmountVarying amountsEligibilityTraditional undergraduates; merit, need, or major-based; ministry/music majors require a separate application due March 1 each year

Source

Bushnell merit aid FAQ

  • What is the scholarship deadline?

    Merit (GPA) scholarships are set at admission with no separate application. The only posted date is the endowed-scholarship application for ministry/music majors, due March 1 each year. FAFSA completion drives consideration for most other awards.

  • How much will my GPA earn?

    Per Bushnell's grid: 3.90-4.00 → $16,000; 3.80-3.89 → $14,000; 3.65-3.79 → $13,000; 3.50-3.64 → $12,000; 3.35-3.49 → $11,000; 3.20-3.34 → $10,000; 3.00-3.19 → $8,000; 2.80-2.99 → $6,000. No test scores are referenced.

  • What does Bushnell tuition cost?

    The financial-aid landing page lists undergraduate tuition at '$34,500 annual' (no aid-year label, and no full cost-of-attendance total with housing/food was published on the pages opened).

  • Are there church-related awards?

    Yes: Heritage Grant $2,500 (Disciples of Christ or Christian Church/Church of Christ attendees), Pastors Child $1,500, and a Church Matching Grant up to $1,000.

See sources and other schools

How Bushnell compares

  • 665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

    Bushnell is one of them. The cohort minority (84 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.

Sources used on this page

Every claim is checked against Bushnell’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

Keep exploring Bushnell merit aid

The next chapter

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