At a Glance
Alabama admits 71.2% of applicants.
What You'll Actually Pay
See what families at different income levels actually pay after aid.
What families actually pay, by income level
After grants and scholarships. Before loans. Public school prices shown at in-state rates.
Source: College Scorecard / IPEDS, 2024-25
Where the Sticker Price Goes
Based on average need-based grant. Actual cost varies by family income — see chart above.
Shown at in-state rates.
Debt at Graduation
33.6%
receive need-based grant aid
$39,767
average debt at graduation
Alabama graduates carry an average of $39,767 in debt.
Merit Aid
12,246
students received merit aid
$17,494
average merit award
Getting In
Alabama admits 71.2% of applicants.
SAT — Middle 50% of those who submitted · 19% of the class submitted
ACT — Middle 50% of those who submitted · 53% of the class submitted
23% were in the top 10% of their high school class.
What They Value
Academic
Nonacademic
University of Alabama gives essays less weight than many schools — academics drive most admissions decisions here. Demonstrated interest is Not Considered here — campus visits and emails to admissions won't affect your odds.
Student Life
40.1% of Alabama classes have fewer than 20 students.
Share of undergraduate class sections at each size, from CDS Section I-3. More red = more large lectures.
At Alabama, 40.1% of your classes will have fewer than 20 students.
Class size data reflects all undergraduate sections including labs, seminars, and lectures. Large research universities often have smaller upper-division and graduate-level sections that improve the overall distribution. First and second-year students typically experience larger classes than these averages suggest.
Source: Common Data Set 2025–26, Section I-3 (class sizes)
19:1
student:faculty ratio
Campus Life
Live on campus
26.4%
Men in fraternities
30.1%
Women in sororities
44.1%
Who Attends
Racial and ethnic breakdown of enrolled undergraduates, as reported in each school's Common Data Set. "Unknown / Other" includes students who did not report or selected "other."
Alabama's student body is 68.9% white.
Popular Majors
Will They Graduate?
Alabama graduates 58.1% of students in 4 years.
Graduating late means paying for extra semesters. The 6-year rate tells you who eventually finishes — the 4-year rate tells you what it actually costs.
Alabama graduates 58.1% of students in 4 years.
What finishing late actually costs
Based on each school's published cost of attendance. Public school costs shown at in-state rates.
Alabama
58.1%
4-yr grad rate
Extra year cost: $33,382*
* In-state cost of attendance. Out-of-state students pay significantly more.
Graduation rate data from Common Data Set 2025–26, Fall 2018 cohort (most recent available). 4-year rate = students completing in 4 years or less. 6-year rate = students completing within 6 years.
73.7%
Overall 6-yr rate
58.4%
Pell recipient rate
A 15.3 point graduation gap between lower-income and overall students suggests financial or academic challenges for some students.
Freshman Retention
88%
88% of first-year students return for sophomore year.
City & Culture
Beyond the data — what it's actually like to spend four years in Tuscaloosa.
Tuscaloosa is a true college town — the university is the center of gravity, and on football Saturdays the population roughly doubles. Cost of living is low, the campus is beautiful, and there's an easy, built-in social life if you want one. It suits students who want campus to be the center of their world; if you're picturing a big-city college experience, Birmingham is an hour away and worth factoring in.
Notable Alumni
Harper Lee
Wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, which won the Pulitzer Prize and remains one of the most widely taught American novels.
E. O. Wilson
Biologist who founded the field of sociobiology and won two Pulitzer Prizes for his writing on evolution and ecology.
Marillyn Hewson
Led Lockheed Martin as CEO from 2013 to 2020 and was repeatedly ranked among the most powerful women in business.
Jimmy Wales
Co-founded Wikipedia, now one of the most visited websites in the world and run as a nonprofit.
Ozzie Newsome
Hall of Fame tight end who became the NFL's first Black general manager and built two Super Bowl-winning Ravens teams.
Sela Ward
Two-time Emmy-winning actor known for Sisters, Once and Again, and FBI, and a former Alabama homecoming queen.
Alumni selected for name recognition and range of fields. Not from the Common Data Set.
The City
College town
Tuscaloosa, AL
Best For
Traditions
The Walk of Champions
Two hours before every home game, the football team walks through the crowd along the plaza at the north end of Bryant-Denny Stadium. Thousands of fans line the path, and the plaza is ringed with statues of every national-championship-winning head coach.
Rammer Jammer
After a home win, the student section sings the Rammer Jammer cheer, calling out the losing team by name. It's traditionally saved for the very end, once the outcome is settled.
The Elephant Stomp
The Million Dollar Band performs a pregame concert on the steps of Gorgas Library, and students pack the Quad to hear it before heading into the stadium. It doubles as the meeting point for the tailgates that cover the Quad all morning.
Weekend Escapes
Within driving distance from Tuscaloosa
Birmingham
1 hourAlabama's biggest city, with a nationally recognized restaurant scene and the Civil Rights Institute in the historic Fourth Avenue district.
Nashville
3.5 hoursLive music seven nights a week on Broadway, plus the Country Music Hall of Fame — the standard long-weekend road trip.
Gulf Shores
4.5 hoursWhite-sand Gulf beaches that become the default destination for spring break and warm-weather weekends.
Getting There & Game Days
Nearest airport
Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International (BHM)
1 hour from campus
For international flights: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) — about 3 hours by car, or a short connecting flight.
Pro sports nearby
- Birmingham Barons MiLBAbout 1 hour away
- Birmingham Stallions UFLAbout 1 hour away
- Atlanta Braves MLBAbout 3.5 hours away
Career Proximity
Tuscaloosa has a major auto plant in its own backyard, and Birmingham's healthcare, banking, and insurance employers are an hour up the interstate.
Top Industries Nearby
Major Employers
- Mercedes-Benz U.S. International
- UAB Health System
- Regions Financial
- Protective Life
- Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama
Birmingham — about 1 hour from campus
Who Thrives Here
Alabama draws strong out-of-state students with an unusually aggressive merit program — over 12,000 students receive awards averaging $17,500 — inside a big SEC campus culture where about a third of men and 44% of women join Greek life. Be honest with yourself about the trade-off: 58% graduate in four years, and average debt at graduation is $39,800.