A poster
said they called UA and were told an ACT of 33 is going to be required for a full tuition scholarship starting with the class of 2022. Many of us have been waiting to see what the changes for the scholarships at Alabama are going to be for admissions in 2018. This is the first concrete thing I have heard. Can anyone confirm?
Ugh. Just when DS gets close they move the finish line.
Fwiw, I called just now and they wouldn’t commit to what changes were coming but confirmed it was changing.
Strange that they’re giving out different information. I would think that either they’re disclosing or they’re not disclosing the changes - not that they’re telling some people and not others. I guess it might depend on whom you talk to, but it shouldn’t.
I would suggest that if the requirement does go up to 33, students simply keep testing. There are still multiple ACT testing opportunities before the December deadline. A few years ago my daughter tested right through the fall trying to get a 32 and, after getting 4 straight 31s (with wildly fluctuating subscores), pulled her composite up to a 33 on the October ACT. She hadn’t done any additional prep or learned anything new - it just so happened that that particular ACT was easier for her across the board and she got all of her highest subscores in one sitting.
Does anyone know if the GPA requirement would be changing as well?
^^ I have no knowledge, but I’d be surprised. I think if they change any of the requirements it’ll be the test scores. They may just change the makeup of the scholarship itself. It sounds like there will definitely be changes, though.
This is so unfortunate. I have a 34 ACT and 3.8/4.12 UW/W GPA and have been depending on Alabama as a school I could actually pay for. I hope they don’t take away the full scholarship.
Any word on the SAT cutoff?
What I was told by someone with a connection in admissions was that the scholarship itself was changing (from “full tuition” to a fixed amount), not the requirements.
Maybe they’re getting push-back and nothing has been really decided yet?
The scholarship page on the website has been revised. OOS Presidential threshold is now 33, and the scholarship is a flat $25,000 per year (tuition is a bit less than $27,000). There is a Presidential Elite scholarship for 36/4.0. Some of the scholarships for lower stats are a bit more generous.
Its the end of an era. 
Looks like my “source” got it right!
One of the admins in the FB parent group was nice enough to summarize, so I’m sharing here:
**AUTOMATIC SCHOLARSHIP CHANGES.
These changes begin with the UA Class of 2022. The changes are not retroactive.
This is OUT OF STATE tuition information.**
Capstone Scholar
A student with a 27 ACT or 1280-1300 SAT score and a minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA will be selected as a Capstone Scholar and will receive $20,000 over four years ($5,000 per year).
Collegiate Scholar
With a 28 ACT or 1310-1340 SAT score and a minimum GPA of 3.5 a student will be named a Collegiate Scholar and will receive $24,000 over four years ($6,000 per year).
Foundation in Excellence Scholar
A student with a 29 ACT or 1350-1380 SAT score and at least a 3.5 GPA will be named a Foundation in Excellence Scholar and will receive $52,000 over four years ($13,000 per year).
UA Scholar
A student with a 30-32 ACT or 1390-1480 SAT score and at least a 3.5 GPA, he or she will be named a UA Scholar and will receive $76,000 over four years ($19,000 per year).
Presidential Scholar
A student with a 33-36 ACT or 1490-1600 SAT score and at least a 3.5 GPA will be selected as a Presidential Scholar and will receive $100,000 over four years ($25,000 per year). Students graduating with remaining scholarship semester(s) may use these monies toward graduate school and/or law school study at UA.
Presidential Elite Scholar
A student with a 4.0 GPA and a 36 ACT or 1600 SAT will be selected as a Presidential Elite Scholar and will receive:
• Value of tuition for up to four years for degree-seeking undergraduate and graduate or law studies
• One year of on-campus housing at regular room rate
• $1,000 per year stipend for four years
• $2,000 one-time allowance for use in summer research or international study
• $1,000 one-time technology stipend
The dollar limitation on the Presidential also means that credits above the allotted full-time hours will be charged to the student.
Looks like they are taking pages from my frequent flier programs and devaluing the rewards! Seriously though I think their merit scholarships are excellent and a good model for other schools to emulate.
I suspect the change is also a reflection of the success of the program in that they are probably attracting a lot of presidential scholarship OOS students with the current ACT 32 cutoff. With numbers I could find, about 42,000 students score 33+ nationally. But 25,500 students score a 32. So it might not seem like much, but nudging the cutoff for the Presidential scholarship does make a large difference.
Although the rewards have been slightly devalued, its still one of the most generous programs in the country.
Roll Tide!
And it looks like for in-state students, the Presidential remains the same (full value of tuition):
http://urweb01-dev.ua.edu/urwebdev/gobama/greg/scholarships/types/in-state.php
On the one hand I am happy that DS17 made the cut and has the Presidential. However it will be interesting how many OOS kids go to UA next year. That’s a pretty big jump down to 19,000/year from full tuition for those with a 32…
Beware, I’m not sure the National Merit page has been updated yet. I see at least one point that requires clarification:
Information on Engineering Scholarships hasn’t been updated yet from what I can tell.
Frankly, I’m surprised that the OOS Presidential threshold stayed at 32 as long as it did. I have no actual knowledge, but I’m going to guess that the total amount of scholarship funds won’t change much, but will just be redistributed. Some of the smaller scholarships are getting a little bigger, just as the Presidential is getting a little smaller. I suspect the enrollment management data was analyzed to death.
For students coming from my state (Illinois), these scholarships are still very attractive. I don’t think my kids could find a four year in-state option that would cost less than Alabama with the UA Scholar scholarship (the one requiring 30-32). I would imagine for students in states with an attractive in-state option, these scholarship changes could take UA off the table. But for students some of the big feeder states like Texas, California and Illinois, Bama still looks very good, at least IMO.
Some quick calculations: For the last few years, Alabama has been raising OOS tuition by $1000/year. Let’s assume that continues. If so, the tuition bills for 2018/19-2021/22 will be:
2018/19: $28950
2019/20: $29950
2020/21: $30950
2021/22: $31950
Total: $121800
Scholarship: $100000
Net Due for Presidiential Scholarship (total for 4 years): $21800
Percent of Tuition Covered by new Presidential Scholarship: 82%
Net Due for UA Scholar (total for 4 years): $45000
Percent Covered by UA Scholar: 62%
Net Due for Foundation in Excellence Scholar (total for 4 years): $69800
Percent Covered by FiE Scholar: 43%
@LucieTheLakie
Maybe send an email to Scholarships asking about NMF awards.