USA Scholarships
Alabama Presidential Scholarship 2027 - $28,000/Year
The Alabama Presidential Scholarship is the automatic merit award that sits one step below Presidential Elite at The University of Alabama, and it is the one most high-scoring applicants actually land. For out-of-state and international freshmen entering in 2027 it pays $28,000 per academic year, awarded on a 3.50 cumulative GPA paired with a 32 to 36 ACT composite or a 1420 to 1600 SAT total. Alabama residents reach the same Presidential tier from a 30 ACT or a 1360 SAT, and their version pays the value of in-state tuition instead of a set figure. Nothing about it is competitive and there is no essay: UA reads your admission application, checks your GPA and your official test score against a published table, and the award follows automatically. What does have teeth is the calendar. Everything has to be in by 4 December 2026 for Summer or Fall 2027 entry, or by 2 November 2026 if you are starting in Spring 2027, and applicants who miss that date drop to a funds available basis.
What is the Alabama Presidential Scholarship?
The Alabama Presidential Scholarship is the award most strong applicants to The University of Alabama end up aiming at, because the one above it needs a perfect 36. It is automatic, which at UA means exactly what it sounds like: there is a published table of GPA and test score bands, your admission application is read against it, and the money follows. No essay, no interview, no recommendation letters, no separate form to remember. For out-of-state and international freshmen entering in 2027 the Presidential tier pays $28,000 per academic year. For Alabama residents it pays the value of in-state tuition.
That split matters more than it first looks. UA runs two different tables, and the Presidential row is not the same on both. An Alabama resident reaches it with a 30 ACT or a 1360 SAT alongside a 3.50 GPA. An out-of-state or international applicant needs a 32 ACT or a 1420 SAT for the same name, and a 30 or 31 ACT puts you on UA Scholar at $24,000 instead. So the single most useful thing you can do as a junior, if you are applying from outside Alabama and sitting on a 31, is book one more test date. Two points of ACT is worth $4,000 a year here, and UA counts only the composite from a single sitting since it does not superscore for scholarship purposes.
The deadline is where applications actually fall over. Everything has to be with UA by 4 December 2026 for Summer or Fall 2027 entry, and that means the admission application, the official transcript showing your GPA through the end of junior year, and the official score report sent by ACT or the College Board. A score you typed into the application yourself will not do it. Work backwards from that date and an October test sitting is roughly the last one that leaves the agency time to deliver. Spring 2027 applicants have an earlier date, 2 November 2026. Miss either and you are not disqualified, but you land on a funds available basis, which is a much thinner promise than it sounds. Notifications for the autumn intake go out in early February 2027, with college and departmental awards following in April.
Two honest caveats before you build a budget around it. First, this is not a full ride at out-of-state rates. UA lists out-of-state tuition and fees at $36,724 for 2026-2027, so $28,000 leaves around $8,700 of tuition and fees before you have paid for anywhere to live, and the university budgets roughly $10,000 for housing and $5,478 for food on top. International students feel that gap hardest, because the FAFSA is closed to them and there is no federal aid behind the scholarship. Second, keeping it is a separate job from winning it: a cumulative 3.0 UA GPA and 67 per cent of your attempted credit hours, checked every semester, with one warning period before the award goes. The upside is real flexibility once you are in. Unused semesters can carry into graduate or law school at UA, the award can be requested for study abroad or a summer term after your first year, and the competitive scholarships in the Alabama Scholarship Award Manager can stack on top. If you are comparing university-run merit awards, the Eastern Michigan Presidential Scholarship guide covers a competitive full ride with an interview round, the Boston University Presidential Scholarship guide a private university partial award, and the Tulane University Merit Scholarships guide another southern option. Confirm current terms on the UA out-of-state and international freshman scholarships page.
Eligibility
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✓First-time freshman entering UA in 2027The Presidential Scholarship is a freshman award, so you need to be entering The University of Alabama straight out of high school for Spring, Summer or Fall 2027. Transfer students are assessed on a separate table with different names and different amounts, and currently enrolled UA students cannot pick this award up later.
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✓Cumulative GPA of 3.50 or higherEvery automatic merit tier for out-of-state and international freshmen starts at a 3.50 GPA, and UA counts your GPA through the end of your junior year. In-state freshmen have tiers that open at 3.00, but the in-state Presidential still requires 3.50 or better.
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✓ACT 32 to 36 or SAT 1420 to 1600 if you are out-of-state or internationalThis is the gate that decides Presidential versus the tier below it. A 30 or 31 ACT, or a 1360 to 1410 SAT, lands you on UA Scholar at $24,000 per year instead. Alabama residents reach Presidential on a lower score, from a 30 ACT or a 1360 SAT.
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✓Official scores from a single test date, no superscoresUA does not superscore for scholarship purposes. The composite ACT or total SAT has to come from one sitting, and it has to be sent to the university by the testing agency. Scores you self-report on the application get you admitted but not awarded, so send the official report as well.
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✓A test score on file at allAutomatic merit scholarships are closed to test-optional applicants. If you apply without a score you stay eligible for the competitive scholarships UA awards on holistic review, but the Presidential table is off the board entirely.
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✓Application and score reports in by the priority deadlineFor Summer or Fall 2027 entry everything is due by 4 December 2026. For Spring 2027 the date is 2 November 2026. Students who miss it are considered on a funds available basis, which is a real award route in some years and nothing at all in others.
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✓No citizenship or residency barInternational freshmen get the same automatic merit scholarship names and the same values as out-of-state domestic students. UA states this outright on its out-of-state and international scholarships page. What international students cannot access is federal aid, since the FAFSA is closed to them.
Benefits
- Annual scholarship value $28,000 per year
- Four-year value Up to $112,000 across eight semesters
- Qualifying scores ACT 32 to 36 or SAT 1420 to 1600, GPA 3.50+
- Separate application None, the admission app covers it
- Unused semesters at UA graduate or law school Allowed on request if you stay in good standing
- Study abroad and summer terms Allowed by request after one year at UA
- Remaining tuition and fees UA lists out-of-state tuition and fees at $36,724 for 2026-2027
- Housing and food Not covered, UA budgets $10,000 plus $5,478 for 2026-2027
- Federal aid for international students FAFSA is not open to international applicants
- Annual scholarship value The value of in-state tuition
- Qualifying scores ACT 30 to 36 or SAT 1360 to 1600, GPA 3.50+
- Reference cost UA lists in-state tuition and fees at $12,718 for 2026-2027
- Alabama Advantage top-up A separate need-based award of up to $5,000 for residents
- Alabama Prestige Scholarship Competitive, at least one student per Alabama high school
- Housing and food Not covered by the Presidential tier
- Tuition Value of tuition for up to four years or eight semesters
- Graduate or law study Covered within the same eight semesters
- First year on-campus housing Covered at the regular room rate
- Supplemental scholarship $1,500 per year for four years
- Research or international study allowance $2,000 once, after one year at UA
- Entry requirement 4.0+ GPA with a 36 ACT or a 1600 SAT
Document checklist
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✓UA Undergraduate AppThe admission application is the scholarship application. It opened on 3 August 2026 for 2027 entry and covers every automatic merit scholarship plus most of the competitive awards from Student Financial Aid and Scholarships.
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✓Official high school transcriptSent from your school, showing the cumulative GPA through the end of your junior year. That is the GPA UA reads for the automatic merit table, so a strong senior autumn will not move you up a tier.
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✓Official ACT or SAT score reportSent directly by ACT or the College Board, showing a composite or total score from a single test date. Book the sitting early enough that the agency can deliver before 4 December 2026, which usually means testing by October.
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✓Awards and Experience section of the applicationFilled in before you submit, because UA locks it afterwards. It does not affect the automatic merit tier, but it is what the competitive scholarship reviewers read, and those awards stack with Presidential in some cases.
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✓Your intended majorYou list one, and the college that owns that major is the college that reviews you for departmental scholarships. It is a single choice on the form with no second pick, so decide before you submit rather than during.
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✓FAFSA, for domestic applicantsThe Free Application for Federal Student Aid opened in October and is worth filing even with a merit award this size, since Pell and other federal aid sit outside the scholarship. International students skip this step because federal aid is not available to them.
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✓Alabama Scholarship Award Manager profileOnce you are admitted you get ASAM access through myBama, where the alumni association, colleges and departments run their own competitive scholarships. Complete it before 4 December 2026 as well, and expect to revisit it since you can edit most ASAM applications up to the deadline.
How to apply
Deadline and timeline
FAQ
What is the Alabama Presidential Scholarship?
It is an automatic merit scholarship at The University of Alabama for entering freshmen, sitting one tier below Presidential Elite at the top of the published table. Out-of-state and international students receive $28,000 per academic year, while Alabama residents receive the value of in-state tuition. There is no separate application, no essay and no interview: UA matches your GPA and official test score against the table and awards it.
How much is the Alabama Presidential Scholarship worth?
For out-of-state and international freshmen entering in 2027 it is $28,000 per year, which comes to as much as $112,000 across eight semesters. For Alabama residents the Presidential tier is written as the value of tuition rather than a dollar amount, because it tracks whatever UA charges in-state students that year. UA lists in-state tuition and fees at $12,718 and out-of-state at $36,724 for 2026-2027.
What GPA and ACT score do you need for the Alabama Presidential Scholarship?
Out-of-state and international applicants need a cumulative 3.50 GPA with a 32 to 36 ACT composite or a 1420 to 1600 SAT total. Alabama residents reach the same tier with a 3.50 GPA and a 30 to 36 ACT or a 1360 to 1600 SAT. UA reads your GPA through the end of junior year and does not superscore, so the ACT composite or SAT total has to come from one test date and be sent officially by the testing agency.
When is the Alabama Presidential Scholarship deadline for 2027?
The priority deadline for Summer and Fall 2027 entry is 4 December 2026, covering the admission application, the transcript and the official score report. Spring 2027 applicants work to 2 November 2026 instead. Students who miss the priority date are considered on a funds available basis rather than being ruled out, but UA is clear that is a weaker position. Automatic merit notifications for the autumn intake land in early February 2027.
Do you have to apply separately for the Alabama Presidential Scholarship?
No. The UA Undergraduate App is the scholarship application for every automatic merit tier and for most of the competitive awards from Student Financial Aid and Scholarships. The one thing worth doing separately is the Alabama Scholarship Award Manager, which opens through myBama after you are admitted and carries the alumni association, college and departmental awards. Some of those stack on top of the Presidential Scholarship.
Can international students get the Alabama Presidential Scholarship?
Yes. UA states on its own scholarships page that the scholarship names and values are identical for out-of-state and international freshmen, so an international student with a 3.50 GPA and a 32 ACT receives the same $28,000 per year. The catch sits elsewhere: the FAFSA is closed to international students, so there is no federal grant or loan to close the remaining gap, and UA points international applicants toward external scholarships instead.
Does the Alabama Presidential Scholarship cover the full cost of attendance?
Not for out-of-state or international students. UA puts out-of-state tuition and fees at $36,724 for 2026-2027, so a $28,000 award still leaves roughly $8,700 of tuition and fees, plus around $10,000 of housing and $5,478 of food in the university budget. For Alabama residents the Presidential tier covers tuition itself and leaves housing and food outstanding. Plan for the gap rather than assuming a full ride.
How do you keep the Alabama Presidential Scholarship each year?
UA calls it academic stewardship, and the terms are a cumulative 3.0 UA GPA plus at least 67 per cent of the credit hours you attempt. Miss either and you move to a warning semester with the award still paid, miss them again and you lose it. Enrolling at another college during a fall or spring term forfeits your remaining semesters, and there is a one-time appeal route for extenuating circumstances.
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