Skip to content

University of North Alabama · Alabama

North Alabama (UNA) Merit Aid

UNA awards an automatic GPA-by-ACT grid ($2,000–$8,500, rising to $9,000–$12,000 + housing for Presidential) and — unusually — explicitly lets students stack a $4,000 Housing Scholarship, Leadership, and Honors awards on top.

Verified Jun 20268 days ago· COWORK
Merit tiers42 automatic on stats
Last verifiedJun 2026Analyst COWORK

Common merit-aid mistakes at North Alabama (UNA)

  1. Housing Scholarships are stackable with academic awards, but students cannot hold more than one housing scholarship, and the amount can decrease after the deadline.

  2. The $4,000 Housing Scholarship applies only to on-campus residence halls, not apartments.

  3. UNA will not accept unofficial ACT scores (screenshots/self-reports) for official merit awards — scores must arrive via official means (act.org report, transcript, or counselor).

  4. Automatic Academic/Presidential awards require being admitted by March 2, 2026; some scholarships have earlier or later individual deadlines, and amounts are subject to final funding (October 1, 2025) and may decrease after the deadline.

  5. Because UNA allows stacking, eligible students can add the Cole Honors $650/semester award and Leadership/Housing scholarships on top of the automatic grid award.

Who this school is for

GPA-and-ACT strong freshmen who want a transparent automatic award — and the rare chance to stack housing, leadership, and honors scholarships on top; top-stat students (30+ ACT) earn Presidential awards plus housing.

Tuition / cost of attendance: Approximately $30,650 for 2025-2026. 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.

$2,000-$8,500

Academic Awards (GPA × ACT grid)

AutomaticRenewable
GPA
3.00-4.00 unweighted (two bands)
ACT
20-29 (ACT superscore)
Requirements & details
Eligibility

Automatically awarded based on unweighted GPA and ACT superscore; must be admitted by the March 2, 2026 priority deadline; first-time, full-time freshmen

Renewal terms

Awarded annually; renewal criteria not detailed on this page. No refunds on Academic or Presidential Scholarships.

Notes

GPA 3.00-3.50: ACT 20-21 $2,000; 22-23 $2,750; 24-25 $4,000; 26-27 $6,000; 28-29 $7,500. GPA 3.51-4.00: 20-21 $2,500; 22-23 $3,000; 24-25 $5,500; 26-27 $8,000; 28-29 $8,500. ACT below 20 with 3.0+ GPA: apply via General & Endowed application. 2026 amounts subject to final funding October 1, 2025.

Source

$9,000-$12,000

Presidential Awards (GPA × ACT 30-36 grid)

AutomaticRenewable
GPA
3.00-4.00 unweighted (two bands)
ACT
30-36 (ACT superscore)
Requirements & details
Eligibility

Automatically awarded; admitted by March 2, 2026 priority deadline

Renewal terms

Awarded annually; no refunds. Renewal criteria not detailed on this page.

Notes

Each Presidential award includes a Housing Scholarship. GPA 3.00-3.50: ACT 30-32 $9,000+Housing; 33-36 $10,500+Housing. GPA 3.51-4.00: 30-32 $10,000+Housing; 33-36 $12,000+Housing. Housing Scholarship = $4,000/yr for residence halls only (as of June 13, 2025).

Source

$4,000

Housing Scholarship

ApplicationRenewable
View requirements
Eligibility

Applied to any on-campus residence hall (not apartments); cannot stack more than one housing scholarship

Renewal terms

2-year stackable scholarship; amount subject to decrease past the scholarship deadline.

Notes

$4,000 per year, valid 2 years, for residence halls only. Stackable with academic/leadership awards, but only one housing scholarship at a time.

Source

$1,300

Cole Honors College Scholarship

ApplicationRenewable
ACT
ACT 25 or higher generally considered strong; a standardized test score is required for admission consideration
Requirements & details
Eligibility

Selective admission to the Cole Honors College based on grades, test scores, leadership, service, essay, activities, and work experience

Renewal terms

First-time freshmen: $650/semester for up to eight semesters. Transfer/current students: $650/semester renewable for four to six semesters depending on time remaining toward the degree.

Notes

$650 per semester (≈$1,300/year) automatic for all first-time freshmen admitted to the Cole Honors College, up to eight semesters.

Source

Outside scholarship stacking policy

UNA explicitly allows stacking — the freshman page lists scholarships 'available for stacking,' the $4,000 Housing Scholarship is stackable (2 years), and Leadership and Honors awards may be stacked on top of the automatic Academic/Presidential award. The one limit stated is that students cannot hold more than one housing scholarship. The page does not address how outside/private scholarships are treated.

Academic/Presidential awards plus stackable Housing, Leadership, and Honors awards combine. Only one housing scholarship may be held. No outside-scholarship displacement or COA-cap language found on the freshman page.

Source

Lesser-known scholarships at North Alabama (UNA)

Named awards that don’t always surface on the main financial aid page. Each one has its own eligibility rules.

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityCompetitive; strong record of leadership and volunteerism plus required academic credentials and a 1-2 page activity resume (grades 9-12)

Applicants for the Leadership Scholarship are automatically considered for additional (Leadership) Housing Scholarships

Source

AmountAmount not publishedEligibilityAdditional/foundation scholarships; also the path for students with an ACT below 20 and a 3.0+ GPA

Separate application; may be stackable

Source

North Alabama (UNA) merit aid FAQ

  • What is the scholarship deadline?

    The priority deadline for most UNA freshman scholarships is March 2, 2026 — you must be admitted by then for the automatic Academic/Presidential awards. Some scholarships have earlier or later individual deadlines.

  • Are UNA scholarships stackable?

    Yes. UNA lists scholarships available for stacking; the $4,000 Housing Scholarship (2 years), Leadership, and Cole Honors awards can stack with the automatic Academic/Presidential award. You can hold only one housing scholarship.

  • How much are the automatic awards?

    Academic awards range $2,000–$8,500/year by GPA and ACT superscore; Presidential awards (ACT 30-36) are $9,000–$12,000/year plus a $4,000 housing scholarship.

  • Does UNA superscore the ACT?

    Yes. UNA uses the highest ACT section scores across test dates to form a super composite for scholarship purposes.

  • What if my ACT is below 20?

    Students with an ACT below 20 and a 3.0+ GPA should complete the General & Endowed Scholarship application to be considered for merit-based awards.

How North Alabama (UNA) compares across our verified dataset

  • 19 of 751 verified schools in our dataset use no-displacement displacement.

    North Alabama (UNA) is in the small minority (19 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

  • 669 of 751 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

    North Alabama (UNA) is one of them. The cohort minority (82 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 North Alabama (UNA)’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

  • Troy merit aid — Alabama public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • UAB merit aid — Alabama public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • UAH merit aid — Alabama public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.
  • University of Montevallo merit aid — Alabama public university — compare automatic merit, amounts, and stacking.

Keep exploring North Alabama (UNA) merit aid