SEC public flagship with one of the most aggressive automatic out-of-state pricing programs in the country: the New Arkansan Non-Resident Tuition Award (NRTA) covers 70-90% of the OOS tuition gap automatically on GPA, turning Arkansas into in-state-equivalent pricing for residents of nine specific states.
Verified May 20265 days ago· PT
Merit tiers106 automatic on stats
Mid-50% SAT1130–1330CDS 2024-2025
Last verifiedMay 2026Analyst PT
Rules that bite at Arkansas
The trip wires we'd flag in a custom playbook. Each is derived from Arkansas's own published policy, not generic advice.
capHard $53,744 cost-of-attendance ceiling
Institutional aid at Arkansas cannot push the package past $53,744. Big outside wins can mathematically reduce institutional grant once the ceiling is reached.
Common merit-aid mistakes at Arkansas
The NRTA has TWO distinct geographic tiers. Residents of the nine 'New Arkansan' states (GA, IL, KS, LA, MS, MO, OK, TN, TX) qualify for the main NRTA — 70-90% of the tuition gap. Residents of the other 41 states get the 'Extended States' NRTA — 50-80% of the gap, with the bigger drop at the lower GPA tier. Always confirm your state of residence is on the main NRTA list before assuming the 90% rate.
The NRTA is automatic and does not require a scholarship application. But Bodenhamer, Sturgis, Chancellor's Scholarship, and Honors College Fellowships all require the Entering Freshman Scholarship Application by November 15 for priority consideration. Late applicants (February 1 final deadline) are reviewed only as funds remain — typically much less competitive. The Common App admissions deadline is separate; complete BOTH.
The Chancellor's Merit Scholarship ($12,000/year) requires NMF status AND naming the University of Arkansas as 1st choice with the National Merit Corporation by the NMSC's published deadline (typically May of senior year). NMFs who only become Finalists in February sometimes miss the 1st-choice deadline because they're still deciding. Confirm with scholars@uark.edu as soon as Semifinalist status is announced.
The NRTA renewal requires 24+ credit hours per academic year and a 2.75+ cumulative GPA. A student who drops below 12 hours in any semester (even briefly) or who fails to complete 24 hours within the academic year loses the NRTA and cannot regain it for that aid year. The non-resident tuition reverts to the full $971.53/credit-hour rate immediately. Plan course load carefully.
When NRTA + Chancellor's Merit + Bodenhamer + outside scholarships exceed the OOS COA, the U of A's Cost of Attendance Overaward Policy kicks in and reduces awards. The NRTA is generally protected (it's a tuition reduction, not a cash disbursement), but cash scholarships can be cut. Students with multiple major awards should run the math with the Office of Financial Aid before assuming the full stack.
Who this school is for
Two specific OOS profiles: (1) Residents of the nine 'New Arkansan' eligible states (Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas) with a 3.20+ high school GPA — the NRTA pays 70-90% of the OOS-vs-in-state tuition difference automatically, no application required. (2) High-stat applicants nationwide (32+ ACT, 3.90+ GPA) competitive for the Bodenhamer or Sturgis Fellowship ($20,000/year). Arkansas residents add Arkansas Academic Challenge state aid. Hard pass for OOS families from the 41 'Extended States' below the 3.60 GPA threshold — the NRTA drops to 50% of the difference, leaving more sticker exposure.
Tuition / cost of attendance: Approximately $53,744 for 2025-2026. Out-of-state on-campus cost of attendance for 2025-2026 ($29,146 tuition + $2,404 fees + $9,600 housing + $5,368 food + $1,216 books + $3,370 personal + $2,640 transportation = $53,744 BEFORE the New Arkansan NRTA). After the 90% NRTA, OOS tuition+fees drop by approximately $18,948/year, bringing total to ~$34,800. In-state on-campus total is $32,690 ($8,092 tuition + $2,404 fees + same housing/food/indirect). Source
Institutional merit aid tiers
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.
Pays 90% of the difference between out-of-state and in-state tuition (~$18,948/year, $75,792 over four years at the 2025-26 rates)
New Arkansan NRTA — 90% Tier (9 eligible states)
AutomaticRenewable
GPA
3.80+ cumulative high school GPA on a 4.0 scale
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
Resident of one of nine eligible states: Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, or Texas. Apply for admission — no separate scholarship application required. Test score requirements vary; see uark.edu Test Score Policy.
Renewal terms
Complete 24 or more credit hours per academic year and maintain a 2.75+ cumulative GPA. The NRTA Renewal page details specific term-by-term hour requirements. Renewable for 4 years (5 years for Architecture students).
Notes
The headline OOS award. Combined with in-state tuition rate of $269.75/credit hour, NRTA-90 students pay tuition that is functionally near in-state. Stacks with Chancellor's Merit, Chancellor's Scholarship, Bodenhamer/Sturgis Fellowships up to the COA cap.
Pays 80% of the difference between out-of-state and in-state tuition (~$16,843/year)
Extended States NRTA — 80% Tier
AutomaticRenewable
GPA
3.60+ cumulative high school GPA
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
Resident of any state OUTSIDE the nine NRTA states. Apply for admission. Automatic.
Renewal terms
Same renewal terms as the main NRTA: 24+ hours/year, 2.75+ GPA.
Notes
The 'Extended States' track is for applicants from the other 41 states. Slightly less generous than the main NRTA at the top tier (80% vs 90%) and substantially less at the entry tier (50% vs 70%). Still automatic on stats.
Pays 50% of the difference between out-of-state and in-state tuition (~$10,527/year)
Extended States NRTA — 50% Tier
AutomaticRenewable
GPA
3.20-3.59 cumulative high school GPA
Requirements & details+
Eligibility
Resident of any state outside the nine NRTA states. Apply for admission.
Renewal terms
24+ hours/year, 2.75+ GPA.
Notes
Entry tier for the 41 Extended States. The drop from 70% (NRTA) to 50% (Extended) for sub-3.60 GPA students is the single biggest geographic price discontinuity in Arkansas's aid structure.
Requires application for admission AND the Honors College Fellowship application. Priority Deadline: November 15. Final Deadline: February 1.
Renewal terms
Cumulative 3.00 GPA and 27 hours earned by the end of the second semester of each academic year, and 30 hours earned in each subsequent academic year. Renewable for 4 years or 8 semesters total. For programs with degree plans longer than 4 years, extra semester(s) of funding may be available.
Notes
One of Arkansas's premier honors fellowships. Stacks with NRTA (the Bodenhamer + 90% NRTA combo brings effective net cost to near zero for most OOS recipients). Fellowships require recommendations and an interview — Bodenhamer is awarded to top 1-2% of applicants.
Only open to incoming Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences students. Application + interview required. Priority Deadline: November 15. Final Deadline: February 1.
Renewal terms
Cumulative 3.00 GPA and 27 hours earned by the end of the second semester of each academic year, and 30 hours earned in each subsequent academic year. Renewable for 4 years or 8 semesters total.
Notes
Sister fellowship to Bodenhamer; identical funding but restricted to Fulbright College majors. Fulbright College spans Arts & Sciences (English, History, Math, Sciences, etc.) — so most non-business, non-engineering applicants are eligible.
National Merit Finalist who names the University of Arkansas as 1st choice with the National Merit Corporation. Notify the Scholarship Office at scholars@uark.edu of selection as a Semifinalist or Finalist.
Renewal terms
Cumulative 2.75 GPA and 30 hours earned by the end of the second semester of each award year. 4 years or 8 semesters total (5 years for Bachelor of Architecture and Bachelor of Landscape Architecture).
Notes
Stacks with the NRTA. NMF + 90% NRTA + Chancellor's Merit can effectively zero out OOS cost for residents of the 9 NRTA states. NMFs from the Extended States still benefit substantially.
Up to $10,000/year (toward direct cost of education including tuition, fees, and double-occupancy room and board in UA residence hall or Greek housing)
Chancellor's Scholarship
ApplicationRenewable
View requirements+
Eligibility
Top 5% of the applicant pool typically. National Merit Semifinalists and Semifinalists are also considered. Competitive — not automatic on stats. Apply for admission and complete the Entering Freshman Scholarship Application by the November 15 priority deadline.
Renewal terms
Same renewal as Chancellor's Merit: 2.75 GPA + 30 hours/year. Renewable 4 years (5 years for Architecture).
Notes
Chancellor's Scholarship recipients also automatically receive the New Arkansan NRTA. Combined package at the top tier brings annual OOS cost to roughly $25,000 before any room and board savings.
Application + interview through the Honors College. Priority Deadline: November 15. Top 1-2% of applicants.
Renewal terms
Cumulative 3.00 GPA, 27 hours by end of Year 1, 30 hours/year subsequently. Renewable 4 years (5 for Architecture).
Notes
Honors College Fellowships are GPA/test-eligibility-similar to Bodenhamer/Sturgis but selected through a separate Honors College pipeline. All four (Honors, Bodenhamer, Sturgis, Boyer) are funded at the same $20,000/year tier.
Arkansas applies a Cost of Attendance Overaward Policy: combined institutional aid + state aid + outside scholarships cannot exceed the COA. Awards are reduced (cancelled or reduced) until the overaward is eliminated. The NRTA is treated as a tuition reduction (not a cash scholarship), which means it does not displace need-based aid the way a cash scholarship would.
Per the U of A Cost of Attendance page: 'In addition to the above federal/state need-based overaward requirements, the University of Arkansas applies a Cost of Attendance Overaward Policy for all students who receive assistance from any source. Awards in the package will be adjusted (cancelled or reduced) until the cost of attendance overaward has been eliminated.' The NRTA functions as a non-resident tuition reduction (assessed against the OOS tuition rate), not as a separately disbursed cash scholarship — so NRTA stacking with cash awards (Chancellor's, Bodenhamer, etc.) is generally protected up to the OOS COA. Outside scholarships first reduce loans and Work-Study; institutional merit is generally protected unless an over-award occurs against direct-billable charges.
Named awards that don’t always surface on the main financial aid page. Each one has its own eligibility rules.
Amount$20,000/yearEligibilityTop 1-2% of incoming first-year applicants. Application + interview through the Honors College. Priority Deadline: November 15.
Fourth Honors College fellowship at the $20,000 funding tier. Differentiated from Bodenhamer/Sturgis by mission focus (Boyer emphasizes service and community engagement). Same renewal terms as the other Honors fellowships.
AmountVariable; pairs Honors College mentorship with merit fundingEligibilityTargets historically underrepresented students with strong academic profiles. Selection through the Honors College recruitment process.
Named for Silas Hunt, the first African American to attend the University of Arkansas. Stacks with NRTA and Chancellor's awards.
Amount$300-$5,000/year (highly competitive)EligibilityContinuing U of A undergraduates. Application opens January 1, closes February 15 each year.
Funded by the Office of Academic Scholarships for students already enrolled. Worth checking annually — funds are limited but not capped at first-year applicants.
AmountVariable; multiple awards per year per collegeEligibilityDeclared business or engineering majors. Most awards become available after first year.
Walton (business) and College of Engineering have substantial donor pipelines. The NRTA's per-credit-hour fee structure also varies by college (Business is $365.15/hr in-state, Engineering $334.50/hr) — students with engineering or business focus see higher absolute tuition before NRTA discount.
Amount$1,000-$5,000/year (state-funded, varies by year)EligibilityArkansas residents meeting the state's GPA + test score requirements. Apply through the Arkansas Department of Higher Education.
State-funded merit award for Arkansas residents. Stacks with U of A institutional merit. The Arkansas Department of Higher Education sets eligibility annually; check the YOUniversal portal each year.
Is the New Arkansan NRTA truly automatic on stats?
Yes. Apply for admission and qualify based on cumulative high school GPA. Recipients are notified on their admission profile residency statement. No separate scholarship application is required. Test scores affect Chancellor's and Bodenhamer eligibility but not the base NRTA — the NRTA is purely GPA-based.
Which states qualify for the main NRTA at 70-90%?
Nine specific states: Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. Residents of any other state receive the 'Extended States' NRTA at 50-80% of the tuition difference. The geographic distinction is the single most important fact about Arkansas merit aid for OOS families.
Can I stack the NRTA with the Chancellor's Merit Scholarship?
Yes. NRTA recipients who are also National Merit Finalists naming Arkansas as 1st choice automatically receive the Chancellor's Merit Scholarship ($12,000/year). The NRTA is treated as a tuition reduction; Chancellor's Merit is a cash scholarship. Both stack up to the cost of attendance.
What's the bar for Bodenhamer or Sturgis Fellowship?
32+ ACT or 1430+ SAT, plus 3.90+ high school GPA. Both require the Honors College Fellowship application AND the U of A admission application by the November 15 priority deadline (final deadline February 1). Sturgis is restricted to Fulbright College of Arts & Sciences students; Bodenhamer is open to all majors. Both pay $20,000/year for four years.
What is Arkansas's actual OOS net cost after NRTA?
At the 90% NRTA tier: ~$34,800/year (sticker $53,744 minus ~$18,948 NRTA). At the 70% entry NRTA tier: ~$39,000/year. At the Extended States 50% tier: ~$43,200/year. For high-stat applicants stacking Bodenhamer + NRTA + Chancellor's, net cost can drop below $20,000/year — competitive with in-state pricing at most state flagships.
How Arkansas compares across our verified dataset
30 of 78 verified schools in our dataset use cost-of-attendance cap displacement.
Arkansas is in a recognizable cluster — 30 schools share this category — useful framing when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.
70 of 78 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Arkansas 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.
38 of 78 verified schools publish a dedicated National Merit Finalist package.
Arkansas is one of them. NMF packages typically carry their own stacking and renewal carve-outs separate from the standard automatic merit ladder — confirm those before assuming the headline NMF value is final.
Sources used on this page
Every claim is checked against Arkansas’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
Families looking at Arkansas typically also evaluate four direct competitors:
Alabama's automatic OOS merit ladder — Alabama publishes a flat OOS merit table that's open to any state and starts at a 25 ACT / 3.5 GPA. Arkansas's NRTA is geographically restricted to nine states but starts at a much lower 3.20 GPA bar and pays 70-90% of the tuition gap. For applicants from the 9 NRTA states with sub-30 ACT scores, Arkansas wins on bar; for OOS applicants from the rest of the country, Alabama is the safer automatic-merit play.
Ole Miss 1848 Award — Ole Miss eliminates non-resident fees at a 32 ACT / 3.75 GPA — a higher academic bar but a more aggressive OOS price than Arkansas's middle tier. Ole Miss wins for the high-stat applicant; Arkansas wins for the 3.20-3.79 GPA OOS applicant from the 9 NRTA states.
Mississippi State merit aid — MSU's Provost (and Provost Plus) awards run $9,000-$13,000/year and are stat-driven for OOS applicants nationwide. Arkansas's NRTA is more generous in dollar terms ($14,700-$18,900/year) but only for 9 specific states. Compare both for a Memphis or Atlanta-area student deciding between the two.
University of Oklahoma merit aid — OU's Diversity Tuition Waiver and academic competitive scholarships are similar in scope to Arkansas's NRTA + Chancellor's structure. Both Oklahoma and Arkansas are in the 9-state NRTA pool — for an Oklahoma resident applying to Arkansas, NRTA + Chancellor's stacks; for an Arkansas resident applying to OU, OU's competitive aid is a separate calculation.
Auburn merit aid — Auburn's published OOS ladder ($7,000-$17,000/yr) is well below Arkansas's NRTA-adjusted OOS price for residents of the 9 eligible states. Auburn wins on football and SEC East scheduling; Arkansas wins on net OOS price for the right state of residence.
Want a side-by-side comparison? Build a personalized playbookand we’ll run net-price modeling across Arkansas and any peers you want to evaluate.
