How Difficult Is It To Get A Presidential Scholarship?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
1

I’ve read that all eligible students will receive one? Is it really that simple?

2

Yes, it IS that simple. Just keep an eye on the Scholarship Criteria to make sure there are no changes for the year your student applies.

For 2015-2016 a student needed the following criteria and had to meet a scholarship deadline of December 15 after applying and being accepted.

PRESIDENTIAL SCHOLAR

A first-time freshman student who meets the December 15 scholarship priority deadline, has a 32–36 ACT or 1400–1600 SAT score (critical reading and math scores only) and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA will be selected as a Presidential Scholar and will receive the value of tuition or $99,800 over four years ($24,950 per year) to be used towards undergraduate or graduate studies.**

3

The GPA is weighted.

4

They use whichever gpa is higher

5

Two other notes:

  1. The SAT and ACT are single sitting scores…so no superscoring allowed.
  2. There is a scholarship “form” and an Honors College application you must fill out in order to receive the scholarship. Neither will take very long.
6

Readers should be aware that the scholarship benefits and criteria are different (i.e., ‘better’, imo) for College of Engineering students - read here: http://eng.ua.edu/undergraduate/scholarships/

7

Okay, so here in a nutshell, Scholarship Requirements published, student meets all requirements (no super scoring, writing section required, GPA weighted/ok) student applies, student is accepted, student fills out scholarship app and Honors College app by deadlines. Student gets scholarship, if student is a declared engineering major, student gets the extra stipend. I think that covers it.
Every student who applies and has the statistics and meets required deadlines gets the scholarship. There is no “maximum” number of scholarships given out. Just keep an eye out to see if the Scholarship Requirements stay the same or changes.

8

The scholarships are for true freshman, not for transfer students or anyone who have attended another college and completed courses.

9

Please be aware scholarship criteria for 2016-2017 will be posted on the UA website later in the summer, there is a possibility that it may differ from previous yrs.

10

Thank you to everyone for your help! But where would I find the honors application for the scholarship?

11

Thank you to everyone for your help! But where would I find the honors application for the scholarship?

12

Accidentally posted a double comment.

13

These are two different things, Once the application goes live in June or July, an applicant may complete the application for admission and then the scholarship application. There is a separate application to apply for admission to the Honors College as well. Admission to the Honors College is based solely upon stats, but there is a personal statement required on the application.

14

The scholarships are not associated with the Honors College, they are admissions scholarships and you are automatically considered when you submitted your application prior to the deadline posted, typically Dec 1.

15

And the honors college has an entire website with good info! You can google it.

16

It’s pretty straightforward. If you have the required GPA/Scores and get all the paperwork done on time, you will get an e-mail confirmation of scholarship. Honors college is a separate deal.