Stephen F. Austin State University Scholarships (2026–2027)
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Last Updated on September 3, 2026- Tuition, housing, and average family net price
- Automatic merit ranges and qualifier benchmarks
- Flagship and hidden-gem awards
- Honors and stacking strategy
📊 Admissions Snapshot
- Acceptance Rate: ~83%
- Middle 50% ACT: 18-24
- Middle 50% SAT: 950-1130
- Average GPA: N/A
Stephen F. Austin sits in Nacogdoches, in the Piney Woods of deep East Texas, and it does something almost no other public university in the state does: it hands out its automatic money based on your class rank and your unweighted GPA, and it does not look at test scores at all. There is a published chart. You find your GPA on the left, find your rank across the top, and the box where they meet is your award. No essay, no interview, no committee.
The other thing families should know up front is that SFA joined the University of Texas System in 2023. It spent a century as an independent institution and most of what you will read online still describes it that way. Tuition rates are now set by the UT System Board of Regents, and the wordmark on every page of sfasu.edu says so.
SFA is also, overwhelmingly, a Texas school. Less than one percent of its incoming first-year class comes from out of state. That shapes almost everything about how the money works here, and it is why the two paths for non-residents matter so much.
Comparing multiple schools? Try the Scholarship Tool to search by GPA, test scores, and state →
📌 Stephen F. Austin State University at a Glance
- Class rank is the whole ballgame for automatic merit. SFA’s Academic Excellence chart runs on cumulative unweighted GPA plus class rank. A 4.0 student ranked in the top 25 percent gets $2,500. The same 4.0 ranked in the top 1 percent gets $6,000. Same student, $14,000 difference over four years.
- If your high school does not rank, you have to call. SFA’s own scholarship calculator says it outright: contact the Office of Admissions to have eligibility determined. Homeschooled applicants get a rank assigned by Admissions under Texas Senate Bill 1543, based on comparable ACT or SAT scores. This is the one place where a test score still matters.
- Your renewal GPA locks to your first award, and a better GPA never moves you up. If you start at the $3,500 tier, you must hold a 3.25 in college to keep $3,500. Earn a 3.9 as a freshman and you still get $3,500. Slip below your number when spring grades post and the scholarship is gone, not reduced.
- Purple Promise runs out of money. It is first come, first served with limited funds. File the FAFSA by April 1 or you can qualify on paper and still get nothing.
- Two separate deadlines, four months apart. Feb. 1 is the general scholarship application at sfasu.academicworks.com, which is the only way to reach the Regents award and every departmental fund. June 30 is the admission deadline for automatic merit. Missing Feb. 1 costs you far more than missing June 30.
FAQ
Is this college test-optional? Yes — Stephen F. Austin State University is test-optional.
What is the middle 50% ACT/SAT? ACT: 18-24; SAT: 950-1130.
Average net price? About $14,260/year after aid.
Does this school use waivers/reciprocity? Yes — participates in Louisiana border-state tuition.
SFA Purple Promise Program page: https://www.sfasu.edu/purplepromise
SFA School of Honors Scholarships page: https://www.sfasu.edu/finaid/scholarships/honors
SFA College of Sciences and Mathematics scholarships: https://www.sfasu.edu/academics/colleges/sciences-math/student-resources/scholarships
SFA Academic Excellence Scholarship page: https://www.sfasu.edu/finaid/scholarships/excellence
SFA Transfer Students — Lumberjack Transfer Scholarship: https://www.sfasu.edu/transfer
SFA scholarship portal (AcademicWorks): https://sfasu.academicworks.com/
SFA scholarship portal listings: https://sfasu.academicworks.com
SFA University Regents Scholarship page: https://www.sfasu.edu/finaid/scholarships/regents
SFA GenJacks and first-generation support: https://www.sfasu.edu/ssc/student-resources/genjacks
CollegeScorecard / Admissions: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
💰 Cost of Attendance at Stephen F. Austin State University 2026-2027
📅 2027–2028 Planning Note: The costs below reflect the most recently published figures (2026–2027). Universities typically finalize the next year’s rates in the spring, and we’ll update this page once official 2027–2028 numbers are released.
Planning tip: At large public universities, tuition, fees, and housing usually increase modestly each year (often in the 2–5% range). For early budgeting, families may want to plan for roughly $1,000–$1,500 more in-state or $2,000–$3,000 more out-of-state in total direct costs once new rates are published.
| Category (2026–2027) | In-State | Out-of-State |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition & Mandatory Fees (2 semesters) | $12,938 | $25,774 |
| Housing & Meals (typical) | $13,196 | $13,196 |
| Total (Direct Costs) | $26,134 | $38,970 |
Average Federal Net Price: $14,260 — this is what families actually paid after grants and scholarships (no loans), based on the most recent federal data. Your specific cost could be significantly lower or higher depending on your financial aid eligibility and merit scholarships. New to Net Price & SAI? Read our guide.
📌 Regional Tuition & Waiver Options
Louisiana residents: SFA charges a border-state tuition rate of $13,834 in tuition and mandatory fees instead of the $25,774 non-resident rate, a difference of $11,940 per year. This is a waiver under Texas Education Code 54.0601. You must submit a copy of your driver's license or state ID plus a notarized oath of residency form to the Office of Admissions. It is not automatic.
Every other state: SFA holds a standing policy that a non-resident who receives a scholarship of $1,000 or more from an SFA scholarship committee pays the in-state tuition rate for the duration of that scholarship. One qualifying award turns a $25,774 tuition bill into a $12,938 tuition bill.
SFA does not participate in the Academic Common Market or any broad regional exchange. Louisiana border-state status and the scholarship-triggered waiver are the two paths.
💜 The Purple Promise changes this table completely
If you are a Texas resident and your combined family adjusted gross income is $100,000 or less, SFA covers 100 percent of tuition and mandatory fees for up to four years. That is the entire $12,938 line item, gone. SFA values the four-year package at more than $44,500.
There is no application. SFA reads your income off the FAFSA. But the program is first come, first served with limited funds, and the priority deadline is April 1.
What it does not cover: housing and food, which run $13,196 on campus. Purple Promise is a tuition guarantee, not a free ride. Budget for the housing line.
SFA has three tuition rates, not two
| Residency (2026–2027) | Tuition & Fees | Full COA (on campus) |
|---|---|---|
| Texas resident | $12,938 | $30,576 |
| Louisiana resident (border-state) | $13,834 | $31,472 |
| All other non-residents | $25,774 | $43,412 |
Read that middle row again. A family in Shreveport or Lake Charles pays $11,940 less per year than a family in Oklahoma City, for the same seat in the same classroom. Louisiana is the only state SFA extends this to. It is a waiver under Texas Education Code 54.0601, and it is not automatic: you have to send a copy of a Louisiana driver’s license or state ID plus a notarized oath of residency form to the Office of Admissions.
SFA has a standing policy buried in the fine print of its cost page: a non-resident who holds a scholarship of $1,000 or more awarded by an SFA scholarship committee pays the in-state tuition rate for as long as that scholarship lasts.
Run the arithmetic. A $1,000 departmental award does not save you $1,000. It saves you $1,000 plus the $12,836 gap between non-resident and resident tuition. That is a $13,836 swing off a single small scholarship, and it makes finishing the Feb. 1 general scholarship application the highest-value hour an out-of-state applicant will spend on SFA.
Texas-resident first-year and transfer students can choose a Guaranteed-Price Plan that locks a fixed designated tuition rate for the rest of their undergraduate career, instead of the Annual Flat-Rate Tuition that moves with the market. Most families never hear about it because the choice lives on the Student Business Services site, not in the admissions funnel. If you are budgeting a four-year number and you want certainty more than you want the lowest possible first-year figure, call Student Business Services and ask them to run both plans side by side before you commit.
FAQ — Cost of Attendance at Stephen F. Austin
Who actually qualifies for free tuition at SFA?
Texas residents with a combined family adjusted gross income of $100,000 or less, enrolling as a first-time first-year student or a first-time transfer student, who file the FAFSA by the April 1 priority deadline. That covers a large share of SFA’s in-state student body. Dual credit and AP hours earned before you enroll do not disqualify you.
Does Purple Promise cover room and board?
No. It covers tuition and mandatory fees only, currently $12,938 a year. Housing and food on campus run $13,196. So a Purple Promise family still faces a real bill, which is exactly why the Academic Excellence award and departmental scholarships still matter. Those dollars are what cover the dorm.
Which states get the border-state tuition rate?
Only Louisiana. Texas law allows the concession for Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma, but it only applies where a reciprocal agreement exists, and SFA has extended it to Louisiana alone. The rate is $13,834 in tuition and fees versus $25,774 as a full non-resident. You must submit a copy of your Louisiana driver’s license or state ID and a notarized oath of residency form.
Can an out-of-state student get in-state tuition at SFA?
Yes, through a route most families never find. Any non-resident who receives a scholarship of $1,000 or more from an SFA scholarship committee is charged in-state tuition for the duration of that scholarship. One qualifying award moves you from $25,774 to $12,938. Non-resident teaching and research assistants employed at least half-time in a role tied to their degree also pay resident rates.
Is the average net price really around $14,260?
Yes, that is the federal figure for what families actually paid after grants and scholarships, and Purple Promise is a big part of why it lands that low for a school with a $30,576 sticker price. Be honest with yourself about the spread, though. SFA reports meeting about 56 percent of demonstrated need for first-year students, so a family with high need and no Purple Promise eligibility can still face a real gap.
Why are books and travel listed separately from tuition and housing?
Because SFA does not bill you for them. The university invoices tuition, fees and your housing and meal plan. Books at $1,210, travel at $1,388 and personal expenses at $1,800 are estimates the federal government requires schools to publish so aid can be calculated correctly. They are real costs, they just do not show up on the eBill.
Does SFA tuition go up every year?
It can, and rates are now set by the University of Texas System Board of Regents since SFA joined the system in 2023. But Texas-resident first-year and transfer students can elect the Guaranteed-Price Plan, which fixes designated tuition for the remainder of the degree. That is an unusual option among Texas publics and it is worth asking Student Business Services about directly.
https://www.sfasu.edu/finaid/coa
https://www.sfasu.edu/purplepromise
https://www.sfasu.edu/sbs/tuition-fees/plans-rates
https://www.sfasu.edu/sbs/tuition-fees/waivers/tec-54-0601
📅 SFA Scholarship Timeline (Simple Version)
- Feb. 1: General scholarship application closes at sfasu.academicworks.com. This is the gate for the Regents award, every School of Honors award, and every departmental fund. Miss it and those are gone for the year.
- April 1: Purple Promise FAFSA priority deadline. Funds are limited and awarded first come, first served.
- April 15: General financial aid priority date for filing required forms.
- June 1: Housing deposit deadline for fall ($100, refundable if you withdraw before this date).
- June 30: Admission must be complete to receive the Academic Excellence Scholarship.
Parent rule of thumb: the deadline that costs you the most money is Feb. 1, not the one closest to enrollment. Treat it as the real deadline even if your student is still deciding.
Automatic Merit Scholarships — Stephen F. Austin State University
🧮 Check your number in about ten seconds
SFA publishes a live calculator. Type in the GPA, pick the class rank, and it returns the estimated award. Most universities make families guess at this. SFA just tells you.
Open SFA’s Academic Excellence Scholarship Calculator →
If the calculator will not take your student’s information because the high school does not rank, that is expected. Call the Office of Admissions at 936.468.2504 and they will determine eligibility manually.
Why class rank matters more here than almost anywhere else
At most schools, rank is one soft factor among many. At SFA it is half of a formula that pays out in cash. And here is the part that should reframe how your family reads the chart: according to SFA’s own Common Data Set, only 32 percent of its enrolled first-year students were in the top quarter of their high school class, and only 9 percent were in the top tenth.
So a student in the top 10 percent is not just checking a box at SFA. They are in a genuinely small group, and the chart pays them accordingly. If your student attends a large, competitive high school where a 3.8 lands them at the 20th percentile, run the calculator before you assume SFA will not be generous. And if they attend a smaller school where a 3.8 puts them in the top 5 percent, SFA may well be the best per-dollar offer on their list.
Note: Awards split evenly between fall and spring. SFA states that the number of scholarships offered depends on available funding, and that every applicant is reviewed individually, so treat the chart as a strong estimate rather than a contract.
Automatic Merit — FAQs (Stephen F. Austin)
When does my student have to be admitted to get the Academic Excellence Scholarship?
By June 30 for the upcoming fall term, with all scholarship requirements met by that same date. SFA runs rolling admission with no application closing date, so there is no reason to sit on it. Transcripts and class rank documentation need to be in SFA’s hands, not just requested.
Does SFA use the ACT or SAT for automatic merit?
No. The Academic Excellence chart uses unweighted GPA and class rank only. SFA is test-optional for admission, and scores play no role in the automatic award. The one exception: if your high school does not rank, Admissions may use comparable test scores to assign a rank under Texas Senate Bill 1543.
Is it weighted or unweighted GPA?
Unweighted, on a 4.0 scale. This trips up families whose students loaded up on AP and dual credit expecting a 4.5 to help. It does not, at least not for this award. The rigor shows up in the rank instead.
If my student’s college GPA improves, do they move up a tier?
No, and this catches people every year. Renewal is tied to the award amount you were first offered. A $3,500 recipient keeps $3,500 by holding a 3.25. Post a 3.9 and it is still $3,500. But if the GPA drops below the renewal number when spring grades are final, the scholarship is not reduced, it is not renewed at all.
What are the renewal requirements?
Continuous full-time enrollment fall and spring, 24 completed hours across those two terms excluding remedial and repeated courses, and the GPA tied to your tier: 3.50 for the $6,000 award, 3.25 for $5,000 and $3,500, and 3.00 for $2,500. The award renews for up to four years total.
Can Academic Excellence stack with Purple Promise?
Yes, and understanding the order matters. Purple Promise pays last, after scholarships, grants, exemptions and waivers are applied. So if your family already qualifies for Purple Promise, an Academic Excellence award will not lower your out-of-pocket tuition, because tuition was already covered. What it does is give you a merit award in your own name that survives if family income later rises above $100,000, and it frees Promise dollars for other students. Keep it.
What about transfer students?
The Lumberjack Transfer Scholarship is the automatic equivalent: $2,000 a year for a 3.50 or higher transferable GPA, $1,000 for a 3.00 to 3.49, with at least 15 transferable semester hours. AP and credit-by-exam hours do not count toward that 15. Renewal is one additional year only, so it is a two-year award, not four.
Are these guaranteed?
Close to it, but SFA is careful with its language. The published chart is what they use, and there is no application to lose. SFA does state that the number of awards depends on available funds and that files are reviewed individually. Get admitted early and you are on the safe side of that sentence.
https://www.sfasu.edu/finaid/scholarships/excellence
https://www.sfasu.edu/finaid/deadlines
https://www.sfasu.edu/apply/first-year
https://www.sfasu.edu/sair/reports/cds
🏆 Flagship Scholarships (Competitive Scholarships)
That is not a knock. SFA’s money is real, it is just organized differently. The university puts its dollars into two places instead: an automatic chart that pays everyone who qualifies, and an income-based tuition guarantee that covers Texas families under $100,000. Between Purple Promise and the Academic Excellence chart, a middle-income Texas student can land at close to zero tuition without writing a single essay. Most schools make you compete for that. SFA does not.
Where the essay-writing pays off at SFA is one level down, in the departmental and School of Honors awards. Those are covered in the next two sections, and one of them is worth $10,000 a year.
✅ Can You Stack Scholarships at SFA?
| Aid Type | Stacks? | SFA Parent Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Academic Excellence (automatic) | Yes | Stacks with everything else up to your published Cost of Attendance. Students receive one tier from the chart, not several. |
| Purple Promise | Pays last | SFA applies all other aid first, then Purple Promise fills whatever tuition and fees remain. It cannot be double-counted, and it never covers housing. |
| University Regents Scholarship | Yes | Adds on top of automatic merit. Paid as two $1,500 credits meant for a residence hall room. Commuters can apply it to tuition instead. |
| School of Honors awards | Yes | Layer on top of the automatic chart. A Hoops for Scholars recipient with a $5,000 Academic Excellence award is holding $10,000 a year before anything else. |
| Departmental and endowed funds | Yes | The gap-fillers. For non-residents, any one of these worth $1,000 or more also drops you to the in-state tuition rate. |
| ROTC and activity awards | Usually | Federal ROTC funds have to be coordinated so total aid does not exceed allowable costs. Read the award letter. |
| Pell and TEXAS Grant | Yes | Applied before Purple Promise. Strong FAFSA timing matters more here than at most schools because Promise funding is first come, first served. |
The ceiling on all of this is your published Cost of Attendance. Once your combined aid hits $30,576 as a Texas resident living on campus, additional awards stop adding value and start displacing other aid.
❓ Flagship / Competitive Scholarship FAQs
How do I apply for the University Regents Scholarship?
Get admitted to SFA, then complete the general scholarship application at sfasu.academicworks.com using your mySFA credentials by Feb. 1. There is no separate Regents form. The same application also puts you in front of every departmental fund at the university.
How competitive is it really?
Each academic department selects two students per year. That is a small pool in absolute terms, but it is spread across every department on campus, which means the odds depend heavily on your intended major. A student heading into a smaller department is competing against far fewer applicants than one heading into business or nursing.
What do I need to qualify?
Any one of three marks: top 15 percent of your high school graduating class verified by transcript or a letter from a school official, a combined SAT of 1220, or an ACT composite of 27. It is open to first-time incoming students at the first-year, sophomore or junior level who have not previously attended SFA.
Can I hold the Regents award and an Academic Excellence award at the same time?
Yes. SFA does not force a choice. The Regents money is earmarked toward a residence hall room, which makes it a genuine complement to a tuition-focused automatic award rather than a replacement for it.
How long does it renew?
Up to eight terms if you win it as a first-year student, six as a sophomore, four as a junior. You need 24 hours a year with a 3.25 GPA, continued progress in a major within the selecting department, and ongoing approval from that department chair. That last condition is unusual, and it means staying visible to your department matters.
Does SFA participate in National Merit or QuestBridge?
No to both. National Merit Scholars and Finalists do get explicit preference in the School of Honors Hoops for Scholars competition, which is covered in the Honors section, but there is no separate National Merit package at SFA.
Is SFA a Stamps Scholarship partner?
No.
https://www.sfasu.edu/finaid/scholarships/regents
https://www.sfasu.edu/finaid/scholarships
https://sfasu.academicworks.com/
The School of Honors at Stephen F. Austin
First a naming note, because it matters when you are searching: SFA calls it the School of Honors, not an honors college. Membership is separate from admission to the university, and it is where the second-largest pot of merit money at SFA lives. Three awards, one application, one Feb. 1 deadline.
- Entry benchmark for the top two awards: ACT composite 27 or SAT 1290, submitted to the Office of Admissions
- Also weighed: a 300 to 600 word essay, up to three references from teachers or professors, and outside achievements including artistic work, professional activity, leadership, and significant volunteer service
- Membership requirements: a 3.25 cumulative GPA, six honors credit hours per academic year, and 12 SFA credit hours each fall and spring
Automatic merit ignores the ACT and SAT entirely. Hoops for Scholars and the University Scholars Award do not. If your student is sitting on a 27 ACT or a 1290 SAT and a mid-pack class rank, the Honors route is worth more to them than the Academic Excellence chart, and the two stack.
School of Honors Scholarships
Award amounts reflect SFA’s currently published maximums. Actual offers and availability vary by year with the applicant pool and funding.
- Priority registration. Honors students are a designated special group and register on the first day of early registration. At a school where popular sections fill fast, this is worth real money in time-to-degree.
- Smaller honors sections reserved for students holding a 3.25 or higher.
- The University Scholar designation on the diploma once you complete 25 honors credit hours.
- Easier access to the scholarship portal’s better funds, since honors status is a filter several endowed funds screen on.
School of Honors — FAQs
Is Honors admission automatic if I have the scores?
No. Meeting the 27 ACT or 1290 SAT threshold makes you eligible to be considered, not selected. The committee weighs the essay, references and outside achievements alongside the numbers, and it explicitly says so.
What is the essay prompt?
For Hoops for Scholars it is “Describe an experience that either demonstrates your character or helped shape it,” 300 to 600 words, on page 7 of the online application. For the Wisely Award it is “What does success mean to you?” Both reward a specific story over a résumé recap.
Does National Merit help?
Yes, and this is the only National Merit benefit at SFA. National Merit Scholars and Finalists receive explicit preference in the Hoops for Scholars pool. There is no separate National Merit package.
What is the difference between Hoops for Scholars and University Scholars?
The dollar amount and the pool size. Hoops pays up to $5,000 a year, University Scholars up to $4,000. The entry benchmarks are identical. Hoops is the smaller, more selective pool; University Scholars catches strong applicants who did not make that cut. You apply once and are considered for both.
Can current SFA students get Honors money?
Yes, through the Wisely Award, up to $1,000 for the following academic year. It does not auto-renew, so members reapply each year by Feb. 1. It is the only School of Honors award aimed at continuing students rather than incoming freshmen.
What happens if I drop below a 3.25?
You lose School of Honors membership, and the renewal condition on Hoops and University Scholars is tied to that membership plus at least three honors credit hours per term. So the GPA slip costs you the scholarship, not just the designation.
Do Honors awards stack with Academic Excellence?
Yes, up to Cost of Attendance. A student holding a $5,000 Academic Excellence award and Hoops for Scholars is at $10,000 a year, which covers Texas resident tuition and fees with room left over.
Can out-of-state students apply?
Yes, and they should. Every one of these awards clears the $1,000 threshold that drops a non-resident to the in-state tuition rate, so a Hoops recipient from outside Texas is saving roughly $17,800 in year one between the award and the rate change.
https://www.sfasu.edu/finaid/scholarships/honors
https://www.sfasu.edu/honors/about/program
https://www.sfasu.edu/honors
⭐ College Specialty
Stephen F. Austin is not a flagship and does not pretend to be one. What it is, is a mid-sized public university of about 11,000 students in a town of 32,000, with a handful of programs that punch well above the school’s national profile and a couple that are genuinely distinctive in Texas.
Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture — This is SFA’s calling card and has been for decades. Very few universities in the country run a dedicated forestry college, and SFA sits in the middle of the Piney Woods with the working forest as a laboratory. National rankings of natural resources and conservation programs routinely place SFA in the top tier. If your student is interested in forestry, wildlife management, environmental science or agriculture, this is a program worth crossing state lines for, and the college maintains its own pool of scholarships with GPA floors as low as 2.0.
- Business: The largest single field at SFA, accounting for nearly 20 percent of all bachelor’s degrees awarded. It is the default answer for a lot of students, and the department pool for the Regents Scholarship is correspondingly competitive.
- Nursing and health professions: The Richard and Lucille DeWitt School of Nursing anchors about 14 percent of degrees. Nursing also counts as a STEM major for the $10,000 STEM Scholarship, which is a detail most nursing families miss entirely.
- Fine arts: Visual and performing arts make up 10.5 percent of SFA’s bachelor’s degrees, which is unusually high for a public university this size. Theatre, music, dance and art are a much bigger part of campus life here than the enrollment numbers would suggest, and the marching band, spirit teams and ensembles all carry their own scholarship money.
- Education: SFA opened in 1923 as a teachers college and the James I. Perkins College of Education is still central to the place. One thing to know if you go looking at the data: Texas elementary certification routes through Interdisciplinary Studies, which is 14.5 percent of degrees. So education looks smaller than it is in the federal numbers. It is not.
- Parks, recreation and hospitality: Just under 6 percent of degrees, and a natural fit with the forestry and outdoor programs. An underrated pathway at a school surrounded by state forest and lake country.
- Sciences and mathematics: Not the biggest college by headcount, but by far the best-funded for individual students. The $10,000 STEM Scholarship and the Kalkomey full ride both live here. Biochemistry, biology, chemistry, computer science, computer information systems, engineering physics, geology, information technology, mathematics, nursing and physics all qualify.
SFA spent a hundred years as one of a small handful of Texas public universities operating outside any state system. In May 2023 it joined the University of Texas System. Practically, that means tuition is now set by the UT System Board of Regents and SFA sits inside a system with a $47 billion endowment behind it. For a family comparing SFA to other regional Texas publics, the institutional backing is genuinely different than it was three years ago, and most college guides have not caught up.
One last honest note on fit. SFA draws almost entirely from Texas: less than one percent of the incoming class comes from out of state. Students who love it tend to love the size, the pines, and the fact that Nacogdoches is a college town rather than a campus inside a city. Students who struggle tend to be the ones who wanted a bigger stage. That is worth a campus visit before the deposit, not after.
🔗 Official Stephen F. Austin State University Links
Verify everything on this page against SFA’s own sites before you make a decision. Deadlines, award amounts and tuition rates change, and SFA’s Board of Regents can adjust rates at any time. These are the pages that govern.
-
Apply to SFA (ApplyTexas or Common App):
https://www.sfasu.edu/apply -
First-Year Admission Requirements:
https://www.sfasu.edu/apply/first-year -
Purple Promise Program (free tuition for Texas families under $100,000):
https://www.sfasu.edu/purplepromise -
Academic Excellence Scholarship (the automatic merit chart):
https://www.sfasu.edu/finaid/scholarships/excellence -
Academic Excellence Scholarship Calculator:
https://ssb.sfasu.edu/prod/swkforms.p_adm_ae_calc -
General Scholarship Application (Feb. 1 deadline):
https://sfasu.academicworks.com/ -
University Regents Scholarship:
https://www.sfasu.edu/finaid/scholarships/regents -
School of Honors Scholarships:
https://www.sfasu.edu/finaid/scholarships/honors -
School of Honors (program details and membership):
https://www.sfasu.edu/honors -
All Scholarship Opportunities:
https://www.sfasu.edu/finaid/scholarships -
Cost of Attendance (2026–2027):
https://www.sfasu.edu/finaid/coa -
Tuition Plans and Rate Tables (including the Guaranteed-Price Plan):
https://www.sfasu.edu/sbs/tuition-fees/plans-rates -
Louisiana Border-State Tuition Waiver (TEC 54.0601):
https://www.sfasu.edu/sbs/tuition-fees/waivers/tec-54-0601 -
SFA Tuition Estimator:
https://ssb.sfasu.edu/prod/swkforms.p_tuitionestimator -
Financial Aid Deadlines:
https://www.sfasu.edu/finaid/deadlines -
Common Data Set (institutional data):
https://www.sfasu.edu/sair/reports/cds
✅ Wrapping It Up
Here is the short version. If you are a Texas family earning under $100,000, SFA will probably cover your tuition outright, and the only thing standing between you and that is a FAFSA filed by April 1. If your student ranks well in their high school class, the automatic chart adds $2,500 to $6,000 a year on top of it with no essay and no application. And if they are heading into a STEM field, there is a $10,000 award and a full ride sitting on a college webpage that most applicants never open.
The mistake families make at SFA is treating the June 30 admission deadline as the important one. It is not. Feb. 1 is. That single application at sfasu.academicworks.com is the gate for the Regents award, every School of Honors scholarship, the $10,000 STEM Scholarship, the Kalkomey full ride, and hundreds of endowed departmental funds. It also happens to be the highest-leverage thing an out-of-state student can do here, because any award of $1,000 or more drops them to in-state tuition and turns a $25,774 bill into a $12,938 one.
SFA is not going to win a bidding war against schools with big competitive scholarship weekends, and it does not try. What it does instead is publish the chart, cover the tuition, and let a rank-strong student from an East Texas high school walk in with a real number in hand before they ever write an essay. For a lot of families, that trade is a good one.
Most families build a college list first and think about scholarships second, which is backwards. This free four-part series shows you where the money actually comes from, and how to build a list around it. After the series, about once a month, sometimes twice during application season. No drip funnels, no affiliate pitches, and we never sell your information. Unsubscribe anytime.Your kid did everything right. That does not mean the money follows.
I started CollegeReadyParent after going through the college aid maze with my own kids and realizing how much of it is written to be confusing. I read the fine print on scholarship pages so you don’t have to, and I translate it into plain English at the kitchen-table level. More about Leo →