Every figure is for a student starting in fall 2027. We work each one out again whenever we update the site.
Paying for college in Alabama
What the state and its colleges give families, who gets it, and how to apply. See every Alabama college priced for your income
From the state
Across state lines
From the colleges
Pay less for college
A SmartTuition plan shows what to pay from where, each semester.
In our Alabama scenarios, with good parent credit, a SmartTuition plan saves a median of about $7,200 over four years. How we worked this out ↓
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From the state
Alabama's programs. Most come through the FAFSA or the state's own aid application; a few have their own.
Alabama Student Assistance Program
A need-based grant for Alabama residents working on a first undergraduate degree, from $300 to $5,000 a year. The college’s aid office awards it from the FAFSA.
Source: State of Alabama, Alabama Commission on Higher Education
“ASAP is a need-based grant administered by Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE).”
“Students may receive $300 to $5,000 per academic year.”
“Alabama Resident 1 st undergraduate degree student”
Alabama Student Grant Program
A grant of up to $3,000 a year for students at one of the independent Alabama colleges that take part, such as Samford or Faulkner. It is not based on need, and the amount depends on the money available each year.
Source: State of Alabama, Alabama Commission on Higher Education
“This grant is available only to students at an eligible independent Alabama college or university.”
“This is not a need based program.”
“Grant amounts vary from year-to-year based on the availability of funds, but cannot exceed $3,000 per academic year.”
Alabama's 529 tax deduction
Money you put into a CollegeCounts 529 account comes off your Alabama income, up to $5,000 a year, or $10,000 for a married couple filing jointly when both contribute. Take money out for anything other than school costs and Alabama adds it back, plus a 10 percent penalty.
Source: Alabama Department of Revenue, FAQs: CollegeCounts 529 Plan
“Contributions to the CollegeCounts 529 Plan are deductible on a state of Alabama income tax return up to $5,000 per Alabama taxpayer or $10,000 for married Alabama taxpayers filing jointly if both contribute.”
“Yes, the amount withdrawn is added back to the contributing taxpayer’s return, plus a 10 percent penalty.”
Alabama G.I. Dependent Scholarship
For the children, stepchildren and spouses of Alabama veterans rated at least 40% disabled from service, or who died in service or were prisoners of war. After other grants, it pays tuition up to $400 a credit hour and up to $1,000 for books and fees. It lasts up to ten semesters, at public colleges and some private ones.
Source: State of Alabama, Department of Veterans Affairs
“A dependent is defined as a child, stepchild, spouse or the un-remarried widow (er) of the veteran.”
“Beginning July 31, 2017 veterans must be rated 40% or more due to service-connected disabilities or have held the qualifying rating at the time of death, be a former prisoner of war (POW), declared missing in action (MIA)”
“After these are utilized, textbooks and applicable fees will be billed to the program up to a combined maximum total of $1,000 and tuition will be billed to the program up to $400 per credit hour each semester.”
“Children and stepchildren of qualified veterans may receive five standard academic years (10 semesters) at any Alabama qualifying school for undergraduate courses of study.”
“The scholarship applies to tuition, textbooks, and instructional fees and can be used at all public universities, colleges, and technical schools in Alabama, along with 13 private institutions.”
Alabama also has programs for Guard members, future teachers, and police officers and firefighters. See the Commission on Higher Education's list.
From the colleges
What each college gives for grades, what it promises on aid, and its full price.
| College | Merit scholarships | Promise on aid | Full price a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama A & M University public | None published | — | $25,730 |
| Auburn University public |
| — | $34,192 |
| Faulkner University private |
| — | $36,562 |
| Jacksonville State University public |
| — | $25,864 |
| Samford University private |
| — | $62,835 |
| Tuskegee University private | None published | — | $40,643 |
| UAB public |
| — | $28,201 |
| UAH public |
| — | $30,146 |
| University of Alabama public |
| — | $29,763 |
| University of Montevallo public | None published | — | $28,061 |
| University of North Alabama public | None published | — | $28,480 |
| University of South Alabama public | None published | — | $26,043 |
| University of West Alabama public | None published | — | $20,531 |
* The finder and our college comparison show this scholarship when you enter your student's GPA.
Each college's page has a promise's conditions, in the college's own words. “Worth asking about” marks a program the college describes in words that stop short of a promise.
Full price: tuition and fees, housing and food, and books; in state at a public university. What your family would pay after grants depends on your income: the finder shows it.
7 more Alabama colleges have no page here. For 2 of them, the federal data has no cost or no price by income. The rest mainly teach graduate students or run online programs. Show them
- Troy University
- Alabama State University
- Auburn University at Montgomery
- Athens State University
- University of Mobile
- Miles College
- Oakwood University
Across state lines
The Academic Common Market, run by the Southern Regional Education Board.
Coming to Alabama from another southern state
Students from the other states in the market pay in-state tuition at a public college that takes part, but only for a degree their own state's public colleges don't offer.
These 13 colleges in Alabama take part:
- Alabama A&M University
- Alabama State University
- Athens State University
- Auburn University (from the junior year)
- Auburn University Montgomery
- Jacksonville State University
- Troy University
- University of Alabama
- University of Alabama at Birmingham
- University of Alabama in Huntsville
- University of North Alabama
- University of South Alabama
- University of West Alabama
Going from Alabama to another southern state
An Alabama student admitted to such a program in another of these states applies to Alabama to be certified as a resident. The program search shows which programs are open to Alabama students.
Source: Southern Regional Education Board, Academic Common Market
“is a tuition-savings program for college students in 15 SREB states who want to pursue degrees that are not offered by public institutions in their home state.”
“Students can enroll in out-of-state institutions and pay the institution’s in-state tuition rates for more than 2,200 undergraduate and graduate programs.”
“Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia Florida and Texas participate only at the graduate level.”
“Once admitted to the institution, contact your state ACM coordinator and complete the ACM application process in your home state to be certified as a state resident.”
Paying the rest
Your SmartTuition plan uses your savings, your 529, your loans and your award letter.
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How we worked these out
What a SmartTuition plan saves
The $7,200 in the “Pay less for college” box near the top of this page is the median saving over our Alabama scenarios. Each scenario is a household in Alabama at one of its colleges. Its income is one of 8 from $45,000 to $200,000, and its savings are none, $40,000 or $100,000 in a 529. We price each college at the aid it reports for the income.
Every scenario has parents with good credit and $500 a month toward college. A saving is the difference, over four years, between a SmartTuition plan and the standard approach: savings first, then loans for the rest. It counts loan interest, the federal tax credit and Alabama's tax deduction for money you put through its 529 plan. Credit matters: parents with fair credit borrow at a higher rate, which changes the saving.
A scenario where the parents would borrow more than $65,000 is left out, as is one at a college that reports no aid for the income. The figure is for a household that lives in Alabama.
Costs: each college's own published price where it has one, otherwise the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, carried forward to fall 2027. Grants: each program’s own page. Scholarships: each college's own page, read by us and checked against it. SmartTuition.ai is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any institution named here.