Presidential Scholarship - Confused on how they calculate GPA, also is it guaranteed?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
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I’m a rising High School senior in Upstate South Carolina and I’m looking at attending UA for the presidential scholarship.

I’ve tried finding concrete answers to all of the below questions extensively but I don’t want to gamble with such a decision and I want them specifically addressed so that’s why I decided to post.

First off, is it FULL RIDE or FULL TUITION? If it’s just full tuition, how much more per year, approximately will the OOS cost be?

Next, I’ve read that they don’t convert GPAs - that’s so weird. So if your school uses a weighted GPA and you have say a 4.2, then you will have a higher GPA in the eyes of UA than someone who has a weighted 3.9??? There’s no way that can be right - that would unfairly tip the balance just because a school decides to use a certain GPA system.

Finally, my SAT is currently 1320 - I’m going to get it up to a 1400 by the first test date, however that’s in October, meaning I’ll be applying sometime in November. I know admissions are rolling for UA so if I apply in November and qualify for the Presidential, am I guaranteed it? I saw in another thread @mom2collegekids say that it’s not like UA will “run out of money” - is that what this means? That if you qualify, you get it?

Thanks so much! Looking forward to seeing many of you guys on campus.

*PS What’s Roll Tide?

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It’s correct that The University of Alabama does not recalculate your GPA. UA will use whichever GPA is on your transcript, weighted or unweighted.

This is copied from The University of Alabama Scholarship FAQ Page:
"For entering freshmen, when GPA is reviewed for scholarships, will a weighted or unweighted GPA be considered?

If both are listed on the official high school transcript, the highest one will be reviewed."

You asked IF the scholarship is guaranteed. Again the answer from the FAQ Page.

"What percentage of students receive an automatic scholarship offer (Capstone Scholar, Collegiate Scholar, Foundation in Excellence Scholar, UA Scholar, and Presidential Scholar) if they meet the criteria listed?

All students who meet the criteria will receive an automatic scholarship offer if the student has been admitted by the December 15 deadline."

See the link that I list here for more information:
http://scholarships.ua.edu/faq/

As for your test scores: you should try taking the ACT as well as the SAT. You should start studying right now. You will need to meet all the Out of State requirements to receive a scholarship. These requirements include both GPA and test scores requirements.

See link here for scholarship levels:
http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out-of-state.html

Right now your SAT score would qualify you for 1/2 tuition IF your GPA for grades 9-11 is at least a 3.5 AND that SAT Score is 1320 for Critical Reading & Math Scores ONLY. You didn’t mention your GPA.

Again see below:
"FOUNDATION IN EXCELLENCE SCHOLARSHIP

A first-time freshman student who meets the December 15 scholarship priority deadline, has a 29 ACT or 1290–1320 SAT score (critical reading and math scores only) and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA will be selected as a Foundation in Excellence Scholar and receive the value of one-half tuition or $51,900 over four years ($12,975 per year)."

“Roll Tide” is the official rally chant of the Crimson Tide, and Alabama fans greet one another with the two-word catchphrase.
But in reality “Roll Tide” means so much more. I will leave you to find that out on your own. :slight_smile:

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The UA Presidential scholarship is up to the value of full tuition - this is not a ‘full ride’.

An OOS student can look at UA’s estimated cost of attendance webpages for other costs other than tuition (room and board, personal expenses, books, fees, etc.). You will be cautioned that UA uses the absolute highest costs (such as the highest cost dorm) in their calculation (note that dorm and meal plan costs are PER SEMESTER). I would budget on ~$10k per year for everything above tuition, but every family is different, especially travel costs - whether you are near a major airport hub, for example, if you need to fly.

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You don’t need to wait til after you retest to send your scores. You can apply now, and when your scores go up in the fall, Bama will increase your award.

You should take the ACT in Sept…you may find that easier for you.

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Good luck with your test scores! “Roll Tide!” at UA is often used as a “hello”, a “goodbye”, a “congrats”, and of course in general celebration of all the good and positive happenings there!

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Thanks @aeromom I did forget to mention, that even The Presidential Scholarship is full tuition NOT full ride.

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Here’s how “Roll Tide” is used in Alabama:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nvyknw4VClE

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^^^ I forgot about that commercial, still love it. Roll Tide!!

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A way to save on costs the first year at UA is to be in traditional dorm instead of suite style dorm, which will save about $3000 (based on what dorms were for 2014-2015). Honors dorms are suite style. Freshmen at UA have an unlimited swipe meal plan - they want to make sure freshmen are eating; this is also a little higher budget item.

This youtube presentation can fill in about how UA has become such a great place academically over recent years:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrV8g7kxJps

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For additional costs above the scholarship - freshman year when my son was in the suite style dorm and on the unlimited meal plan, I believe our costs were in the $12-15K range. In addition to room and board, that included course fess, books, for him parking and gas for trips home, and other misc expenses. Since he’s moved off campus and is saving on housing and meals, we spend closer to $10K/year. As others have mentioned if costs are a concern, you can select a traditional dorm for a lower cost, but for one year we ‘splurged’ before he moved off campus.

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Re: #8 above. Please note that not all of Honors housing is in suite style dorms. This coming fall, one floor of Blount and one floor of Paty are both Honors housing. Paty (all male) is mostly traditional rooms, and Blount (co-ed) is kind of a hybrid (4 students to a bathroom, 2 students to a bdrm…some colleges call this “pod style”.) Paty is less expensive, and Blount is more $$ than Paty – but less than the new suite-style dorms such as Ridgecrest, which is all Honors.

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What do you need your net cost to be?

What is your home state?

How much will your parents pay?

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Thank you so much to all the replies!! I had looked at the FAQ but I wanted to be doubly sure - @mom2collegekids home state is South Carolina. Not sure what parents will cover, will have to talk with them about that - also not sure about net cost… At Clemson, if I get a 1400+ SAT, my COA per year will be around 12k which is pretty close to what Alabama’s is with the scholarship… Man I was really hoping I wouldn’t have to write scholarship essays…

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What is your primary reason for wanting to attend Alabama? Is it financial ? Do you want to leave home? I guess you really need to assess you motivation to know in what direction to move .

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My son, who is a rising senior at Bama this year looked seriously at Clemson as well…they are both great schools but are very different.

UA has twice the number of students and has although both have a large beautiful campus, Clemson is a Land Grant school, and thus has more of an AG school feel, while Bama has more of a “polished” feel, having a Law school, etc.

Each of the schools are college towns, Clemson has Greenville and UA has Birmingham close by but Tuscaloosa also has many more shops and restaurants in town so you don’t need to venture to Bham unless you are looking for a Saks or something specialized…

My son is in the B-School at UA and it had many more programs and options for him. My son also loves that UA is in the SEC and has attended many games at other schools, LSU, Ole Miss, etc.

Both schools have loving, family like fan bases…you need to decide which school is the best for you :slight_smile:

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@carolinamom2boys Yeah - it’s financial, I’m trying to pay as little as possible for a big state school somewhere close by - but it looks like $2000 per year less isn’t going to be worth going 5:30 hours away vs Clemson being 1 hour away from Greenville which is where my parents are.

@CrimsonMomNC - good to know! UA does sound very tight knit from what I’ve read around here - tough choices ahead :smiley:

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We’re from the upstate too. Good luck in your college search.

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@gogonimago- something to consider is the type of experience you want. My husband is from Greer and my FIL graduated from Clemson. Hubby marked it off the list because so many from his high school went there. Likewise, my son decided against UT simply because we live in Knoxville and most of his class ends up at UT by default. They all have grand visions of attending Ivy league schools, UVA, UNC, etc but then financial reality hits and they end up choosing UT in May and feeling very bitter about it. This might be your chance to get out of the upstate for a while, explore other areas and meet new people. With more than 60 percent of UA students from outside Alabama, there is a lot of diversity. Just something to think about. Edited to add- Clemson is a great school. One of my rising senior daughters would love to go there! It is her “dream school” but it is outside of our budget and she has known that from the beginning.

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@carolinamom2boys - Thank you! I appreciate your time

@FamilyofFive - Yeah - I’m a strong proponent of the entrepreneurial mindset that college is what you make it and that it only consists a small part of your life so as long as I go to some big school where I can meet a lot of people and always find lots of people I can connect with, the next (and pretty much only) factor is cost - wherever it’s cheapest that’s where I’m going. I’m also trying to keep within the Southeast but that’s not as important as the other two. The price tag is big but I’m hoping to score some Palmetto help. Thank you!

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@FamilyofFive I completely understand budget. I tell my son all of the time that we are very lucky to live in a state with great merit opportunities and schools where people from OOS really want to attend .