Although it doesn’t appear on the Yola site, the University of Louisiana-Lafayette seems to offer an automatic scholarship based on ACT scores and grade point. I would put the school a small notch below Ole Miss or Alabama academically, but we visited and were favorably impressed. They have nice, suite-style dorms.
Students with a 32 ACT and a 3.0 GPA receive the following, valued at $122,000:
Out of State Scholarship (for up to 10 semesters)
$1,200/semester for 8 semesters
Room and Board for 8 semesters
Campus Job for 8 semesters
Laptop computer for 8 semesters
Students with a 30 ACT and a 3.0 receive the following, valued at $86,000:
Out of State Scholarship (for up to 10 semesters)
$1,200/semester for 8 semesters
Partial housing for 4 semesters
National Merit Finalists or Semifinalists with a 30 ACT and a 3.0 receive the top award plus an extra $500 per semester stipend and study abroad. Note that the program is less generous to in-state students, as they qualify for a Louisiana TOPS scholarship.
Just passing this on for those trying to find a way to pay their way through school. Here’s the link:
http://scholarships.louisiana.edu/prospective-students/out-state-students/incoming-freshmen/additional-offers
Thank you! My nephew would qualify for one of these so I sent the links to my sister and she’s adding this to his list.
My son went there for 3 semesters. His leaving is his issue, not the school’s. 
The dorms are really nice and the school has some good programs. Lafayette is a nice town. Far better than Ruston, IMO–home of another school with generous scholarships (LA Tech).
One of my best friends is going to UL Lafayette this fall and is getting the full ride scholarship. Lafayette is a nice place. I hope more students look into ULL in the future!
UL Monroe also gives very good automatic scholarships based on GPA and test scores. Dorm rooms are pretty nice. But if I had to choose a city Lafayette would be a better choice.
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would put the school a small notch below Ole Miss or Alabama academically,
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A “small notch”? LA-LF is unranked. It’s not even a top 200 National Univ.
The top quartile at LA-LF has an ACT of about an ACT 26+
There’s little reason for their instate better students to choose LA-Monroe when they can use TOPs and other merit to go to LSU.
The top quartile at Alabama has an ACT 31+. 36% of the school has an ACT 30+
It wouldn’t even be accurate to say that it’s a small notch below UAB or UAH. It’s more like USA, a similarly unranked but good school.
There’s no way that LA-LF is only a small notch below Bama and Ole Miss.
It’s probably an acceptable school but to say that it’s a small notch below Bama and Ole Miss is misleading.
LSU won’t give nearly that much money to a kid with a 32 and a 3.0. Or even a 32 and a much higher GPA (my D was offered $2500 in addition to TOPS I think). All that extra money is plenty of reason to choose ULL or ULM over LSU.
TOPS is not fully funded for spring 2017, BTW. Which adds to the incentive to look for more money.
Depending on what one wants to study, and how much financial need there is (having the housing is a big plus, but not if the education for what one wants to study is not there). Hopefully a student who is financially strapped can find an affordable school where they will be happy and can get educated to their potential.
@mom2collegekids You are right that it is more than a “small” notch, but the 25th percentile ACT is virtually the same at all three schools. U La. Lafayette has an average Act of 22, with a 25-75 of 21 and 25. At Ole Miss those numbers are 24, 21-27. At Alabama those numbers are 26, 22-30.
So for the bottom 40 or 50 percent, the schools are almost identical. But Ole Miss has more students at the top end, and Alabama has a huge number at the top end.
Doesn’t matter what the bottom quartile is. Southern schools have a much higher AA population, and unfortunately, nationally, the avg ACT for an AA student is about 17.
The top 50% or top 25% is more meaningful for a high stats students. It gives them a feel for the strength of his possible classmates.