Every incoming OBU freshman gets an automatic, stat-based academic award of at least $15,000/year, scaling up a published GPA/test grid to $20,000/year, with separate full-tuition competitions (University Scholar, Allen, Martin) on top.
Verified Jul 20262 months ago
The short answer
Is Oklahoma Baptist worth a closer look?
Oklahoma Baptist is worth checking if your student has strong grades or scores. We found 11 published awards, and 4 are based on those numbers.
Merit tiers114 based on grades or scores
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team
Free Merit Check
See what Oklahoma Baptist's published rules mean for your student. Takes 30 seconds.
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 you landAutomatic merit aid by ACT compositeEach bar marks the ACT score range that qualifies for the tier.
Founder's Academic$20,000
ACT 25+SAT 1200+ · GPA 3.75-4.0
Trustee's Academic$17,000
ACT 22-24SAT 1100-1199 · GPA 3.5-3.74
President's Academic$16,000
ACT 19-21SAT 1000-1099 · GPA 3.25-3.49
2024283236
Not on this ladder:Academic Grant, University Scholar (Full-Tuition), Allen Academic Scholar (Full-Tuition, Western Oklahoma), Martin Academic Scholar (Full-Tuition, Choctaw Nation), Fine Arts Scholarships (Talent: voice, keyboard, instrument, music composition, art, theatre), Band Award (non-music majors), OBU Engineering Scholarship, Oklahoma Regents Rising Scholars Program (Academic Scholars) — application required, holistic, or scored on a different axis.
View as table
Tier
ACT composite
Award
Founder's Academic
25+
$20,000 per year ($80,000 over four years)
Trustee's Academic
22-24
$17,000 per year ($68,000 over four years)
President's Academic
19-21
$16,000 per year ($64,000 over four years)
$15,000 per year…$15,000 per year ($60,000 over four years)
Academic Grant
Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
3.24 or below
SAT
999 or below
ACT
18 or below
See who qualifies and how to keep it+
Who qualifies
CLT: 57 or below. This is the guaranteed minimum freshman award; first-time freshmen receive at least $15,000/year.
How to keep it
Renewable provided the student maintains a 2.0 College GPA.
Notes
Lowest automatic tier and the floor of OBU's guaranteed freshman award. Awarded on academic achievement, not financial need.
$20,000 per year…$20,000 per year ($80,000 over four years)
Founder's Academic
Based on grades or scoresCan continue
GPA
3.75-4.0
SAT
1200+
ACT
25+
See who qualifies and how to keep it+
Who qualifies
CLT: 83+. Qualify on any one of the GPA/ACT/SAT/CLT measures. Top automatic tier short of the full-tuition competitions.
How to keep it
Renewable provided the student maintains a 2.0 College GPA.
Notes
Highest automatic, stat-based academic award. Students at or above these stats may also qualify to compete for the full-tuition University Scholar award (which has higher cutoffs).
Or CLT of at least 89. Requires application, a letter of recommendation, a current resume, and a 500-1,000 word essay; competitive at Scholars Day.
How to keep it
Applies to up to 16 hours per semester for eight semesters or until completion of degree; not applicable to summer-term tuition.
Notes
Competitive, not automatic. The highest academic award at OBU. Application deadline December 31 of the senior year; OBU 2026 Scholars Day is February 6, 2026. Full-tuition recipients are NOT eligible for additional OBU aid, including athletic aid.
Allen Academic Scholar (Full-Tuition, Western Oklahoma)
Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
At least 3.5
SAT
At least 1260
ACT
At least 27
See who qualifies and how to keep it+
Who qualifies
Or CLT of at least 84. Awarded to a student from Western Oklahoma.
How to keep it
Renewal terms not stated on the full-tuition scholarships page.
Notes
Geographically restricted full-tuition award for a Western Oklahoma student. Full-tuition recipients are not eligible for additional OBU aid, including athletic aid.
Martin Academic Scholar (Full-Tuition, Choctaw Nation)
Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
At least 3.0
SAT
At least 1190
ACT
At least 25
See who qualifies and how to keep it+
Who qualifies
Or CLT of at least 78. Awarded to an Oklahoma resident Choctaw student who is recognized by the Choctaw Nation as being Choctaw.
How to keep it
Renewal terms not stated on the full-tuition scholarships page.
Notes
Tribal-affiliation full-tuition award for an Oklahoma-resident Choctaw Nation student. Full-tuition recipients are not eligible for additional OBU aid, including athletic aid.
Fine Arts Scholarships (Talent: voice, keyboard, instrument, music composition, art, theatre)
Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies+
Who qualifies
Outstanding talent in voice, keyboard, instrument, music composition, art, or theatre; must major in the scholarship area. Separate application required (Art, Theatre, and Music handled separately). Auditions must be completed by early March.
How to keep it
Recipient must major in the scholarship area and exhibit continued excellence in their area; specific renewal GPA not stated.
Notes
Talent award requiring audition/portfolio and a major in the area. Submitted separately to OBU Box 61242, Shawnee, OK.
Oklahoma Regents Rising Scholars Program (Academic Scholars)
Apply separatelyCan continue
See who qualifies+
Who qualifies
Qualifying Oklahoma residents in the state Academic Scholars program. State-administered award applied at OBU.
How to keep it
Available for up to eight semesters.
Notes
State of Oklahoma Academic Scholars (Regents) award, applied toward room, board, tuition, books, and incidental fees. Eligibility is set by the Oklahoma State Regents, not OBU.
These are the rules we would flag for your family. Each comes from Oklahoma Baptist's published information.
Aid capHard $53,620 cost-of-attendance ceiling
Institutional aid at Oklahoma Baptist cannot push the package past $53,620. Big outside wins can mathematically reduce institutional grant once the ceiling is reached.
What families often miss
Meeting the 3.5 GPA + 29 ACT/1330 SAT/89 CLT cutoff only lets you APPLY. It is a competition: you must submit a recommendation, resume, and a 500-1,000 word essay, then compete at Scholars Day (Feb 6, 2026). The automatic tiers top out at Founder's Academic ($20,000/year).
Full-tuition scholarship recipients are NOT eligible for additional OBU aid, including athletic aid. The full-tuition awards replace, not supplement, the stat-based academic award.
Athletes who receive OBU athletic aid are ineligible for other OBU scholarships aside from their academic scholarship, and some awards exclude athletes outright.
The University Scholar application is due December 31 of the senior year and the competition (OBU 2026 Scholars Day) is February 6, 2026; miss either and you fall back to the automatic academic tier.
The 2026-27 subtotal ($34,600 tuition + $4,230 fees + $9,230 housing & food = $48,060) excludes indirect costs: books & supplies ($1,000), transportation ($2,140), personal expenses ($2,350), and loan fee ($70), which bring the full cost of attendance to about $53,620.
Even at 'GPA: 3.24 or below / ACT: 18 or below,' OBU's Academic Grant guarantees $15,000/year ($60,000 over four years) automatically — there is a guaranteed freshman floor.
See costs and school data+
Who this school may work for
Faith-based students who want a guaranteed, automatic, stat-driven merit floor at a Baptist liberal-arts university; high-stat applicants (3.5 GPA + 29 ACT) can compete for full tuition, and Western-Oklahoma or Choctaw-Nation students have dedicated full-tuition paths.
Published yearly cost: Approximately $53,620 for 2026-2027. Source
Cost and graduation facts
Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Oklahoma Baptist, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.
Average annual net price by family income at Oklahoma Baptist, academic year 2021-22
Family income
Average net price paid
$0–$30,000
$17,562
$30,001–$48,000
$17,103
$48,001–$75,000
$21,033
$75,001–$110,000
$21,570
$110,001+
$26,102
All income levels (average)
$20,958
Sticker price vs. what students actually pay
Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$35,570
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$20,958
That works out to roughly a 57% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $48,695 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).
Outcomes for students who enrolled here
Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
52%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
72%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$24,801 (~$263/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$48,434
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
33%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
42%
See other scholarships and cost examples+
If your student brings another scholarship
OBU-funded scholarships are reduced only when they would exceed a student's OBU charges -- tuition, fees, and on-campus room and board -- a narrower cap than full cost of attendance; total aid overall is separately capped at COA under federal rules.
Verified policy language (2026-07-02): "Other Financial Aid: The objective of the SFS Office is to award you the maximum amount of financial aid possible, while at the same time, staying within federal guidelines. Since total financial aid cannot exceed the total cost of attendance at OBU the receipt of additional financial aid may or may not affect the federal financial aid already awarded to a student. It is your responsibility to report to the SFS Office any financial aid which you receive in addition to the financial aid listed on your Award Letter. Examples of financial aid resources include but are not limited to: grants, loans, work-study, scholarships, voc rehab, and tribal assistance." ... "Occasionally, it is necessary to reduce OBU funded scholarships since OBU scholarships cannot exceed a student's OBU charges (tuition, fees, on campus room and board)."
Yes. The four academic tiers (Academic Grant $15,000, President's $16,000, Trustee's $17,000, Founder's $20,000 per year) are awarded automatically on your GPA, ACT, SAT, or CLT — no separate application beyond admission. The full-tuition awards (University Scholar, Allen, Martin) are competitive and require an application.
What do I need to keep my scholarship?
Academic scholarships and grants are renewable provided you maintain a 2.0 College GPA.
Can I combine the full-tuition scholarship with other OBU aid?
No. Full-tuition scholarship recipients are not eligible for additional OBU aid, including athletic aid. The automatic academic tiers are your base award if you do not win a full-tuition scholarship.
What is the deadline for the full-tuition University Scholar award?
The application is due December 31 of your senior year, and the competition (OBU 2026 Scholars Day) is held February 6, 2026. The recommended FAFSA deadline is February 1, 2026.
See sources and other schools+
How Oklahoma Baptist compares
235 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use cost-of-attendance cap displacement.
Oklahoma Baptist is in a recognizable cluster (235 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Oklahoma Baptist 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 Oklahoma Baptist’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
