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 Arizona
What the state and its colleges give families, who gets it, and how to apply.
From the state
- Arizona Promise Program: Pell-eligible Arizona graduates with a 2.5 GPA: in-state tuition and fees at ASU, NAU or Arizona
From the colleges
Merit scholarships. No college here publishes a scholarship by grades that a student is sure to get. The terms of each are in the table below.
Across state lines
Students from the other western states pay no more than 150% of resident tuition at NAU and the University of Arizona. An Arizona student can do the same in those states. The Western Undergraduate Exchange ↓
What would each college cost your family?
See all 6 Arizona colleges priced for your income, and the aid your student could get.
See costs at your income →Already have a list? Put your schools side by side →
Get reminders for the dates that matter
We'll email you on the dates that matter: when the FAFSA opens, when award letters arrive, and before you choose a college and pay the first bill. If college is two or more years away, we'll also email you when the tax year that counts begins and when it has a month left.
From the state
Arizona's programs. Most come through the FAFSA or the state's own aid application; a few have their own.
Arizona Promise Program
For Arizona high school graduates with a 2.5 GPA who qualify for a Pell Grant. It covers in-state tuition and fees at ASU, NAU or the University of Arizona for up to eight semesters, after other aid. Housing, meals and books are not covered.
Source: Arizona Board of Regents, College Ready Arizona
“Award amount The award amount is up to the actual cost of in-state tuition, mandatory fees and program fees after other financial aid. Students are eligible for Promise funding for up to eight academic semesters.”
“To be eligible for the Arizona Promise Program, you must: Be an Arizona resident. Graduate from an Arizona high school with a 2.50 GPA or higher. Be admitted to ASU, NAU or the U of A by April 1 as a degree-seeking first-year student for the upcoming fall term. File a FAFSA and submit verification documents by April 1. Be eligible for the federal Pell Grant.”
“Housing, meal plans, parking or books are not covered.”
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona Christian University private | None published | — | $52,798 |
| Arizona State University public |
| — | $36,002 |
| Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Prescott private | None published | — | $69,539 |
| Grand Canyon University private | None published | — | $31,582 |
| Northern Arizona University public |
| — | $30,833 |
| University of Arizona public |
| — | $33,238 |
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.
9 more Arizona 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
- The School of Architecture
- Phoenix Seminary
- Sonoran University of Health Sciences
- Midwestern University-Glendale
- The University of Arizona Global Campus
- Justice University
- Prescott College
- International Baptist College and Seminary
- Ottawa University-Surprise
Across state lines
The Western Undergraduate Exchange, run by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.
Coming to Arizona from another western state
Students from the other western states pay no more than 150% of resident tuition at the public colleges that take part. Each college sets its own rules: a minimum GPA, majors it leaves out, early deadlines, or a limit on how many students get the rate.
In Arizona, NAU and the University of Arizona take part, and the table shows what each gives. Arizona's community colleges are on the list too, and this page covers four-year colleges. Arizona State University stopped taking part for students admitted from fall 2026.
Going from Arizona to another western state
An Arizona student can use it the other way, at public colleges in the other western states. The group that runs the exchange has a savings finder that lists each college and what the exchange saves there.
Source: Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE)
“pay no more than 150% of the institution’s resident tuition rate”
“Residents of the following states and territories are eligible to apply for WUE: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawai’i, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, Wyoming, as well as American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and Guam.”
“Each school administers WUE differently: Institutions may require a minimum GPA, exclude selected majors, have early application deadlines, and/or limit the number of students awarded the WUE rate.”
Paying the rest
Our $99 plan works out which money pays each bill, semester by semester: your savings, your 529 and your loans, in the order that costs least.
Build your plan →Best once your award letter arrives. No letter yet? Get a reminder when it does.
How we worked these out
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.