Auburn vs Ole Miss

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.

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–$10,278/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

• 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.

Ole Miss

• 147 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.

  Ole Miss is in a recognizable cluster (147 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.

  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 749 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.