Wondering if current students or parents are hearing anything about changes in the SAT/ACT and GPA requirements for the Presidential (or any of the current scholarships at UA) for those who will be applying for entrance in the Fall of 2018? Understanding that could impact applications and decisions to take standardized tests extra times.
Thanks!
@Meant2B I’m not sure when they make this decision but it seems kind of early since a lot of students are still applying. I know it stinks you don’t know yet but they probably haven’t discussed much.
@soyunchico I figured as much, but on another UA post someone referenced they thought it might change soon, so wanted to throw it out there. As you know OSU moved the bar this year for some of theirs, a trend seems to be starting to still attract OOS applicants, but raise the bar for merit receipt. Thanks and good luck with your decision!!
Thanks you so much. Yeah maybe they will raise it but I don’t believe it changed much between this year and last year. Curious to see how another potential Championship will draw more High stat students.
There has been speculation about whether Bama would change the Presidential scholarship criteria for quite a while. I remember worrying about whether the 32 ACT requirement would be increased before my daughter applied, and she’s already graduated from Bama. I haven’t heard anything about the requirements changing, but if my child was applying and had a 32 on the ACT (or the equivalent on the SAT), I’d encourage her to try to bring that score up. There’s nothing you can do about the GPA after junior year, as senior year grades aren’t considered.
@“beth’s mom” Thanks. My child is already planning to take another test to try to bump the score up further, just in case. Hoping, if a change occurs, it’s for the Fall class of 2019 or later 
My son is a senior in high school this year. I too worried about them raising the 32 ACT. If you look at other colleges 33 seems to be a magic number for scholarships. So that is the ACT score I would try to get.
Thanks @MichiganGeorgia , I do agree, goal is a 33, only a jr., so we have time
We visited Alabama yesterday. More than one person (someone from admissions and someone from the Honors College) said there will be changes this year. Unfortunately, they weren’t able to share specifics. I’ll be watching closely for an announcement!
I probably should have been more specific. They said there would be changes to scholarship offerings. They didn’t say there would be changes to the Presidential specifically.
This has NOT been verified, but I, too, heard from someone with connections to the admissions office that the plan is to change the larger automatic scholarships to a specific amount that would be renewed each year. That would be a marked change, since the current “full tuition” option means that, regardless of how much tuition may increase each year, your student is covered for all four (or five in the case of NMFs) as long as they maintain the minimum GPA (3.0).
Still sounds like the plan is to offer a significant award, but folks should prepare themselves that it might be a fixed amount. Also, I’ve heard nothing about the Engineering automatic awards.
One last thing: I believe this would affect folks applying in the fall of THIS year (2017).
Wow, That would be a bummer. One of the great things about UA’s Presidential is the full tuition for all 4 years… If they go to a fixed amount it just will be like most other colleges…
Keep us updated!! Any ideas what the fixed amount might be? Would there be changes to NMF scholarships?
@essemena2000, not sure what, if any changes, will be made to NMF. I think I heard $25k/yr for four years for the Presidential. I’m assuming the other partial grants will be adjusted accordingly, but I didn’t get any details on that.
If I hear anything else, I’ll post here.
Hmm… The current Presidential is worth $26,950 for this year to cover tuition. I’m glad DS17 got in under the wire.
Id be really sad if they changed it. I’m a junior in high school with a 1490 sat and 3.9 uw gpa. I’ve really been looking in to Alabama after reading great things about it. Ultimately, I could probably go to a better engineering/ finance school for a larger scholarship if they reduce the presidential. 
@FullRideHopeful, it will really come down to your parents’ finances and how competitive you are to determine if $25,000 a year (assuming that’s what the amount of the Presidential becomes) is less money than you’d get from a “better” school.
And remember: It’s not the amount of the scholarship that matters, but what your final COA is.
Even if Bama tuition goes up to $30k for OOS students, $5k a year is a lot less than most “better” schools would charge you unless you have a very good in-state option or are in a lower-income bracket AND are competitive for an Ivy or similar elite.
This would be a major bummer if DS18 has worked to make sure he meets the requirements for the Presidential and then it change. Fingers crossed
If that is the change, it’s still a fantastic deal. That would be a real bummer and a decision maker for some.
@FullRideHopeful <<< Ultimately, I could probably go to a better engineering/ finance school for a larger scholarship if they reduce the presidential. >>>
Better school for a larger scholarship? Where?
Not sure where you’d get that. Even if there were a change to assured $25k per year, that would still be the largest award. There isn’t a school with higher rankings that have an assured larger award.