Alabama · Alabama
Public flagship with the clearest automatic out-of-state merit aid table in the country. Formula-driven awards from 25 ACT upward, plus one of the richest National Merit Finalist packages available at any U.S. public university.
Out-of-state families who want predictable, formula-driven merit dollars instead of holistic review. Alabama's OOS tiers are published in full, automatic on stats, and renewable for 8 semesters. It works especially well for middle-income families across the country who want private-school-style merit dollars at a public-flagship sticker price.
Tuition / cost of attendance: Approximately $58,530 for 2025-2026. Out-of-state on-campus cost of attendance for 2025-2026. In-state on-campus total is $34,608. Off-campus budgets add roughly $1,600 in both categories. Source
Every tier below is sourced to the school’s own published financial aid pages. Renewal terms apply only if the student maintains the stated GPA.
RequirementsGPA 4.0+ · SAT 1600 · ACT 36
Alabama's top automatic tier. Same package structure for in-state and out-of-state applicants.
RequirementsGPA 3.5+ · SAT 1420–1600 · ACT 32–36
Admitted National Merit Semifinalists with a 3.5+ GPA after junior year are automatically eligible at the Presidential tier per UA's National Merit page.
RequirementsGPA 3.5+ · SAT 1360–1410 · ACT 30–31
RequirementsGPA 3.5+ · SAT 1300–1350 · ACT 28–29
RequirementsGPA 3.5+ · SAT 1200–1250 · ACT 25–26
Out-of-state entry tier. Kicks in at a 25 ACT with a 3.5 GPA, which is one of the lowest automatic merit thresholds at any public flagship.
RequirementsGPA 3.5+ · SAT 1360–1600 · ACT 30–36
Alabama residents only. Covers in-state tuition without the housing or supplemental allowances that come with the Presidential Elite Scholar package. The ACT threshold for the resident Presidential is 30, not 32 like the out-of-state version.
RequirementsGPA 3.0+ · SAT 1330–1600 · ACT 29–36
Alabama residents only. Two qualifying bands: 3.0–3.49 GPA with a 30–36 ACT, or 3.5+ GPA with a 29 ACT. New tier in Alabama's Fall 2026 in-state ladder.
RequirementsGPA 3.0+ · SAT 1300–1350 · ACT 28–29
Alabama residents only. Two qualifying bands: 3.0–3.49 GPA with a 29 ACT, or 3.5+ GPA with a 28 ACT.
RequirementsGPA 3.0+ · SAT 1260–1320 · ACT 27–28
Alabama residents only. Two qualifying bands: 3.0–3.49 GPA with a 28 ACT, or 3.5+ GPA with a 27 ACT.
RequirementsGPA 3.0+ · SAT 1230–1290 · ACT 26–27
Alabama residents only. Two qualifying bands: 3.0–3.49 GPA with a 27 ACT, or 3.5+ GPA with a 26 ACT.
RequirementsGPA 3.0+ · SAT 1200–1250 · ACT 25–26
Alabama residents only. Two qualifying bands: 3.0–3.49 GPA with a 26 ACT, or 3.5+ GPA with a 25 ACT.
RequirementsGPA 3.0+ · SAT 1160–1220 · ACT 24–25
Alabama residents only. Entry tier of the in-state automatic ladder. Two qualifying bands: 3.0–3.49 GPA with a 25 ACT, or 3.5+ GPA with a 24 ACT.
RequirementsMust be admitted by May 1, maintain 3.5+ GPA after junior year, AND list Alabama as #1 with NMSC by May 1
One of the richest NMF packages at any U.S. public university. The critical step is listing UA as #1 with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation by May 1; missing that step forfeits the package entirely.
RequirementsGPA 3.8+ · SAT 1490+ · ACT 33+ · Separate application via ASAM (Alabama Scholarship Application Manager) by December 5. Preferred top 2% of class, extensive leadership.
Competitive. Requires a separate application in addition to UA admission. The OOS threshold is ACT 33 / SAT 1490, which sits above the Presidential automatic tier. A 32 ACT student qualifies for the $28K Presidential but not the Crimson.
Alabama applies a cost-of-attendance cap to institutional scholarships. Outside scholarships don't trigger the loan-first or grant-first displacement some privates use; they count toward the COA ceiling and only reduce UA's own institutional award if total aid exceeds COA.
Federal entitlement aid like the Pell Grant is explicitly excluded from the COA cap calculation. PACT (Prepaid Affordable College Tuition) benefits, Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, and external military scholarships are also explicitly carved out, so they do not count against institutional aid and are not subject to the COA cap. For everyone else, the practical rule is that a large outside scholarship layered on top of a top automatic tier (Presidential Elite, Crimson Scholarship) can mathematically push the total package above COA and reduce UA's own contribution. Families should compute the math before investing time in high-dollar outside scholarship applications at Alabama.
From the Alabama Common Data Set 2025-2026:
Named awards that don’t always surface on the main financial aid page. Each one has its own eligibility rules.
This is a separate process from the automatic OOS tier ladder. Even students who qualify for Presidential Elite automatically should still apply to Foundation Scholars for the larger total package.
Families chasing merit dollars alone sometimes skip this; students planning to apply for Rhodes, Marshall, or Goldwater later should apply.
Specific named tiers are published on the College of Engineering scholarship page and are not included in the Foundation Scholars or Presidential tier calculations.
The package is automatic in the sense that it requires no separate UA scholarship application, but the student MUST list Alabama as their first-choice college with the National Merit Scholarship Corporation by May 1, be admitted by May 1, and maintain a 3.5 GPA after junior year. Missing the NMSC #1-choice step forfeits the entire package, which is worth roughly a quarter-million dollars over 5 years. This is the single most expensive mistake a qualifying family can make at Alabama.
The automatic Presidential Scholarship ($28,000/year) kicks in at a 32 ACT / 1420 SAT. The competitive Alumni Crimson Scholarship (4-year full OOS tuition value + supplements) requires a 33 ACT / 1490 SAT AND a separate ASAM application by December 5. A student with a 32 ACT qualifies for the automatic Presidential but is under the Crimson threshold. A student with a 33+ ACT qualifies for both but has to remember to submit the December 5 application to access the Crimson. Families regularly miss the application deadline and lose access to the upgrade.
Because Alabama caps the institutional scholarship at cost of attendance minus other aid, a family that has already won Presidential Elite or Crimson Scholarship (which effectively cover tuition + housing) can see their outside scholarship mathematically reduce UA's own award when the total exceeds COA. The $5,000 Rotary or community foundation scholarship that would add dollar-for-dollar at a school with loan-first displacement instead displaces Alabama's institutional contribution. The fix: compute total aid vs COA before chasing big outside awards.
No. Admitted students are automatically reviewed using their verified GPA and test scores, and the appropriate tier is assigned as part of the admission offer. The only scholarships that require a separate application are the competitive ones: National Alumni Association Crimson (ASAM by December 5), Foundation Scholars (finalist weekend), and specific Honors College or departmental awards.
The NMF package is its own benefit tier, not an additive stack on top of Presidential Elite. A student who is both a 4.0/36 ACT candidate and an NMF who names Alabama #1 with NMSC effectively receives the NMF terms (5-year tuition value + 4 years of housing + $4,000/year supplemental + $2,000 research stipend), which replaces rather than adds to the lower automatic tiers.
Alabama applies a cost-of-attendance cap. Outside scholarships count toward the total aid package, and if the total exceeds COA, the institutional scholarship is reduced to stay within the cap. Federal Pell grants, PACT benefits, Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits, and external military scholarships are explicitly excluded from the cap calculation. For everyone else, the practical rule is: check the math before pursuing large outside awards once your institutional tier is already near tuition.
Yes. Alabama's automatic merit scholarships renew for 8 semesters (4 years) as long as the student maintains the published cumulative GPA requirement. Check the current renewal GPA threshold on the Alabama scholarship policies page before budgeting, since exact language should be confirmed directly.
Yes. The published terms cover tuition value for up to 10 semesters (5 years), which includes the undergraduate degree plus one year of graduate or law school at Alabama. Combined with 4 years of on-campus housing at the regular room rate and the $4,000/year supplemental scholarship, the total published value is one of the highest NMF packages at any U.S. public university. The catch is the NMSC #1-choice requirement by May 1, which is not optional.