Research · Scholarships · October 2026
Scholarships in Alabama: the 2 state programs and what each asks for
As of October 2026: Alabama has 2 state scholarship programs for students who graduate from its own high schools. The table starts with Alabama Student Assistance Program (ASAP): a need-based, state grant ranging from $300 to $5,000 per academic year.
The table holds every state-funded award we could confirm for a Alabama high school graduate going to college. It does not hold federal aid, or a scholarship that comes from one college rather than from the state.
Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com), October 2026. Figures and the table may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.
The findings, in plain English
Alabama runs 1 award that turn on grades or scores. Alabama Student Grant Program (ASGP) is one of them. 0 of the 2 programs we could read name a GPA, and 0 name a test score. A need-based award asks about family income instead, through the FAFSA.
Alabama Student Assistance Program (ASAP) is the award to read first. What Alabama Student Assistance Program (ASAP) pays: a need-based, state grant ranging from $300 to $5,000 per academic year. The next program on the table is Alabama Student Grant Program (ASGP). Neither page posts a deadline, so file the FAFSA early and check again in the spring.
What this table does not tell you. Every figure on the table was read off the state's own page for that program. Nothing is estimated and nothing is carried over from an earlier year.
Every state scholarship in Alabama
Read the row, then open the state's own page before you count on a figure.
| Program | Merit or need | What it pays | GPA it asks for | Test score it asks for | Who qualifies | Deadline | Renewable | Official page |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama Student Assistance Program (ASAP) | Need-based | a need-based, state grant ranging from $300 to $5,000 per academic year | — | — | Alabama resident; undergraduate attending one of nearly 80 eligible Alabama institutions; must file the FAFSA, which is available beginning October 1 each year | — | — | Source |
| Alabama Student Grant Program (ASGP) | Merit and need | Grant amounts vary from year-to-year based on the availability of funds, but cannot exceed $3,000 per academic year | — | — | Limited to 11 named independent Alabama institutions: Amridge University, Faulkner University, Huntingdon College, Miles College, Oakwood University, Samford University, Spring Hill College, South University-Montgomery, Stillman College, U.S. Sports Academy, University of Mobile | — | — | Source |
Every row is a state-funded or state-administered award for a Alabama high school graduate going to an undergraduate program, as of October 2026. A scholarship from a single college, a private foundation award, a federal program and a graduate-only award are all left out. A blank cell means the state's own page does not state it. Dollar figures and GPA floors change every year.
How to read a state scholarship
State awards come in two shapes. A merit award asks about grades, a course list, or a test score, and it does not care what a family earns. A need-based award asks about income and assets through the FAFSA, and it does not care about grades. Some awards ask about both, and the table calls those merit and need.
The deadline column is the one families miss. For most need-based state aid the deadline is really the FAFSA deadline, and it falls months before a college asks for a decision. A merit award more often has no application at all: the state or the high school nominates the student from records it already holds.
What a family should do with this
Open the official page in the last column for the one or two programs your student plausibly qualifies for, and write down two dates: the state aid deadline and the FAFSA deadline. Those are the two that close. The Alabama pages on this table post no date, so file the FAFSA as early as you can and check the program page again in the spring.
Then look past the state. A state award is usually the smaller half of an offer. The college's own merit grid and its net price for your family income move more money than any state program on this page, and both are published.
Questions parents ask
What scholarships does Alabama offer?
Alabama has 2 state scholarship programs for students who graduate from its own high schools. The table starts with Alabama Student Assistance Program (ASAP): a need-based, state grant ranging from $300 to $5,000 per academic year.
Does Alabama have a merit scholarship?
Alabama runs 1 award that turn on grades or scores, and Alabama Student Grant Program (ASGP) is one of them.
How do I find the rules for a Alabama scholarship?
Every row links to the page the state publishes for that program. The rules and the dollar figures move from year to year, so the page is the thing to read, not a summary of it.
Method & sources: Programs come from the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE) and the agency's own program pages, read in October 2026. The population is a student who graduates from a Alabama high school and enrolls as an undergraduate. A scholarship offered by one college, a private foundation award, a federal program and a graduate-only award are all out of scope. A value the agency's own page does not state is left blank rather than filled from elsewhere, and a page that could not be read drops every figure.
- Alabama Commission on Higher Education (ACHE)
- Alabama Student Assistance Program (ASAP)
- Alabama Student Grant Program (ASGP)
This brief as data: /research/scholarships-in-alabama.json. Free for editorial use with attribution to Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach).
Related: Merit scholarships by college · State scholarships in every state · High schools in Alabama · Scholarship deadlines