Alabama vs Auburn

Alabama

Worth optimizing for if your student is high-stat out-of-state. The 2026 ladder has two mid-tiers many families miss, and the biggest test-prep payoff sits at 29 and 30 ACT.

Alabama is the strongest published merit play in the country for out-of-state applicants: predictable, formula-driven, automatic. UA's 2026 out-of-state table includes two mid-rungs many families miss — Capstone ($8,000 at 27 ACT) and Foundation in Excellence ($15,000 at 29 ACT) — so the ladder steps $6,000 / $8,000 / $10,000 / $15,000 / $24,000 / $28,000 from 25 to 32 ACT at a 3.5 GPA. The biggest single move is 29 to 30 ACT, worth +$9,000/yr (Foundation in Excellence to UA Scholar), followed by 28 to 29 at +$5,000/yr. Everything on the table is automatic with admission — but only official, single-test-date scores count (UA does not superscore for scholarships), and the December 4 priority deadline gates both the automatic tiers and the separate holistic competitive awards (UA Competitive Admissions, UA Competitive Achievement). One long-standing worry has a published answer: UA's own FAQ states external scholarships do NOT reduce UA scholarships; the cost-of-attendance cap applies to institutional funds, with outside sources explicitly excluded. The stacking trap at Alabama is internal — its big competitive packages (Academic Elite, Alabama Prestige) replace lesser UA awards rather than adding to them.

Auburn

Worth optimizing for if your student is a high-stat Alabama resident chasing full tuition. Out-of-state, the automatic award never covers the OOS bill, so treat it as a discount, not a deal.

Auburn's automatic merit splits hard by residency. In-state, the ladder climbs $5,000 (University, 28-29 ACT) to $9,000 (Founders, 30-32) to $11,000 (Presidential, 33-36) and tops out at the Presidential Excellence Award covering full in-state tuition and fees (about $13,572/yr) for a 4.0 GPA and 35-36 ACT. The biggest in-state step is the 28-29 to 30-32 ACT jump: +$4,000/yr. Out-of-state, the entry bar is now a 29 ACT for the $7,000 Academic Charter; below that, non-residents get no automatic merit. The OOS top tier is $17,000/yr (35-36 ACT) against a $60,752 cost of attendance, so it is a discount, not a full ride. Hard deadline both tracks: apply Early Action by December 1. Stacking is capped at cost of attendance, so large outside awards layered on a top tier can displace dollar-for-dollar; Auburn does not publish the reduction order, so confirm before chasing big outside scholarships.

Alabama

• Presidential Elite Scholar

  Tuition value for 8 semesters + 1 year on-campus housing + $1,500/yr supplemental + $2,000 one-time research/study-abroad allowance

  4.0+ GPA · 36 ACT / 1600 SAT

• Presidential Scholarship

  $28,000/year

  3.5+ GPA · 32–36 ACT / 1420–1600 SAT

• UA Scholar

  $24,000/year

  3.5+ GPA · 30–31 ACT / 1360–1410 SAT

• Foundation in Excellence (out-of-state)

  $15,000/year

  3.5+ GPA · 29 ACT / 1330–1350 SAT

• UA Collegiate Scholarship

  $10,000/year

  3.5+ GPA · 28 ACT / 1300–1320 SAT

• Capstone Scholarship (out-of-state)

  $8,000/year

  3.5+ GPA · 27 ACT / 1260–1290 SAT

• Crimson Legends Scholarship

  $6,000/year

  3.5+ GPA · 25–26 ACT / 1200–1250 SAT

• Presidential Elite Scholar (Alabama residents)

  Tuition value for 8 semesters + 1 year on-campus housing + $1,500/yr supplemental + $2,000 one-time research/study-abroad allowance

  4.0+ GPA · 36 ACT / 1600 SAT

• Presidential Scholarship (Alabama residents)

  Full in-state tuition

  3.5+ GPA · 30–36 ACT / 1360–1600 SAT

• Foundation in Excellence (Alabama residents)

  $9,000/year

  3.0+ GPA · 29–36 ACT / 1330–1600 SAT

• Collegiate Scholarship (Alabama residents)

  $8,000/year

  3.0+ GPA · 28–29 ACT / 1300–1350 SAT

• Capstone Scholarship (Alabama residents)

  $7,000/year

  3.0+ GPA · 27–28 ACT / 1260–1320 SAT

• UA Legends Scholarship (Alabama residents)

  $6,000/year

  3.0+ GPA · 26–27 ACT / 1230–1290 SAT

• Crimson Achievement Scholarship (Alabama residents)

  $5,000/year

  3.0+ GPA · 25–26 ACT / 1200–1250 SAT

• UA Recognition Scholarship (Alabama residents)

  $4,000/year

  3.0+ GPA · 24–25 ACT / 1160–1220 SAT

Auburn

• Spirit of Auburn Presidential Excellence Award

  Full tuition and fees (approximately $13,572/year for 2026-2027)

  4.0 GPA · 35–36 ACT / 1530–1600 SAT

• Spirit of Auburn Presidential Scholarship

  $11,000/year ($44,000 over 4 years)

  3.5+ GPA · 33–36 ACT / 1450–1600 SAT

• Spirit of Auburn Founders Scholarship

  $9,000/year ($36,000 over 4 years)

  3.5+ GPA · 30–32 ACT / 1360–1440 SAT

• Spirit of Auburn University Scholarship

  $5,000/year ($20,000 over 4 years)

  3.5+ GPA · 28–29 ACT / 1300–1350 SAT

• Academic Presidential Scholarship (non-resident top tier)

  $17,000/year ($68,000 over 4 years)

  3.5+ GPA · 35–36 ACT / 1530–1600 SAT

• Academic Presidential Scholarship (non-resident 33-34 ACT band)

  $15,000/year ($60,000 over 4 years)

  3.5+ GPA · 33–34 ACT / 1450–1520 SAT

• Academic Heritage Scholarship

  $11,000/year

  3.5+ GPA · 31–32 ACT / 1390–1440 SAT

• Academic Charter Scholarship

  $7,000/year

  3.5+ GPA · 29–30 ACT / 1330–1380 SAT

Alabama

19 renewable awards · 4 distinct renewal rules

• Renewable for up to 8 semesters with a cumulative 3.0 UA GPA AND completion of at least 67% of cumulative UA credit hours attempted

  Applies to 15 awards

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  • Presidential Elite Scholar
  • Presidential Scholarship
  • UA Scholar
  • Foundation in Excellence (out-of-state)
  • UA Collegiate Scholarship
  • Capstone Scholarship (out-of-state)
  • Crimson Legends Scholarship
  • Presidential Elite Scholar (Alabama residents)
  • Presidential Scholarship (Alabama residents)
  • Foundation in Excellence (Alabama residents)
  • Collegiate Scholarship (Alabama residents)
  • Capstone Scholarship (Alabama residents)
  • UA Legends Scholarship (Alabama residents)
  • Crimson Achievement Scholarship (Alabama residents)
  • UA Recognition Scholarship (Alabama residents)

• Renewable per UA's standard stewardship policy: cumulative 3.0 UA GPA AND completion of at least 67% of cumulative UA credit hours attempted

  Applies to 2 awards

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  • UA Competitive Achievement Scholarship
  • Alabama Prestige Scholarship (Alabama residents)

• Package runs through 5 years / 10 semesters, covering undergrad plus one year of graduate or law

  Applies to 1 award

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  • National Merit Finalist Award

• Renewable per UA's standard competitive-scholarship stewardship: cumulative 3.0 UA GPA AND completion of at least 67% of cumulative UA credit hours attempted

  Applies to 1 award

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  • UA Competitive Admissions Scholarship (out-of-state)

Auburn

10 renewable awards · 3 distinct renewal rules

• Renewable for up to 8 semesters with a minimum cumulative, unadjusted 3.0 Auburn GPA and 24 Auburn credit hours earned per academic year

  Applies to 8 awards

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  • Spirit of Auburn Presidential Excellence Award
  • Spirit of Auburn Presidential Scholarship
  • Spirit of Auburn Founders Scholarship
  • Spirit of Auburn University Scholarship
  • Academic Presidential Scholarship (non-resident top tier)
  • Academic Presidential Scholarship (non-resident 33-34 ACT band)
  • Academic Heritage Scholarship
  • Academic Charter Scholarship

• Renewable for 4 years. Replaces any previously awarded Spirit of Auburn tier.

  Applies to 1 award

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  • National Scholars Presidential Scholarship (Alabama residents)

• 4 years

  Applies to 1 award

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  • National Merit Finalist Stipend

Alabama

• 14 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use no-displacement displacement.

  Alabama is in the small minority (14 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

• 667 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

  Alabama 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.

• 63 of 749 verified schools publish a marginal-value cliff table we can quantify.

  Alabama is one of them. Most schools won't tell families what one ACT point is actually worth. At the schools that do, a strategic retake is sometimes mathematically more valuable than test-optional positioning.

Auburn

• 241 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use cost-of-attendance cap displacement.

  Auburn is in a recognizable cluster (241 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

• 667 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

  Auburn 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.

• 63 of 749 verified schools publish a marginal-value cliff table we can quantify.

  Auburn is one of them. Most schools won't tell families what one ACT point is actually worth. At the schools that do, a strategic retake is sometimes mathematically more valuable than test-optional positioning.