Do we have to submit SAT, ACT, or CLT scores for TMU merit aid?

Test scores are optional for admission and for the three automatic merit tiers: Distinguished ($10,000), Honors ($8,500), and Achievement ($7,000), which are awarded on HS GPA alone. Test scores are required for the top competitive tier, the President's Academic Scholarship at $21,000/year, which requires a 4.00 weighted GPA plus SAT 1350+, ACT 30+, or CLT 91+. TMU accepts CLT at every tier. General TMU guidance suggests SAT 1100-1300, ACT 24-26, or CLT 76+ for competitive scholarship consideration.

How does the President's Academic Scholarship work?

The President's Academic Scholarship pays $21,000/year for up to 4 years ($84,000 total) and requires a 4.00 weighted HS GPA plus SAT 1350+, ACT 30+, or CLT 91+. It is awarded through a competitive separate application, not automatic on stats. The Fall 2026 window opens November 1, 2025 and closes February 16, 2026. At least five scholarships are awarded per cycle, plus 10-20 or more runner-up awards at lower dollar amounts. Renewal requires a 3.5 cumulative TMU GPA.

Will an outside scholarship reduce my TMU aid?

TMU allows outside scholarships to stack with institutional merit, need-based aid, and federal/state aid in most cases. There are two published exceptions: TMUC-named scholarships cannot stack with each other, and athletic-scholarship recipients forfeit all other institutional aid except federal/state aid and the outside portion of ministry scholarships. TMU does not publish a specific loan-first or grant-first displacement rule for how outside awards interact with institutional packaging, so families stacking a large outside scholarship should confirm displacement treatment directly with TMU Financial Aid before committing.

The Master's University· Renewal Rules

Keeping The Master's University’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 May 20269 days ago· PT

At a glance

Renewable tiers: 5 of 5
One-time tiers: 0
Tiers with published renewal terms: 5
Renewal risk profile: moderate

Renewal risk profile

The Master's University'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.

President's Academic Scholarship: See notes
Distinguished Academic Scholarship: See notes
Honors Academic Scholarship: See notes
Achievement Academic Scholarship: See notes
Steadfast Scholarship: See notes

Renewal terms by tier

President's Academic Scholarship
$21,000/yr (up to $84,000 over 4 years)
Entry requirements: 4.00 weighted GPA · 1350+ (CR+M) SAT · 30+ ACT
To keep it: Renewable for up to 4 years with a 3.5 cumulative TMU GPA.
Source: https://www.masters.edu/admissions-aid/financial-aid-and-tuition/scholarships/academic-scholarships/
Distinguished Academic Scholarship
$10,000/yr
Entry requirements: 3.75+ GPA
To keep it: Renewable with a 2.75 cumulative TMU GPA. Maximum number of renewal years is not published on TMU's scholarship page.
Source: https://www.masters.edu/admissions-aid/financial-aid-and-tuition/scholarships/academic-scholarships/
Honors Academic Scholarship
$8,500/yr
Entry requirements: 3.45+ GPA
To keep it: Renewable with a 2.75 cumulative TMU GPA. Maximum number of renewal years is not published.
Source: https://www.masters.edu/admissions-aid/financial-aid-and-tuition/scholarships/academic-scholarships/
Achievement Academic Scholarship
$7,000/yr
Entry requirements: 3.0+ GPA
To keep it: Renewable with a 2.75 cumulative TMU GPA. Maximum number of renewal years is not published.
Source: https://www.masters.edu/admissions-aid/financial-aid-and-tuition/scholarships/academic-scholarships/
Steadfast Scholarship
Full tuition (approximately $39,850/yr at 2025-26 tuition rates)
To keep it: Renewable for up to 4 years subject to TMU's published renewal terms. Five awards per cycle.
Source: https://www.masters.edu/admissions-aid/financial-aid-and-tuition/scholarships/steadfast-scholarship/

How families lose this aid

Assuming test-optional admission means test-optional for every scholarship.
Admission to TMU is test-optional, and the three automatic merit tiers (Distinguished $10,000, Honors $8,500, Achievement $7,000) are awarded on HS GPA alone. But the top competitive tier — the President's Academic Scholarship at $21,000/year — requires a qualifying SAT 1350+, ACT 30+, or CLT 91+. Students targeting the President's tier must plan to test even if the rest of their application does not depend on a score. TMU also recommends SAT 1100-1300, ACT 24-26, or CLT 76+ generally for competitive scholarship consideration.
Taking an athletic scholarship without modeling the institutional stacking loss.
TMU's published policy states that athletic-scholarship recipients may only receive Federal/State Aid and outside or ministry scholarships (outside portion only) in addition to their athletic award, and do not qualify for any other institutional aid. This means a student who accepts an athletic scholarship forfeits the President's, Distinguished, Honors, Achievement, Alumni, Church, Music, First Generation, Law/Fire/Military, and Department scholarships they would otherwise have stacked. Families should model both scenarios side by side before accepting the athletic offer — a mid-tier academic award plus legacy or church scholarships can exceed a smaller athletic award on net.
Missing the President's Scholarship February 16 deadline.
The President's Academic Scholarship application opens November 1 and closes February 16 for the following fall. Families who apply to TMU late in the admission cycle regularly miss this window and lose access to the top $21,000/year tier. TMU does not run a second cycle — the automatic Distinguished, Honors, and Achievement tiers are still available, but the top competitive tier is permanently closed for that academic year.

Renewal questions families ask

Do we have to submit SAT, ACT, or CLT scores for TMU merit aid?: Test scores are optional for admission and for the three automatic merit tiers: Distinguished ($10,000), Honors ($8,500), and Achievement ($7,000), which are awarded on HS GPA alone. Test scores are required for the top competitive tier, the President's Academic Scholarship at $21,000/year, which requires a 4.00 weighted GPA plus SAT 1350+, ACT 30+, or CLT 91+. TMU accepts CLT at every tier. General TMU guidance suggests SAT 1100-1300, ACT 24-26, or CLT 76+ for competitive scholarship consideration.
How does the President's Academic Scholarship work?: The President's Academic Scholarship pays $21,000/year for up to 4 years ($84,000 total) and requires a 4.00 weighted HS GPA plus SAT 1350+, ACT 30+, or CLT 91+. It is awarded through a competitive separate application, not automatic on stats. The Fall 2026 window opens November 1, 2025 and closes February 16, 2026. At least five scholarships are awarded per cycle, plus 10-20 or more runner-up awards at lower dollar amounts. Renewal requires a 3.5 cumulative TMU GPA.
Will an outside scholarship reduce my TMU aid?: TMU allows outside scholarships to stack with institutional merit, need-based aid, and federal/state aid in most cases. There are two published exceptions: TMUC-named scholarships cannot stack with each other, and athletic-scholarship recipients forfeit all other institutional aid except federal/state aid and the outside portion of ministry scholarships. TMU does not publish a specific loan-first or grant-first displacement rule for how outside awards interact with institutional packaging, so families stacking a large outside scholarship should confirm displacement treatment directly with TMU Financial Aid before committing.

Rules that bite at The Master's University

The renewal trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook — derived from The Master's University's own tier rules, not generic advice.

renewalPresident's Academic Scholarship: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
Renewable for up to 4 years with a 3.5 cumulative TMU GPA. A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.

How The Master's University compares across our verified dataset

8 of 78 verified schools publish a top renewal tier requiring 3.5+ GPA or major-GPA gating.
The Master's University is one of them. Calibrate year-one academic load against the renewal floor, not just freshman survival.
70 of 78 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
The Master's University is one of them. The cohort minority (8 schools) only awards one-year scholarships — meaning 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 The Master's University’s own published materials.

policyThe Master's University stacking policy
cdsThe Master's University Common Data Set
coaThe Master's University cost-of-attendance worksheet
tierPresident's Academic Scholarship
tierSteadfast Scholarship
scholarshipSchool and Partner Scholarships
scholarshipAlumni Scholarship
scholarshipChurch-related Scholarships (multi-program)
scholarshipMusic Scholarships
scholarshipFirst Generation Scholarship
scholarshipLaw, Fire, and Military Scholarship (Red & Blue)
scholarshipDepartment Scholarships