Auburn vs Ole Miss Merit Aid

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

Ole Miss

• Academic Merit Scholarship (Mississippi residents)

  $1,000–$9,990/year based on ACT and GPA (see notes for full chart)

  3.0+ GPA · 23+ ACT / 1130+ SAT

• 1848 Award (Mississippi resident supplement)

  $2,000/year at 3.5 GPA + 23–28 ACT; $4,000/year at 3.5 GPA + 29+ ACT

  3.5+ GPA · 23+ ACT

• Academic Merit Scholarship (non-residents)

  $3,000–$20,160/year based on GPA × ACT grid (see notes for full chart)

  3.0+ GPA · 24+ ACT / 1160+ SAT

• Academic Success Non-Resident Scholarship

  $12,000 total ($3,000/year)

  3.75+ GPA

• STEM Major Non-Resident Scholarship

  $8,000 total ($2,000/year toward the non-resident fee)

  3.5+ GPA · 28+ ACT

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

Ole Miss

8 renewable awards · 5 distinct renewal rules

• Renewable over 4 years

  Applies to 3 awards

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  • Academic Success Non-Resident Scholarship
  • STEM Major Non-Resident Scholarship
  • National Merit Finalist First-Choice Scholarship

• Renewable for up to 8 consecutive semesters

  Applies to 2 awards

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  • Academic Excellence National Merit Scholarship (Mississippi residents)
  • Academic Excellence National Merit Scholarship (non-residents)

• Renewable for up to 8 consecutive fall/spring semesters per Ole Miss's published terms

  Applies to 1 award

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  • Academic Merit Scholarship (Mississippi residents)

• Renewable with the underlying Academic Merit Scholarship

  Applies to 1 award

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  • 1848 Award (Mississippi resident supplement)

• Renewable for up to 8 consecutive fall/spring semesters. Fee-specific: scholarship amount is tied to the non-resident fee and does not automatically increase with tuition hikes beyond the year-one amount.

  Applies to 1 award

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  • Academic Merit Scholarship (non-residents)

Auburn

• 160 of 751 verified schools in our dataset use cost-of-attendance cap displacement.

  Auburn is in a recognizable cluster (160 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.

  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 751 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.

Ole Miss

• 99 of 751 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.

  Ole Miss is in the modest minority (99 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.

  Ole Miss 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 751 verified schools publish a marginal-value cliff table we can quantify.

  Ole Miss 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

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.

Ole Miss

The cleanest cliff math in the SEC. Best for 3.75+ GPA non-residents and Mississippi residents who hit 29+ ACT.

Ole Miss publishes the most detailed merit chart of any SEC school, and it's also the most cliff-edged. Two thresholds dominate the math. For non-residents: at 32 ACT / 3.75 GPA, the Academic Merit scholarship hits $20,160/yr, which exactly equals the non-resident fee. Crossing that line effectively converts Ole Miss into in-state pricing for an OOS family. For Mississippi residents: the 1848 Award doubles from $2,000 to $4,000 the moment a 3.5+ GPA student crosses 29 ACT, a more valuable single-test-point gain than most peer schools offer at the entry level. Above 33 ACT, the resident scholarship is capped at year-one tuition, so chasing a higher score buys $0. The under-published trap is the January 10 Entering Freshman Scholarship Application deadline; that's when the door to the Women's Council, Stamps, and Provost competitive awards closes, separately from any admissions deadline.