Is the NNU merit scholarship automatic?

Yes for first-time traditional freshmen — 'All first-time traditional freshmen at NNU are automatically considered for all scholarships that they may be eligible to receive' by completing the NNU Application for Admission and Financial Aid and submitting transcripts. The merit award is set by your high-school GPA per the Fall-2026 grid ($14,000-$22,000).

Do I need to submit ACT or SAT scores?

No. NNU is test-optional, and the merit grid awards $14,000-$20,000 on GPA alone. A test score (1100 SAT / 22 ACT) is listed only on the top $22,000 tier; entering test scores 'may/may not enhance your scholarship offerings.'

How do I keep my merit scholarship each year?

Merit Scholarships are 'renewable as long as the student is academically eligible,' and NNU's financial-aid page states renewal is based on maintaining an NNU cumulative GPA of at least 2.5.

Northwest Nazarene· Renewal Rules

Keeping Northwest Nazarene’s Merit Aid for Four Years

What the financial-aid office actually requires after freshman year: minimum GPA, credit-hour pace, and the cliffs that quietly downgrade families mid-degree.

Verified Jun 20268 days ago· CC

At a glance

Renewable tiers: 6 of 6
One-time tiers: 0
Tiers with published renewal terms: 6
Renewal risk profile: moderate

Renewal risk profile

Northwest Nazarene's renewal bar is achievable for steady students but isn't generous. Most awards require a cumulative GPA in the 3.0–3.4 band plus full-time enrollment. Audit the strictest tier on this school's list before assuming the four-year value is locked in.

NNU Merit Scholarship (Fall 2026 automatic grid): See notes
Aldersgate Honors College Scholarship: See notes
Christian Education Partner Scholarship: See notes
Ministerial Scholarship (first-year): See notes
Church Matching (Trustees Matching) Scholarship: Full-time enrollment
Transfer Merit Scholarship: See notes

Renewal terms by tier

NNU Merit Scholarship (Fall 2026 automatic grid)
$14,000-$22,000 per year
Entry requirements: 3.0-4.0+ high-school GPA bands (see excerpt); students admitted below 3.0 still qualify — see counselor GPA · 1100 SAT needed only for the top $22,000 tier SAT · 22 ACT needed only for the top $22,000 tier ACT
To keep it: Merit Scholarships are renewable as long as the student is academically eligible; the financial-aid page states renewal is based on maintaining an NNU cumulative GPA of at least 2.5.
Source: https://nnu.edu/admissions-aid/financial-aid/
Aldersgate Honors College Scholarship
$22,000 per year
Entry requirements: 3.5 GPA GPA · 1100 SAT SAT · 22 ACT ACT
To keep it: Tied to the merit scholarship structure; specific Honors renewal terms not stated on the page (general merit renewal is an NNU cumulative GPA of at least 2.5).
Source: https://nnu.edu/admissions-aid/financial-aid/grants-scholarships/
Christian Education Partner Scholarship
$4,000 per year (on campus) / $2,000 per year (off campus)
Entry requirements: Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher GPA
To keep it: On-campus award is described as $4,000 'for up to four years.'
Source: https://catalog.nnu.edu/tuition-scholarships
Ministerial Scholarship (first-year)
$2,000 per year
To keep it: Subsequent renewal requires continued enrollment as a ministry major and is determined by the faculty of the College of Theology and Christian Ministries.
Source: https://nnu.edu/admissions-aid/financial-aid/grants-scholarships/
Church Matching (Trustees Matching) Scholarship
Match on up to $850 of church gift per year (up to 7:1 Nazarene / up to 4:1 other)
To keep it: Awarded fall and spring each year until the first bachelor's degree is completed for a traditional full-time undergraduate; renewal of full eligibility depends on satisfactory academic progress (per the Trustees Matching covenant).
Source: https://nnu.edu/admissions-aid/financial-aid/grants-scholarships/
Transfer Merit Scholarship
$9,000-$18,000 per year
Entry requirements: 3.5+ = $18,000; 2.5-3.49 = $16,000; 2.49 and below = $9,000 (cumulative GPA from all colleges attended) GPA
To keep it: Renewable as long as the student is academically eligible (general NNU merit renewal: maintain an NNU cumulative GPA of at least 2.5).
Source: https://nnu.edu/admissions-aid/undergraduate-admissions/transfer-students/

How families lose this aid

Thinking you need a high test score to get NNU merit money.
NNU is test-optional and the published Fall-2026 grid sets $14,000-$20,000 awards on high-school GPA alone. Only the top $22,000 tier lists '4.0+ and 1100 SAT or 22 ACT' — for everyone else, a test score is not required to earn the merit award.
Assuming a GPA under 3.0 means no merit aid.
The financial-aid page explicitly notes that 'Students admitted with a GPA below 3.0 still qualify for a merit scholarship' — you just have to consult your Admissions Counselor for the amount, which isn't on the published grid.

Renewal questions families ask

Is the NNU merit scholarship automatic?: Yes for first-time traditional freshmen — 'All first-time traditional freshmen at NNU are automatically considered for all scholarships that they may be eligible to receive' by completing the NNU Application for Admission and Financial Aid and submitting transcripts. The merit award is set by your high-school GPA per the Fall-2026 grid ($14,000-$22,000).
Do I need to submit ACT or SAT scores?: No. NNU is test-optional, and the merit grid awards $14,000-$20,000 on GPA alone. A test score (1100 SAT / 22 ACT) is listed only on the top $22,000 tier; entering test scores 'may/may not enhance your scholarship offerings.'
How do I keep my merit scholarship each year?: Merit Scholarships are 'renewable as long as the student is academically eligible,' and NNU's financial-aid page states renewal is based on maintaining an NNU cumulative GPA of at least 2.5.

Rules that bite at Northwest Nazarene

The renewal trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook, derived from Northwest Nazarene's own tier rules and not generic advice.

renewalChurch Matching (Trustees Matching) Scholarship: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Awarded fall and spring each year until the first bachelor's degree is completed for a traditional full-time undergraduate; renewal of full eligibility depends on satisfactory academic progress (per the Trustees Matching covenant). A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

How Northwest Nazarene compares across our verified dataset

669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Northwest Nazarene is one of them. The cohort minority (82 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 renewal claim is checked against Northwest Nazarene’s own published materials.