Tougaloo publishes a clean three-tier freshman grid topping out at full tuition plus room & board (3.5 GPA / 27 ACT), plus full-tuition tracks for valedictorians/salutatorians and Early College High School grads — all gated by a March 15 application deadline and a 15-hour renewal load.
Verified Jul 20262 months ago
The short answer
Is Tougaloo worth a closer look?
Tougaloo may be worth checking, but its awards do not follow a simple grades-and-scores chart. Start with the published scholarships below.
Merit tiers5See who qualifies
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team
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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.
Full Tuition + Room & Board
Presidential Academic Scholarship
Apply separatelyCan continue
GPA
3.5+
SAT
1220+
ACT
27+
See who qualifies and how to keep it+
Who qualifies
Submit Scholarship Application through the Scholarship Portal; be fully accepted; complete FAFSA; meet deadline (Fall: March 15 / Spring: December 16); agree to the Scholarship Policy.
These are the rules we would flag for your family. Each comes from Tougaloo's published information.
Renewal rulePresidential Academic Scholarship: renewal floor that quietly knocks awards out
3.5 GPA, 15+ hrs, Good Conduct, Renewal Contract A single rough term can end a four-year award here without warning if the GPA floor isn't met cumulatively.
What families often miss
The checklist requires submitting a Scholarship Application through the Scholarship Portal, full acceptance, FAFSA, all materials 'by deadline: Fall: March 15; Spring: December 16,' and agreement to the Scholarship Policy. Nothing is automatic.
'Complete FAFSA' is a required checklist item for freshman and transfer academic scholarships.
Every merit award's renewal requires '15+ hrs' plus the tier GPA (3.5 Presidential / 3.25 Eagle / 3.0 others), good conduct, and a signed Renewal Contract — 12 credits is full-time but will not renew the scholarship.
The Early College High School Scholarship 'covers 2 remaining years only.'
Fees are not listed in the Presidential benefit (only the ECHS award says 'Waived Fees'), and the cost page shows general/residential/technology fees and book charges billed separately from tuition, room, and board.
Eagle requires 'Valedictorian or Salutatorian' standing, not just the 3.25 GPA.
See costs and school data+
Who this school may work for
High-stat students who file the scholarship application on time — especially valedictorians/salutatorians, community-college graduates (half tuition), and Early College High School grads (full tuition + waived fees for their two remaining years).
Published yearly cost: Approximately $22,562 for 2026-2027. Source
Cost and graduation facts
Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Tougaloo, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.
Average annual net price by family income at Tougaloo, academic year 2021-22
Family income
Average net price paid
$0–$30,000
$17,294
$30,001–$48,000
$17,523
$48,001–$75,000
$17,744
$75,001–$110,000
$14,396
$110,001+
$16,266
All income levels (average)
$17,043
Sticker price vs. what students actually pay
Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$12,407
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$17,043
That works out to roughly a 30% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $24,239 (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
33%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
83%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$30,046 (~$319/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$34,724
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
76%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
49%
See other scholarships and cost examples+
Other Tougaloo scholarships worth checking
These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.
AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityAwarded at discretion of Athletic Department
All materials must be submitted by March 15 for fall entry and December 16 for spring entry, per the Freshman and Transfer Academic Scholarships Applicant Checklist.
What stats do the freshman scholarships require?
Presidential (Full Tuition + Room & Board): 3.5+ GPA and ACT 27+/SAT 1220+. Eagle (Full Tuition): 3.25+ GPA and valedictorian or salutatorian. Servant Leader (Half Tuition): 3.0+ GPA and ACT 21+/SAT 1050+.
What does Tougaloo cost for 2026-27?
Traditional tuition is $496/credit hour ($5,943/semester at full-time). Annual direct-cost totals on the Estimated Costs page run from $12,928 (commuter) to $26,042 (single room in Branch/Renner Hall); a standard double in Branch/Renner Hall totals $22,562 including tuition, room, board, and fees.
What keeps the scholarship each year?
The tier GPA (3.5/3.25/3.0), 15+ credit hours, good conduct, and a signed Renewal Contract.
Is there transfer merit aid?
Yes — Community College Graduate Academic Scholarship: half tuition (15-18 hrs) for community-college graduates with 30+ transfer hours and a 3.0+ GPA, renewable at 3.0 GPA/15+ hrs.
See sources and other schools+
How Tougaloo compares
665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.
Tougaloo 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 Tougaloo’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.
