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🎓 College profile

Alabama State University

AL · Public · Mid-size city · 5,346 applicants 2023

HBCU
96% admit rate SAT 865–1069 $19,031/yr at $110k+ income

🧭 A parent's read

  • Grades and scores convert directly to dollars here. This college publishes an automatic merit grid — hit the GPA/score tiers and the discount is guaranteed, no negotiation. Check the scholarship table below before assuming the sticker.
  • The payoff holds even at full price: roughly 4× over a decade. With no aid at all — the full in-state ~$23,586/yr — a decade of median earnings (~$34,502/yr) still runs about 4× the four-year cost. This payoff doesn't depend on qualifying for anything. (Out-of-state costs more.)
  • Worth asking: the four-year finish rate. Only 30% finish in four years here. Ask what drives that — course availability, transfers, work loads — because a fifth year is a real cost few families budget for.

Composed from this page's data — every claim is backed by a number in the sections below.

Get your child's odds at Alabama State University Free Family Decision Report — Reach / Match / Likely + your real net price. Alabama State University starts already on the list. Start →

🎯 Parent/student verdict

Likely

Accessible for most applicants. Major value play for in-state residents.

✅ Best for

  • Strong test/GPA students chasing merit aid — Presidential Academic Scholarship or Academic Excellence Scholarship on offer (see merit-scholarship tab below)
  • In-state residents (tuition ~$11,248 — major value play)
  • Students drawn to Business, Management, & Marketing or Biological & Biomedical Sciences (the two biggest majors)
  • Families wanting a small undergraduate experience

🎯 The reality

  • Bottom-quartile academic profile if: SAT below 865, or ACT below 16 (admitted-class quartiles; GPA floor is a calibrated heuristic where CDS not yet on file)

Verdict is composed from this college's structured data (admit rate, SAT bands, net price by income, Carnegie classification, scholarship grids) using transparent rule thresholds — not a chat-bot's opinion.

🏛️ Institutional snapshot

What kind of college is this?

Carnegie classification
Doctoral/Professional Universities
Total enrollment
3,477
1,000 - 4,999
In-state tuitionThe published full price before any aid. Families who don't qualify for need-based aid — common above ~$110K income — pay this, minus any merit scholarships.
$11,248
sticker, before aid
Out-of-state tuition
$19,576
+$8,328 vs in-state
Admit rateThe share of applicants a college accepts. Useful context, but your student's odds depend on their own grades and scores, not the average.
95.6%
Accepts the majority
SAT middle 50%The middle half of enrolled students scored in this range — a quarter scored BELOW the low end and still got in, and a quarter scored above the high end. Above the top number is a genuine strength; below the bottom isn't automatic rejection.
865–1069
EBRW + Math composite
ACT middle 50%The middle half of enrolled students scored in this range — a quarter scored BELOW the low end and still got in, and a quarter scored above the high end. Above the top number is a genuine strength; below the bottom isn't automatic rejection.
16–20
composite
Test policyApplicants choose whether to send SAT/ACT scores. At many such colleges, students who submit strong scores are still admitted at higher rates.
Test-optional
2023
10-yr earningsMedian yearly pay of former students ten years after they STARTED here — not ten years after graduating — all majors combined. The broadest single outcome number a college reports.
$34,502
median, after entry

Source: federal IPEDS Admissions 2023 for scores + admit rate; federal College Scorecard (20260606 vintage) for earnings + outcomes. SAT/ACT bands are the 25th–75th percentile of enrolled submitters.

📊 Outcomes & cost

What graduates actually earn, finish, and owe.

Federal College Scorecard data. Earnings are median annual income measured years after entering. Debt is for federal-aid borrowers only (cash-pay students aren't counted).

Earnings, 6 yrs after entry
$27,453
Earnings, 10 yrs after entryMedian yearly pay of former students ten years after they STARTED here — not ten years after graduating — all majors combined. The broadest single outcome number a college reports.
$34,502
4-year completionThe share of students who finish a bachelor's in four years. Nationally barely half do — and a fifth year quietly adds a full extra year of cost to the real price.
30%
Median debt (completers)The federal-loan balance of the typical graduating borrower. Families who pay cash aren't counted, so read it as "among those who borrowed."
$31,000

💰 The real cost

What families at your income actually pay

Above $110K income — where most Reach families sit — aid-receiving families average $19,031/yr at Alabama State University; families who don't qualify for aid pay the full ~$23,586/yr. Lower brackets pay less — the full ladder is below. One caveat, once: every bracket figure here averages only the families in that bracket who received aid — it says nothing about whether your family will qualify.

🔎 Earning over $110K? You're above the top federal bracket — the median family headed by a 45-to-54-year-old (the prime college-parent years) earned about $134K in 2024, and the federal data lumps everyone from $110K to $1M+ into one row.

Whether you'll get need aidGrant money based on your family's finances (via FAFSA and the college's own forms), not your student's stats. at this income is entirely college-specific: a few heavily-endowed schools meet full need well past $150K, while many others give little above the brackets shown — there, merit scholarships, where offered, become the realistic lever.

Start your Family Decision Report →

Your odds + estimated net price across your whole college list — then confirm the exact figure with Alabama State University's own Net Price Calculator ↗ (10–15 min; have your tax return handy).

Family income $110k+ most Reach families
$19,031/yr
Family income $75-110k
$21,608/yr
Family income $48-75k
$21,508/yr
Family income $30-48k
$21,682/yr
Family income $0-30k
$19,711/yr

📈 The payoffTen years of typical earnings divided by four years of cost. A 3× means a decade of median pay covers the cost three times over — check both the full-price and with-aid versions to see which applies to you., both ways

3.7× at full price 4.2× with aid
Full price, no aidThe all-in yearly price — tuition, housing, food, books, fees — before any aid. This is the real "full price," not just the tuition line. (4 yrs, in-state)
$94,344
~$23,586/yr all-in (out-of-state runs higher)
Aid recipients pay (4 yrs)
$81,740
$20,435/yr average
10-yr earnings total
$345,020
$34,502/yr median, 10 yrs out
Years to recoup the cost
2.7 yrs
at full price (2.4 with aid), at the median earnings rate

Source: College Scorecard (NPT41–NPT45; Title IV first-time, full-time undergraduates; suppressed brackets = small cohorts; the $110K+ ceiling is a federal data limitation — the brackets haven't been refreshed since the early 2010s). Payoff multiple = (10-yr median earnings × 10) ÷ (4-yr cost); full price is the published cost of attendance, largely in-state for publics; earnings are 10 years after enrollment, all majors combined.

📚 What students study here

Most popular majors at Alabama State University

Top 5 fields of study by bachelor's degrees awarded (most recent IPEDS Completions). Use this to see what Alabama State University actually graduates — not just what it markets.

1. Business, Management, & Marketing
79 degrees · 29.7%
Broad set of corporate roles. Finance + consulting pay top, accounting + HR pay middle, sales spread is wide.
2. Biological & Biomedical Sciences
58 degrees · 21.8%
Many bio majors → med school / grad school. Direct-employment bio roles are lower-paid than that pipeline.
3. Visual & Performing Arts
45 degrees · 16.9%
Highly variable. Steady-pay roles cluster in design, illustration, production. Performance careers have very wide income distributions.
4. Homeland Security, Law Enforcement, & Firefighting
43 degrees · 16.2%
Public-sector careers in law enforcement, corrections, security. Strong pensions, modest base.
5. Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies
41 degrees · 15.4%
Often paired with another field (data + biology, design + tech). Outcomes match the second discipline.

💼 What those majors earn here

Median earnings 4 years after entry, by major — Alabama State University's own graduates, not national averages.

Major (CIP) Credential Cohort 1-yr earnings 4-yr earnings
Accounting and Related Services. Bachelor's Degree 19 $39,762 $63,070
Information Science/Studies. Bachelor's Degree 23 $30,651 $53,416
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Levels and Methods. Bachelor's Degree 26 $39,444 $51,014
Teacher Education and Professional Development, Specific Subject Areas. Bachelor's Degree 3 — $46,629
Biology, General. Bachelor's Degree 60 $30,174 $46,370
Business Administration, Management and Operations. Bachelor's Degree 28 $28,447 $46,126
Criminal Justice and Corrections. Bachelor's Degree 47 $32,898 $45,173
Social Work. Bachelor's Degree 21 $34,792 $43,661
Psychology, General. Bachelor's Degree 25 $22,705 $41,766
Rehabilitation and Therapeutic Professions. Bachelor's Degree 18 $22,847 $40,152

Sources: IPEDS Completions (C2023_a; bachelor's-level first majors, 2-digit CIP family — share is of the top 5 only) · College Scorecard program-level outcomes (PP-FOS). Full college-vs-major comparison: /college-outcomes →

⭐ Merit aidScholarship money awarded for grades or test scores, not financial need — at many colleges it's automatic at certain GPA/score levels.

What your test score unlocks at Alabama State University

Score-or-merit-based scholarships published by the institution. Stackable in most cases — confirm with the financial aid office.

Award Annual award Score gate GPA gate Renewable
Presidential Academic Scholarship
Tier 1 · any
 Full ride (tuition + room/board + fees) 1240+ SAT 3.76+ Yes
Academic Excellence Scholarship
Tier 2 · any
 Full tuition plus 1160+ SAT 3.51+ Yes
Academic Incentive Scholarship
Tier 3 · any
 Full tuition + $500 1020+ SAT 3.0+ Yes

See all merit scholarships across colleges + 13 national awards on /merit-scholarships →

See which merit tiers your child already clears — free Family Decision Report Start →

🤖 AI program signal

AI + computing education at Alabama State University

CS degrees (annual)
10
CIP 11.0701 + 11.0101

Full multi-lens comparison: /ai-colleges →

Alternatives to Alabama State University

Matched not just by selectivity, but by strategic goal — what a family actually decides on.

🏆 Better merit-aid options
These similar-selectivity schools publish merit scholarships your family can plan around — your kid’s stats could unlock real scholarship dollars.
University of Mississippi
MS · Public
14 stats-based + 1 competitive scholarships
University of Louisville
KY · Public
13 stats-based + 6 competitive scholarships
West Virginia University
WV · Public
8 stats-based + 3 competitive scholarships
💰 Lower full price
Similar selectivity, but a meaningfully lower full sticker price — the comparison that matters most for families who won't qualify for much need-based aid.
Indiana University-Kokomo
IN · Public
$11,837/yr full price (in-state) · $11,749 less before aid
Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College
GA · Public
$13,956/yr full price (in-state) · $9,630 less before aid
Indiana University-Northwest
IN · Public
$13,989/yr full price (in-state) · $9,597 less before aid

⚖️ Or compare any college side-by-side

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