Apparently U of Alabama provides a scholarship worth full tuition to all admitted freshmen with a 3.5 and a 32+ on the ACT. My first instinct is that there has to be some sort of a ‘catch’ with such a generous scholarship for anyone with a decent GPA, great test scores (but not necessarily service hours, leadership qualities, etc. that they typically look for in scholarships). I mean I know that those things may matter in the admissions process, but still-full tuition for good numbers??? Does anybody have any information about this? I know UA isn’t like an Ivy League but it’s a solid school right? Thank you in advance!
I should probably add that I put this in the college search & selection category because as I’m looking at schools, money is becoming one of the most important factors. I would really like to go to a selective institution but I’ll take what I can get- a full ride isn’t something I’m gonna just pass up.
I believe it’s only two years or something. I forget though. My sister got it but didn’t end up attending.
It’s for four years.
“…and will receive the value of tuition or $103,800 over four years ($25,950 per year).”
{http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out-of-state.html}
From what I understand, Alabama has been using their generous merit scholarships to attract higher numbers of smarties to Alabama- and it seems to be working out for them.
There isn’t any “catch” – other than the stipulation that you have to maintain a 3.0+ GPA. Alabama has been trying (with a lot of success) to get high-achieving kids to attend their school and giving generous scholarships is a good way to have those kids attend. It’s a great deal for those looking to graduate debt-free if you like the school and are interested in it.
I thought it was a 30+ ACT? Not sure, but flagships are always trying to get ahead somehow, and UAlabama’s way is by offering this full ride to students that exceed standards usually met by their students, and would normally attend another university, thus drawing them in.
Thanks everyone!
The catch… it is in Alabama?? lol.
There is no catch. It’s a great opportunity.
The kids who qualify for it often have competing attractive opportunities, so not all students take the Bama opportunity.
Alabama is one of the 5 poorest states in the USA. The University of Alabama may have concluded that it will draw stronger students to the university and the state (and perhaps spend less money), by awarding partial merit scholarships to many relatively affluent students than by fully addressing student financial need.
For 2014-15, Alabama gave merit awards to 1706 students and need-based aid to 2086. 1544 of the students granted merit aid had been determined to have no financial need. For those receiving n-b aid, on average Alabama only meets ~53% of demonstrated need. Of the 2925 freshmen determined to have need in 2014-15, it fully met the need of only 617 (21%). UVa, by comparison, claims to meet 100% of demonstrated financial need (but granted merit awards to only 73 students with no demonstrated need in 2014-15.)
When Alabama awards a full-tuition Presidential Scholarship to an OOS student, it draws in a student who otherwise might not have attended. So it isn’t necessarily loosing $25K/year in OOS tuition and fees. Chances are, it is displacing an in-state student whose tuition & fees would have been ~$10K, but who in many cases would have required more than $10K in need-based aid to attend.
In the following post, there is a link to a very recent video of Dr. Witt, UA Chancellor, talking about the rise of UA and why they used/use merit scholarships to increase enrollment:
From the students view, the scholarships are a great deal, and you’ll find plenty of happy parents in the UA forum. You can now even use some of it for grad school, if you graduate in less than 4 years with your BS/BA.
UA doesn’t have an endless source of funding, by spending a greater than average sum on merit scholarships, it’s force to limit it’s funds in some other areas. The most obvious is need based aid.
UA has kept about the same number of in-state students enrolled, while increasing the number of OOS students. That’s how its’ been able to avoid complaints (in Alabama) around it’s aggressive push to increase OOS enrollment. While it’s offering a large # of scholarships, its’ still recruiting an even larger number of partial to full pay OOS students.
Alabama has a first rate campus and Tuscaloosa is fantastic. If you can get that type of merit and you want that type of experience, big, bold, energetic, by all means take it.
You will never want for a thing there.
Alabama’s net price calculator indicates that there is no need-based financial aid other than federal aid there, for an Alabama resident student with a FAFSA EFC = $0 but who does not meet the merit scholarship thresholds.
It is also in a state with conservative politics, where helping those from lower income (relative to the state) families attend the state flagship may not be that high a legislative priority. That the state is politically racially segregated probably does not help.
@tennisbuck You are totally wrong. It’s for 2 years. Why would you bother posting when you really have no idea?
There is no catch. It’s for 4 years, but you must apply and have your scores, transcripts, etc sent by the deadline in December.
@international95 Have you ever spent much time in Alabama? I doubt it.
I was half-joking…
It’s interesting that people who have never been to the south have this image of backwards people living in shacks and trailers. When in fact the south probably has the newest and most modern infrastructure (roads, etc.). I’m always impressed by how nice the highway infrastructure is down there compared to the potholed and rusting roads and bridges I see in the north.
Wow. Even in view of the CDS (section H2) numbers, I’m surprised the NPC shows NO need-based institutional grant aid for the neediest students who do not meet the merit thresholds.
CORRECTION:
In post #9 I pulled the wrong numbers for Alabama’s 2014-15 aid.
For 2014-15, the CDS section H2(g) number was 1736 (students given merit awards), not 1706 (which was the 2013-14 number). The CDS section H2(e) number was 2246 (students awarded need-based aid), not 2086. The CDS section H2A(n) number was 1653 (students who had no financial need but were awarded institutional non-need-based scholarship or grant aid), not 1544 (the 2013-14 number.)
The aid in CDS H2 is “from any source”, so that those numbers presumably include federal aid.
Alabama is not a third-world country by any means, but it is still relatively poor compared to other states in the country with weaker education than my home state and a conservative climate that made me extremely uncomfortable when visiting my relatives down south. There is a reason that UA had to use all this scholarship money to attract high-achieving kids in the first place.
It is extremely generous, covering full tuition (for Presidential) including OOS costs. A student (who’s not NMF) will need to come up with housing, meals, fees, books and Alabama is on the higher end of costs for those compared to similar schools I’ve seen. The skeptical side of me wonders if they don’t recupe a bit of their scholarship money via meal plans and housing. But no- no catch.
But trust me- you aren’t the first one to look at Alabama and wonder if this is too good to be true. About a year ago, I would discover new programs on a nearly daily basis. My DW would be greeted with a “And here’s what I learned about Alabama today…” rundown, and we’d wish that our flagship/alma mater was so pro-active and supportive.
Ultimately, you’ll have to do the total COA to determine the value. It’s likely, for instance, that the total COA of our flagship will be comparable to Alabama. And as everyone else on this board will say- visit the campus. We fly down on Saturday to see for ourselves.