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MACU scholarships and merit aid

The short answer

MACU 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
3 school sources to explore

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

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. Traditional Freshman Scholarships (2026 Scholarship Table)Amount not published (table posted only as an image flipbook)Not automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Traditional Freshman Scholarships (2026 Scholarship Table)

    Amount not published (table posted only as an image flipbook)

    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 Traditional Freshman Scholarships (2026 Scholarship Table)

    Who qualifies

    MACU links a '2026 Scholarship Table - Traditional Freshman' (published May 18, 2026, per the hosting page) from its scholarships page; the table's contents are images and could not be machine-read — request the table from admissions

    Worth knowing

    Institutional scholarships are only available for students taking traditional 16-week classes (per the financial-aid page).

  2. MACU Alumni Scholarship$2,000 annual ($1,000 per semester)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    MACU Alumni Scholarship

    $2,000 annual ($1,000 per semester)

    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.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for MACU Alumni Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    New, incoming College of Arts and Science students referred by a GBC, MBC, or MACU alumnus via the Alumni Scholarship Referral Form; full-time degree-seeking; student-athletes may not be eligible; not available to international students (they get the International Match Scholarship, up to $2,000)

    How to keep it

    Valid for up to 4 years (8 semesters); students must complete 12 hours with a GPA of 2.0 or above during their first 12 hours or 'no scholarship being awarded.'

    Worth knowing

    Tuition-and-fees only: 'cannot be stacked with any other institutional scholarship that exceeds the cost of tuition and fees.'

  3. Ministry Advancement Program (MAP)Up to $6,000 a yearNot automatic
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Ministry Advancement Program (MAP)

    Up to $6,000 a year

    Variable or qualified 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 Ministry Advancement Program (MAP)

    Who qualifies

    Future Church of God pastors (Lead, Youth, Children's, or Worship Pastor); includes internships and community service

  4. 3SLI Scholarship / State-National Leadership Scholarship (mutually exclusive pair)$2,000 annual ($1,000 per semester) eachNot automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    3SLI Scholarship / State-National Leadership Scholarship (mutually exclusive pair)

    $2,000 annual ($1,000 per semester) each

    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.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for 3SLI Scholarship / State-National Leadership Scholarship (mutually exclusive pair)

    Who qualifies

    3SLI: completed the Tri-Level Student Leadership Institute. State/National: serve on a state Student Leadership Planning Team or the National Student Leadership Planning Team.

    Worth knowing

    Each page states the two awards 'cannot be stacked' with each other — a student qualifying for both still gets only $2,000/year.

  5. CHOG Pastor/Staff Scholarship$2,000 annual ($1,000 per semester)Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    CHOG Pastor/Staff Scholarship

    $2,000 annual ($1,000 per semester)

    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.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for CHOG Pastor/Staff Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Children of a full-time Church of God pastor or staff member

Free Merit Check

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Checking merit aid at MACU

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The fine print

Outside awardsNo published displacement order

MACU's policy doesn't specify whether outside scholarships hit loans, grants, or only the COA ceiling. Get a written aid-office answer before chasing private awards.

What makes MACU different

DRAFT: MACU publishes its 2026 freshman/transfer merit tables only as image flipbooks, but posts clear flat-dollar affiliation awards (Church of God leadership, pastor-family, church-match, alumni-referral) — each around $1,000-$6,000 a year with explicit no-stacking pairs and a tuition-and-fees cap on the Alumni award.

Merit tiers5See 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 MACU'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. MACU states each 'cannot be stacked' with the other — qualifying for both still yields one $2,000/year award.

  2. The Alumni Scholarship 'is to only assist in covering tuition and fees and cannot be stacked with any other institutional scholarship that exceeds the cost of tuition and fees' — it cannot push total institutional aid above billed tuition + fees, and cannot be redeemed for cash.

  3. Per the Alumni Scholarship page, 'Student-athletes may not be eligible,' and per the financial-aid page, 'Institutional scholarships are only available for students taking traditional 16-week classes' — accelerated evening/online students are excluded.

  4. The Alumni Scholarship requires completing 12 hours with a 2.0+ GPA 'during their first 12 hours. Failure to meet these requirements will result in no scholarship being awarded.'

  5. The 2026 freshman/transfer merit tables are posted only as image flipbooks on a third-party host (Issuu) and are not readable as text — get the current table and your exact tier in writing from an admissions counselor.

  6. Per MACU's aid page: SEOG requires FAFSA by March 1; OTAG FAFSA 'as soon as possible after Oct. 1 and at the latest completed by Dec. 1'; OTEG by March 15 (fall) / Oct. 15 (spring). MACU's FAFSA priority date is two weeks before each start date.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

DRAFT: Best fits Church of God-connected students (pastor's kids, 3SLI grads, churches that partner) and students with an alumni referral; pure academic-merit amounts must be pulled from MACU's image-based 2026 tables or an admissions counselor.

Cost and graduation facts

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

Average annual net price by family income at MACU, academic year 2021-22
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$14,517
$30,001–$48,000$15,027
$48,001–$75,000$15,646
$75,001–$110,000$20,665
$110,001+$24,590
All income levels (average)$16,692

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Total cost of attendance (sticker), AY 2021-22
$31,313
Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$21,294
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$16,692

That works out to an average 47% 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
44%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
65%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$26,394 (~$280/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$46,116
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
59%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
45%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

The school does not publish a specific outside-scholarship displacement policy; confirm treatment with the aid office before counting on stacking.

Verified policy language (2026-07-02): [Alumni Scholarship] cannot be stacked with any other institutional scholarship that exceeds the cost of tuition and fees. Separately, the school's own award-stacking rules: MACU publishes pairwise no-stacking rules (3SLI vs State/National Leadership) and a tuition-and-fees cap on the Alumni Scholarship ('cannot be stacked with any other institutional scholarship that exceeds the cost of tuition and fees'). (per https://www.macu.edu/prospective-student/scholarships/alumni-scholarship/)

Source

Other MACU scholarships worth checking

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

Amount$1,500 per semesterEligibilityYour church enters a covenant with MACU to contribute 2% of its annual budget to the University

Church-partnership award.

Source

AmountUp to $500 a semester (up to $1,000 a year)EligibilityLocal church provides a scholarship for the student; MACU matches

Source

AmountUp to $2,000EligibilityInternational students (who are excluded from the Alumni Scholarship)

Referenced in the Alumni Scholarship FAQ.

Source

MACU merit aid FAQ

  • What is the scholarship deadline?

    MACU posts no single merit deadline; its FAFSA priority filing date is 'two weeks prior to each start date.' State/federal grant deadlines on the aid page: SEOG — FAFSA by March 1; OTAG — by Dec. 1 (file soon after Oct. 1); OTEG — March 15 for fall, Oct. 15 for spring. 'Scholarship dollars go fast,' per MACU — file early.

  • Where are the freshman merit scholarship amounts?

    In the '2026 Scholarship Table - Traditional Freshman' and the transfer equivalent, linked from macu.edu but hosted as image flipbooks on Issuu. The amounts could not be extracted as text for this draft — request the table from admissions (405-692-3281).

  • What Church of God awards exist?

    MAP (up to $6,000/yr for future CHOG pastors), V2G ($1,500/semester via a church covenant), Church Match (up to $1,000/yr), CHOG Pastor/Staff ($2,000/yr), and 3SLI or State/National Leadership ($2,000/yr, not stackable with each other).

  • Do online students get institutional scholarships?

    No — 'Institutional scholarships are only available for students taking traditional 16-week classes.' Accelerated evening/online students are pointed to an external scholarship list instead.

See sources and other schools

How MACU compares

  • 133 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use unclear or unpublished displacement.

    MACU is in a recognizable cluster (133 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

  • 133 of 749 verified schools publish no clear displacement order.

    MACU is one of them. The right move is the aid-office email script below, not a guess.

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

    MACU 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 MACU’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

Keep exploring MACU merit aid

The next chapter

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