Big improvements. Presidential now back to 32, OOS up to 26K.
Could someone post the schollies before and after today’s changes for comparison purposes?
I am pretty sure this one is new:
UA Recognition
A student with a 21-24 ACT or 1060-1190 SAT score and minimum 3.5 cumulative GPA will be selected as a UA Recognition Scholar and will receive $8,000 over four years ($2,000 per year).
Not sure how I feel about this one, but it seems UA may be trying to attract more in state students, even if they are in the lower test score tier, who would otherwise not enroll due to cost. In fairness, most people with a GPA of at least 3.5 are less likely to have an ACT close to 21.
These seem to be attempts to making instate costs more affordable
Are those amounts for Crimson Achievement Scholar and above higher than last year I wonder? I would have preferred that UA increase amounts for those with an ACT of 25 or higher. Regardless, I like the intention of attracting more in state students. UA should make a big deal about this in its PR. Could generate a lot more good will toward it.
Those instate scholarships look incredibly generous to me. In our state (CA) you would get zip with any of those ACT scores and GPA’s. I wish our state would do more for instate students. Kuddos to UA for their generous instate and out of state merit awards.
^ to be fair, California has Cal Grants, which can be even more generous.
@myos1634 these are merit awards not financial aid.
It’s because Calif is crazy generous with full tuition Cal grants, it can’t afford to give much merit.
I don’t remember the exact numbers but I read somewhere that something like 40% of the UC students and CSU students get Cal grants. If any of that is true, having that many students going with free tuition means not much is going to be available for merit.
The Cal Grant system is too generous. It’s either free tuition or nothing.
And then there is the middle class scholarship for those who miss the Cal grant cut off
That said, the low/mid tier UCs do give some merit for high stats in hopes of poaching some students.
My son had a 32 on the ACT which for the 2018-2019 application cycle made him a UA Scholar. Had it been the year before or this coming cycle, he would have been a presidential scholar…pretty big difference to our family.Iis he locked into that for all four years or will new amount (26,000) apply next year? (I am assuming no since his award letter stated the 4 year total)…a girl can hope…sigh.
California public university discounting is predominantly FAFSA-need-based financial aid, rather than merit scholarship based.
Cal Grant amounts and income/asset ceilings:
https://www.csac.ca.gov/sites/main/files/file-attachments/g-30_2018_cal_grant_comparison.pdf
https://www.csac.ca.gov/sites/main/files/file-attachments/g-20_disqualificationfactsheet.pdf
Collegeshopping, locked in. We are in same boat…sigh again.
We are all n the same situation. My daughter would have had a presidential scholarship year prior or 2019 school year, but not for UA 2022 class. Anything we can do. Really not fair if you look at kids in her high school getting more money with lower scores!!!
I am so upset about this change. My son had a 32 and will not be getting the 28,000 because of the year he applied. the previous year and next year get it . I am voicing my frustrations with the scholarship dept and the president of UA
@worriedmommaof2 while I understand your frustration I highly doubt you will get anywhere with your complaints. The school is a business and is run as such. It is a numbers game and changes year to year, just like any other business. Same thing went on earlier this year when they started offering additional housing scholarships to in-state students…just bait to reel in business. Low numbers?? Offer up some freebies knowing they will still get you to spend your money elsewhere on campus. Low admission numbers??..up the scholarship amounts…enrollment magically goes up. At least they are honest in how they advertise it, not a mystery like at other schools.
We are in the same boat—- our daughter also has a 32. She is a UA Scholar, in which I am incredibly thankful.
Yet, last year a 32 was Presidential.
Next year a 32 will be considered Presidential.
We are stuck in this one year with lots less merit award money.
Literally, the Class of 2022 is the only class of 32s who do not get Presidential Merit Award.
Over four years this means $24,000.00 less in award money.
It doesn’t sit well.
Incredibly frustrating.
I have contacted scholarship office, the Presidents office and more.
Hoping they will make an adjustment to honor the 32s if Class of 2022.
It is a business and we are the customers.
And our daughter had lots of great options.
She fell in love with Alabama.
I am thrilled she is excited!
In the end, I just want her to be happy and thrive.
But this scholarship gap is not a good way to get started.
.
The complaining is kind of misguided as they are one of the most generous universities out there for merit aid for out of state students.
@scubadive I agree UA is really generous, but it would still burn to know people one year ahead of you and one year behind were given $24,000 more than you for the exact same academic profile. I don’t think it is misguided to be upset, it is a valid emotion.
I do agree that UA has no obligation to the 2022 students, as they accepted what was offered that year. UA can change them each year as they see fit.
Each and every year, large universities make changes to their institutional or automatic scholarship offerings. As incoming students and parents, we need to make decisions based on all the information relevant to our situation at that point in time, rather than live in the past or try to predict the future. For you, @beverlysanford I assume Alabama was the right answer at the time. If so, that should not have changed, as the terms that you agreed to have not changed.
Last year, the University of Oklahoma was one that made a significant change to their National Merit scholarship offering. My son was quite interested in it as an option, we visited the campus, and based on prior years’ packages it seemed like a great potential match. But when the scholarships were adjusted, it was removed from consideration as it was not the right selection at the time. If they return the scholarships next year to prior levels, it does not impact the decision we made. Likewise, if Alabama improves the scholarship that my son has for incoming Freshman next year … it does not impact the decision we made.
Roll Tide!
Presidential went up $1000 per year. But didn’t tuition go up by a similar amount?