Frequently Asked Questions

Federal Aid: 

Full time enrollment (12 hours) is required for full disbursement of Federal Pell Grant and
Federal Direct Student Loans. Undergraduate students enrolled between 6 and 11 credit hours (and Graduate students enrolled between 5 and 8 credit hours) will receive prorated disbursement of funds. Only credit hours required by the student's Course Program of Study are considered eligible for financial aid purposes.

Scholarships:

To receive scholarship funds, students must enroll at Auburn for a minimum of 12 credit hours through the 15th class day of fall and spring (or a minimum of 6 credit hours the semester they are registered to graduate) for the scholarship to pay and remain paid to their ebill. If a student is attending summer, they must be registered for a minimum of 12 credit hours (or a minimum of 6 credit hours the semester they are registered to graduate) through the 5th class day of the second mini-semester for their scholarship to pay and remain paid.

If you resign or drop below full time status, you may have to repay all or part of your loans and/or grants. Contact the AU Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships before you decide to drop a class or resign completely.

Federal Aid: 

You must reapply for federal financial aid each year. The new FAFSA is typically available beginning October 1 and will determine your federal aid eligibility. 

Scholarships:

Competitive merit scholarship recipients must earn a minimum of 24 Auburn credit hours from fall to spring semester of each academic year and achieve a minimum 3.0 cumulative, unadjusted Auburn GPA by the end of each spring semester to be eligible for renewal of their scholarship for the next academic year. Eligibility for scholarship renewal for the upcoming academic year is reviewed at the end of spring semester. More information about renewal requirements may be found on our Maintain Aid page.

 

There are questions on the FAFSA which you must answer to determine your dependency status for financial aid purposes. Keep in mind that your dependency status for financial aid purposes is not based upon the IRS tax filing criteria but is based solely on your responses to the dependency status questions outlined on the FAFSA.

Verification is the process whereby we review the information you reported on your FAFSA and compare the figures to your and/or your parents' tax returns. The Federal Processor selects about 30% of our financial aid applicants to be verified. It does not mean that you made a mistake or that you are suspected of mis-reporting. It simply means that you were picked as part of a sample to be reviewed. If your file is chosen to be verified, it is important for you to submit any requested documents as quickly as possible. Financial aid cannot be offered to you until verification has been completed.

If you have been notified by our office that you are not making Satisfactory Academic Progress and you feel that there are extenuating circumstances that you wish us to consider, you may submit an appeal to our office. Your appeal will be reviewed and a decision made within 3-5 working days as to whether you will be given a conditional exception to these standards.

Ebills are generated monthly and are emailed to AU email accounts and designated authorized users. Fall bills are generally scheduled mid-July with a due date of early August. Spring bills are generally scheduled mid-November with a due date of early/mid-December. Summer bills are generally scheduled mid-April with a due date of early/mid-May. Aid that is available to apply toward the amount due will be displayed on the Ebill statement.

Yes, if your financial aid exceeds the amount that you owe AU, you may receive a refund for the excess. The quickest way to receive a refund is to provide your bank account information for direct deposit on AU Access > My Finances>Student Finances>Direct Deposit Information.

Federal Aid: 

Aid for summer is offered separately. Generally, we offer your maximum eligibility for fall/spring. If you plan to attend summer term and accept all the federal aid offered to you for fall/spring, you may have no remaining eligibility left for summer. We review summer aid eligibility beginning in April after you register for summer term.

Scholarships:

Scholarships are divided equally between fall and spring. If students wish to apply a semester of their 8 semesters of eligibility of their first-year scholarship(s) to summer, they will need to contact scholar@auburn.edu after completing class registration to request funds be added to summer. Students must register for a minimum of 12 credit hours through the 5th class day of the second mini semester during the summer.

First-year students who had a complete applicant file (application, application fee, official test scores from the testing agency, and high school transcript) by December 1 and were accepted for Early Action admission by early February were considered for competitive merit scholarships.

Auburn University’s scholarship awarding process is competitive, and all first-year student scholarship decisions are final. Auburn is unable to honor or match scholarship amounts awarded by other institutions. First-year student scholarships are awarded competitively as each entering class competes with itself and consideration does not guarantee an award. Actual awards are determined based on the number of qualified admitted students, the credentials of those applicants, and available funding. 

The deadline for updated test scores to be received by Auburn and considered for first-year student scholarships was January 12. Auburn uses the information on the transcript submitted with the application for admission for scholarship consideration. The deadline to submit a transcript for students not yet accepted for admission was December 1. For admitted students, the GPA used for admission consideration was the same one used for scholarship consideration. 

Each general and departmental scholarship has unique criteria with geographic location (high school, city, county, state), academic achievement, financial need, and academic major being the most common considerations. For general scholarships, priority consideration is given to students who have not previously been recognized with a scholarship valued at resident tuition, $13,572 for 2026-27, or greater. Most general and departmental scholarships are awarded to one recipient and at an average award amount of $1,500 to $2,000 for one year. Award amounts vary based on available funding for each scholarship. 

Additionally, priority consideration for general scholarships is given to: 

• First-year students who have a high school GPA and a standardized test score at or above our middle 50%. 

• Transfer students who have a minimum 3.5 transfer GPA and a minimum 45 transfer hours. 

• Current students who are pursuing a first undergraduate degree; have a minimum 3.5 cumulative, unadjusted Auburn GPA at the conclusion of fall semester; and are projected to achieve junior class standing at the conclusion of spring semester. 

All institutional scholarships, including general and departmental scholarships, are managed through the Auburn University Scholarship Opportunity Manager (AUSOM), where students may complete an optional application to provide additional information for consideration. Students submit the scholarship application each academic year. The application should be complete by the February 16 priority date for full consideration. Applications received after this date may still receive consideration.

While new and current Auburn University students receive consideration for general and departmental scholarships, most general scholarships are awarded to incoming students, and most departmental scholarships are awarded to current students. Departmental scholarship availability and requirements for consideration vary by college and department. 

Students are not eligible for scholarship consideration until they are admitted as first-year or transfer students and have completed the scholarship application by the stated deadline. High school students who complete college-level coursework before graduation may be considered for scholarships, regardless of the number of dual enrollment hours earned. To remain eligible for first-year scholarships, students must enroll at Auburn in the summer or fall term immediately following high school graduation.

To remain eligible for first-year student scholarships, students must enroll at Auburn in the summer or fall term immediately following high school graduation.

• Students who graduate in May or June of their senior year and attend another postsecondary institution during the summer will still receive their scholarship as awarded, beginning in the fall.
• Students who graduate in December or January and enroll at Auburn in the following spring term may be considered for first-year student scholarships for the upcoming academic year. These students must be admitted as Early Action. Those who enroll at another postsecondary institution during that spring term are considered transfer students and are not eligible.
• Students who graduate in May or June of their junior year and enroll at Auburn in the summer or fall term immediately after graduation are eligible for first-year student scholarships. Those who enroll at another postsecondary institution during that spring term are considered transfer students and are not eligible.
• Students who delay enrollment until the spring term without an approved admission and scholarship deferment are not eligible for first-year student scholarships but may apply for general and departmental scholarships as current students for the following academic year.

In limited or extenuating circumstances, students admitted for summer or fall and awarded a merit scholarship may request a one-time deferment of admission and scholarship, subject to approval.

Students planning to take a gap year between high school graduation and enrollment at Auburn should apply for admission to the following fall term when the application is available. Admission and first-year student scholarship eligibility will be evaluated with that year's applicant pool and based on that year’s scholarship criteria and award amounts. Students who enroll at another postsecondary institution during their gap year will be classified as transfer students and will not be eligible for first-year student scholarships.

The State of Alabama does not offer a state-sponsored merit-based scholarship for residents. As a result, Auburn University is unable to match merit-based scholarships awarded through similar programs in other states, including—but not limited to—the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship, Georgia HOPE Scholarship, Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarship (KEES), Louisiana TOPS, South Carolina Palmetto Fellows Scholarship, and Tennessee HOPE Scholarship.

The number of general and departmental scholarships for which a student may be considered can be limited if factors such as financial need or geographic location are taken into account. Current students should contact their college or department to learn more about available departmental scholarship opportunities.