Southeastern Louisiana University Scholarships (2026–2027)
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Last Updated on September 10, 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: ~92%
- Middle 50% ACT: 20-25
- Middle 50% SAT: N/A
- Average GPA: 3.46
Southeastern admits most students who apply, so for a lot of families the question is not whether the student gets in. It is how much of the bill Southeastern is willing to take off. That answer is decided almost entirely by a published grid, and the grid runs on two numbers: a six-semester high school GPA and an ACT score. Get both on file by the deadline and the money is essentially automatic. Miss either one and there is very little else to catch you.
Comparing multiple schools? Try the Scholarship Tool to search by GPA, test scores, and state →
📌 Southeastern Louisiana University at a Glance
- The “Southeastern Honors Scholarship” is not the Honors Program. This is the one that trips up almost everyone. Southeastern’s automatic merit grid is literally named the Southeastern Honors Scholarship, and it has nothing to do with joining the Honors Program. Two separate things, two separate applications, and only one of them comes with money attached.
- Superscoring here costs you two points. Southeastern accepts superscores, but it holds them to a higher bar. A single-sitting 30 gets the top tier. A superscored composite has to reach 32 to get the same award. Same story down the grid: 27 single sitting versus 29 superscored, 24 versus 26. Most families assume superscoring is free upside. At Southeastern it is a trade.
- Part of your award only works if the student lives on campus. Each merit tier comes with a housing supplement of $1,000 to $3,000 a year, and it disappears the moment the student commutes or moves off campus. When you compare offers, split the fee award from the housing piece or you will overestimate what Southeastern is actually giving you.
- Out-of-state families: ask about the non-resident fee waiver before anything else. Southeastern adds roughly $6,239 a year in non-resident fees, and it publishes a waiver that can erase that with about a 21 ACT and a 2.25 GPA. That is worth more than every merit award on this page put together, and it is buried where almost nobody finds it.
- January 15 is the money deadline, August 1 is the hard wall. January 15 is when scholarship consideration is at its most generous, because awards are handed out until the funds run out. August 1 is the absolute last day Southeastern will accept your GPA and test scores. Waiting until August almost always means the good tiers are already spoken for.
FAQ
Is this college test-optional? No — Southeastern Louisiana University is test-required.
What is the middle 50% ACT/SAT? ACT: 20-25; SAT: N/A.
Average net price? About $11,813/year after aid.
Does this school use waivers/reciprocity? Yes — institutional waivers available.
Southeastern New Freshman Scholarships: https://www.southeastern.edu/admin/fin_aid/scholarships/freshman-sch/
Southeastern Beginning Freshmen Admissions: https://www.southeastern.edu/apply/freshmen/
Southeastern AcademicWorks/Foundation Portal: https://selu.academicworks.com
Southeastern Student Government Association: https://www.southeastern.edu/admin/sga/
Southeastern Bands: https://www.southeastern.edu/department-of-music-and-performing-arts/performance/bands/
Southeastern ExCEL Scholarships: https://www.southeastern.edu/admin/lead_dev/excel_scholarships/
Southeastern Literary Rally Honors and Awards: https://www.southeastern.edu/resources/litrally/honors_awards/
Louisiana Revised Statutes Act 353 Scholarship Law: https://legis.la.gov/Legis/Law.aspx?d=79942
Louisiana National Guard STEP: https://geauxguard.la.gov/state-tuition-exemption-program-step/
CollegeScorecard / Admissions: https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/
💰 Cost of Attendance at Southeastern Louisiana 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) | $9,710 | $22,188 |
| Housing & Meals (typical) | $9,430 | $9,430 |
| Total (Direct Costs) | $19,140 | $31,618 |
Average Federal Net Price: $11,813 — 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
Southeastern charges non-residents an added non-resident fee on top of regular tuition and fees, currently about $6,239 per year at full-time enrollment. The university publishes a non-resident fee waiver that removes that added fee for out-of-state first-time freshmen who have roughly a 21 ACT (or the SAT equivalent) and a 2.25 or better high school GPA, with no developmental course requirement. Transfer students generally need a 2.5 college GPA and must be eligible to return to their previous school.
If the waiver is granted, an out-of-state student pays close to the Louisiana resident rate. That is the single largest cost lever for a non-resident family at Southeastern, and it is worth more than any merit award on this page.
Confirm before you count on it. Southeastern publishes the criteria but does not spell out the current application mechanism clearly, so call Admissions at 1-800-222-7358 and ask directly whether the non-resident fee waiver is automatic on admission or requires a separate step for your student's entry term.
🔒 The Southeastern Promise: Your Tuition Rate Gets Frozen
This is the most unusual thing about paying for Southeastern, and most families have never heard of it. Students who sign up for the Southeastern Promise lock in their net tuition rate for four years. If Southeastern raises tuition, the university credits the difference back on the fee bill so the student keeps paying the original rate. It also includes a four-year graduation commitment, meaning Southeastern guarantees the student can finish on time if the student holds up their end.
For out-of-state families this is bigger than it looks. The fixed rate covers all mandatory tuition and fees including the non-resident fee, so a non-resident who joins the Promise is protecting the largest line on their bill from four years of increases.
What the student has to do:
- Enroll as a first-time freshman in a fall semester and sign up by the last class day of that fall
- Pick a major by the spring of the first year
- Complete 30 credit hours per academic year, counting summer
- Follow the advisor-approved degree plan and stay above a 2.0
- Arrive without a developmental course requirement, or clear it the summer before fall
Parent translation: this is real money, but the 30-hours-a-year requirement is a genuine commitment. That is a 15-hour fall and spring, or 12 plus a summer class. If your student plans to work heavy hours during the school year, be honest with yourselves before signing. Eligible students get an email in mid-September with sign-up directions, so watch for it and do not let it sit in the inbox.
FAQ — Cost of Attendance at Southeastern Louisiana University
Why do I see two different tuition numbers on Southeastern’s own website?
Because there really are two, and they disagree. Southeastern’s Controller’s Office publishes the Fall 2026 and Spring 2027 rates, which come to about $9,710 a year in-state and $22,188 a year for non-residents at full-time enrollment. The Financial Aid office’s cost-of-attendance page is still showing the older $8,372 and $20,848 figures. We use the Controller’s numbers here because those are the ones that actually hit the fee bill. If a financial aid estimate you receive looks about $1,300 low, this is why.
What is the non-resident fee, and can we get out of it?
Out-of-state students pay Southeastern’s regular tuition and fees plus an added non-resident fee of roughly $6,239 a year at full-time enrollment. Southeastern publishes a non-resident fee waiver that removes that added charge for out-of-state freshmen with about a 21 ACT and a 2.25 high school GPA. That is a low bar for a very large amount of money. Call Admissions and confirm how it is applied for your student’s entry term before you rule Southeastern out on price.
Does TOPS cover the whole tuition bill for Louisiana students?
Not the whole bill. TOPS is built around tuition, and Southeastern’s charges include a stack of mandatory fees on top of base tuition, plus housing, meals, books, and transportation. A TOPS student at Southeastern still has real costs to cover, which is exactly why the automatic merit grid matters even for students who already have TOPS locked in. See our Louisiana state aid and grants guide for how TOPS award levels work.
Does my student’s major change what we pay?
It can. Under a 2024 state law, Southeastern added differential tuition for programs the Louisiana Board of Regents classifies as high cost, along with a general fee and a student excellence fee. Nursing and similar programs are the usual candidates. If your student is heading into a clinical or lab-heavy major, ask the Controller’s Office for the specific rate rather than assuming the published full-time figure. Southeastern also offers a hardship waiver for families where the increase creates a real problem.
Is the housing and meals figure the same for every student?
No. The $9,430 shown here is Southeastern’s average across all undergraduates. The university notes that freshman costs can run $2,000 to $3,000 lower because first-year housing tends to be cheaper. Room type and meal plan choice move it in both directions. If your student commutes from home, Southeastern’s own budget drops that line to about $3,434.
Is the average net price of $11,813 realistic?
It is the honest federal average of what families actually paid after grants and scholarships, and for an in-state Louisiana student with TOPS and a merit tier it is a reasonable planning number. For an out-of-state student with no fee waiver it is far too optimistic. Run your own numbers with our Net Price and SAI guide rather than anchoring on the average.
Will tuition go up every year while my student is enrolled?
Usually yes, but this is the one school on our site where you can do something about it. Students enrolled in the Southeastern Promise keep a fixed net tuition rate for four years, non-resident fees included. Students who do not sign up pay whatever the current rate is each year.
https://www.southeastern.edu/admin/controller/tuition/
https://www.southeastern.edu/admin/fin_aid/cost/undergrad/
https://www.southeastern.edu/admissions-and-aid/slu_promise/
📅 Southeastern Scholarship Timeline (Simple Version)
- Junior year, spring: The six-semester GPA is locked at the end of junior year. That is the GPA the grid uses, so junior year grades are the scholarship grades.
- November 15: The Southeastern Foundation general scholarship application opens for the following year. Admitted students only.
- January 15: Scholarship priority date. Awards go out on a funds-available basis, so this is the date that decides whether the money is still there.
- July test date: The last ACT or SAT sitting Southeastern will count toward the scholarship grid.
- August 1: Hard deadline. Every qualifying GPA and test score must be in Southeastern’s hands by this date, no exceptions.
Parent rule of thumb: treat January 15 as the real deadline and August 1 as the emergency exit. Southeastern says plainly that scholarships are awarded as funds allow, which means a student who qualifies in July may still find the tier empty.
Automatic Merit Scholarships — Southeastern Louisiana University
Southeastern publishes two separate ACT columns, and they are not the same numbers. A single-sitting composite of 30 earns the top tier. A superscored composite has to hit 32 for that same tier. The middle tier is 27 to 29 single sitting, or 29 to 31 superscored. The entry tier is 24 to 26, or 26 to 28 superscored. Southeastern will superscore, but it charges you roughly two points for the privilege. If your student is sitting on a 30 from one strong test date, that single score may be worth more than a superscore built from three.
Note: The Southeastern Honors Scholarship is really two pieces stapled together, a fee award and a housing award. The housing piece only pays if the student lives on campus continuously starting with the first semester. Awards run eight continuous semesters as long as retention requirements are met, and all of it is contingent on funds being available.
Automatic Merit — FAQs (Southeastern Louisiana University)
What does the top tier actually pay?
A 3.0 six-semester GPA with a 30 or higher single-sitting ACT earns $4,000 a year toward university fees, plus a $3,000 annual housing award if the student lives on campus. The 27 to 29 tier pays $3,750 plus $2,000 housing. The 24 to 26 tier pays $2,500 plus $1,000 housing.
Which GPA does Southeastern use?
The six-semester cumulative high school GPA, meaning grades through the end of junior year. Senior year does not help the scholarship grid. If your student is a sophomore or junior reading this, that is the most useful sentence on the page.
Is there a separate scholarship application?
Not for the automatic grid. The application for admission covers it. There is a separate application for Foundation donor scholarships, and that one requires being admitted first.
Do these awards stack with each other?
A student receives one tier from the grid, not several. But the grid award can sit alongside the $1,000 dual enrollment award, the National Merit award, TOPS, Foundation scholarships, and outside awards, up to Southeastern’s cost-of-attendance limit.
What is the dual enrollment award?
Students who completed at least 15 Southeastern dual enrollment credit hours with grades of C or better, and who then enroll full time at Southeastern the fall right after high school, can receive $1,000 spread across the first year. It is small and it is first year only, but it is free money for students who already took Southeastern courses in high school, and plenty of them never claim it.
Does Southeastern have a National Merit package?
Yes, but a modest one. National Merit Finalists and Semifinalists who enroll full time and submit proof to the Office of Financial Aid receive $1,000 per semester for eight semesters. Southeastern is not competing with the big National Merit packages you will see elsewhere, so students at that level should compare offers carefully.
Are these renewable?
Yes. Awards run eight continuous semesters as long as the student meets retention requirements, currently a 3.0 GPA on the grid awards. The housing supplement only renews for students who stay on campus continuously.
What if my student is entering in spring instead of fall?
Southeastern noted that freshmen admitted for Spring 2026 were evaluated under the older criteria, with the current grid taking effect starting Summer and Fall 2026. If your student is a mid-year entry, ask Financial Aid which grid applies before assuming.
https://www.southeastern.edu/admin/fin_aid/scholarships/freshman-sch/
https://www.southeastern.edu/admin/fin_aid/scholarships/
https://www.southeastern.edu/apply/freshmen/criteria/
🏆 Flagship Scholarships (Competitive Scholarships)
What Southeastern does instead is put nearly all of its money into the automatic grid, which is a genuinely different philosophy and one that favors a lot of ordinary families. You do not have to win anything. You have to hit two numbers and file on time.
✅ Can You Stack Scholarships at Southeastern?
| Aid Type | Stacks with Merit? | Southeastern Parent Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic Merit Grid | One tier only | Your student gets the single tier they qualify for. The tiers do not add together. |
| TOPS | Yes | This is the combination most in-state families actually live on. TOPS handles tuition, the merit grid helps with fees and housing. |
| Non-Resident Fee Waiver | Yes | The single most valuable thing an out-of-state family can hold, and it sits on top of the merit grid rather than replacing it. |
| Foundation / Donor Awards | Usually yes | These are the gap fillers. Small, unpredictable, and worth applying for because almost nobody does. |
| ExCEL Leaders’ Scholarship | Yes | Built to stack. Small dollars, real leadership program attached. |
| ROTC / Guard STEP / Act 353 | Complicated | These are large enough that Southeastern will repackage other aid around them so the total does not exceed cost of attendance. Read the award letter line by line. |
| Need-based grants | Usually | Meant to fill what merit leaves behind. FAFSA timing matters. |
❓ Competitive Scholarship FAQs
Is the ExCEL Leaders’ Scholarship worth applying for at $500 a semester?
For the right student, yes, but not for the money. Roughly 25 incoming freshmen are selected each year, and the real value is the leadership program, the cohort, and the campus connections that come with it. Treat it as a program your student joins that happens to include a small stipend, not as a financial strategy. The application includes written responses, references, and a video component, with a late January deadline.
Why does Southeastern have so little competitive money?
Because it made the opposite bet from schools that run big finalist competitions. Southeastern puts its dollars into a published grid that any qualifying student can hit. That is worse news for a 34 ACT student shopping for a full ride and better news for a 26 ACT student who just wants a predictable number.
Should a high-stats student cross Southeastern off the list?
Not necessarily, but go in with clear eyes. A student with a 32 or better will find larger packages at schools that compete for those scores. Where Southeastern can still win is on total cost, especially for an in-state student stacking TOPS with the top merit tier, or an out-of-state student who lands the non-resident fee waiver. Run the actual bottom line before deciding on prestige.
Where should we put our essay effort instead?
Into the Southeastern Foundation general application and into outside scholarships. Neither one is glamorous, but both are where Southeastern students actually pick up extra money. Our Essay Toolkit and Brag Sheet Builder work the same for a Foundation application as for a flagship competition.
Is Southeastern a Stamps or QuestBridge partner?
No to both.
https://www.southeastern.edu/admin/fin_aid/scholarships/
https://www.southeastern.edu/admin/fin_aid/scholarships/foundation-scholarships/
Honors at Southeastern Louisiana University
Southeastern’s automatic merit grid is named the Southeastern Honors Scholarship. Southeastern also has a selective University Honors Program. These are two completely unrelated things. Your student can receive the Southeastern Honors Scholarship without ever setting foot in an honors class, and can be admitted to the Honors Program without the scholarship changing by a dollar. Families see the word “Honors” in the award letter and assume they are in the program. They are not.
Southeastern’s honors work lives inside the College of Honors and Excellence, a college the university created in 2023 that houses the University Honors Program alongside student success programs. The selective piece is the Honors Program itself, and admission to it is separate from admission to the university.
- Incoming freshman requirements: a 3.0 or better cumulative high school GPA and a 24 composite ACT. Students must meet both.
- Continuing students: a 3.0 cumulative GPA across 12 or more university credit hours, reviewed case by case by the Honors Director.
- Transfer students: welcome, with enough credits remaining to earn a distinction. At least 15 honors credits must be earned at Southeastern.
- What you get: seminar classes usually capped around 20 students, priority registration each semester, and priority housing in honors residence halls.
Honors Program Scholarships
This institution does not offer designated Honors College scholarships at this time.
We looked, and there is no honors-specific award grid to report. That is not a knock on the program, it is just how Southeastern is built. The money at this school lives in the automatic grid and in the Foundation portal, not in honors. If your student is weighing whether to apply to the Honors Program, decide it on the academic experience and the priority registration, not on the expectation of extra dollars.
There are individual donor-funded honors awards that surface through the Foundation general application, such as awards that require enrollment in at least one honors course. Those are matched through the portal rather than granted with admission.
*Program requirements and honors offerings reflect what Southeastern currently publishes. Confirm details with the College of Honors and Excellence before making a decision.*
Honors — FAQs (Southeastern Louisiana University)
Is Honors Program admission automatic if we hit the numbers?
No. The 3.0 GPA and 24 ACT are the qualifying floor, not an automatic admit. Students submit a separate Honors Program application and the program reviews it.
Notice anything about that 24 ACT?
It is the same score that unlocks the bottom tier of the automatic merit grid. So a student who qualifies for any Southeastern merit money at all also clears the Honors Program floor. If your student is getting the scholarship, they should at least look at the application.
Does joining Honors cost anything extra?
Honors courses are regular courses taught in an honors section, so there is no separate tuition. Honors housing follows normal housing rates by hall and room type.
Are honors classes harder?
They are smaller and more discussion-driven rather than heavier on volume. For a student who does better with fifteen classmates than with a hundred, that is a real quality-of-life change, and the priority registration alone can be worth the application.
Can a transfer student join?
Yes, with enough semesters remaining to complete the requirements, generally at least three. Southeastern also has honors pathway agreements with Louisiana community and technical colleges, so a student who did honors work at a two-year school should ask how those credits transfer.
What if my student changes their mind sophomore year?
Continuing students can apply with a 3.0 across 12 or more hours at Southeastern. Southeastern suggests having at least four semesters left. Students with less time remaining are pointed toward the Honors Research and Creative Scholars Program instead.
https://www.southeastern.edu/honors-program/prospective/admission/
https://www.southeastern.edu/honors-program/
https://www.southeastern.edu/college-of-honors-and-excellence/
⭐ College Specialty
Southeastern is a regional workhorse, and that is meant as a compliment. It sits in Hammond, about an hour from both New Orleans and Baton Rouge, it turned 100 years old in 2025, and it is one of the largest universities in Louisiana. It is not trying to be a research powerhouse. It is trying to put graduates into jobs in southeast Louisiana, and the programs it is known for reflect that pretty honestly.
School of Nursing — This is Southeastern’s calling card. The bachelor’s program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education, and first-time NCLEX pass rates have run between 97 and 100 percent, above both state and national averages. Students train on high-fidelity simulation equipment and rotate through clinical sites from Greater Baton Rouge up through the Northshore, with instruction split across the Hammond, Baton Rouge, and Northshore campuses. If your student wants to be a nurse in south Louisiana, this is a serious answer at a state-school price.
- College of Business: Both the business programs and the accounting program hold AACSB accreditation, which fewer than six percent of business schools worldwide carry. Undergraduate options run through accounting, finance, management, marketing, and supply chain management. For a family comparing a regional public to a pricier private, that accreditation is the thing to point at.
- Education and Teacher Preparation: Southeastern has been a teacher pipeline for southeast Louisiana since it was a junior college, and education students can layer the state’s Geaux Teach scholarship on top of Southeastern’s own aid. That combination makes teaching one of the cheapest paths through this school.
- Criminal Justice: Consistently one of Southeastern’s strongest-drawing and best-regarded undergraduate programs, with natural placement into agencies across the region.
- Popular Undergraduate Pathways: Nursing, business, education, health sciences, communication, and kinesiology draw the largest numbers, and nearly all of them run into local employers rather than out of state.
One more thing worth saying plainly. Southeastern’s four-year graduation rate is low, and its six-year rate sits in the mid-forties. That is common for a school serving a lot of working and first-generation students, but it is also why the Southeastern Promise exists and why its 30-credit-hours-a-year requirement matters. The cheapest degree at any school is the one that takes four years instead of six.
🔗 Official Southeastern Louisiana University Links
Every link below was checked and loading at the time this page was updated. Use Southeastern’s own pages for final deadlines, award terms, and official figures. Where our page notes a conflict between two Southeastern sources, both are linked here so you can see it for yourself.
-
Beginning Freshmen Admissions:
https://www.southeastern.edu/apply/freshmen/ -
Freshman Admission Criteria:
https://www.southeastern.edu/apply/freshmen/criteria/ -
Scholarships (Main Hub):
https://www.southeastern.edu/admin/fin_aid/scholarships/ -
New Freshman Scholarships (the merit grid):
https://www.southeastern.edu/admin/fin_aid/scholarships/freshman-sch/ -
Southeastern Foundation Scholarships & General Application:
https://www.southeastern.edu/admin/fin_aid/scholarships/foundation-scholarships/ -
Foundation Scholarship Portal (admitted students):
https://selu.academicworks.com/ -
State Scholarships (TOPS, Geaux Teach, National Guard):
https://www.southeastern.edu/admin/fin_aid/scholarships/state_scholarships/ -
Tuition & Fees (Controller’s Office, current published rates):
https://www.southeastern.edu/admin/controller/tuition/ -
Undergraduate Cost of Attendance (Financial Aid budget):
https://www.southeastern.edu/admin/fin_aid/cost/undergrad/ -
The Southeastern Promise (fixed tuition rate):
https://www.southeastern.edu/admissions-and-aid/slu_promise/ -
Honors Program Admission Requirements:
https://www.southeastern.edu/honors-program/prospective/admission/ -
Common Data Set (Institutional Data):
https://www.southeastern.edu/admin/ir/cds/
Note: Southeastern does not currently publish a working public net price calculator page that we could verify, so we have not linked one. Use the Undergraduate Cost of Attendance page above and our Net Price and SAI guide to build your own estimate.
✅ Wrapping It Up
Southeastern is not a school you outsmart. It is a school you show up on time for. Nearly all of the money runs through one published grid, and the grid only asks two things: a 3.0 GPA through junior year and an ACT of 24 or better, with everything on file by August 1 and preferably by January 15. There is no competitive full ride to chase and no finalist weekend to prepare for. For a lot of families, that predictability is the whole appeal.
Three things will decide your actual number here. First, if you are in Louisiana, it is TOPS plus a merit tier, and the merit tier is what covers the fees and housing that TOPS does not touch. Second, if you are out of state, it is the non-resident fee waiver, which is worth roughly $6,239 a year and is easier to qualify for than any merit award on this page. Ask Admissions about it directly, because it is not advertised the way it should be. Third, whichever side of the state line you are on, look hard at the Southeastern Promise. Locking your tuition rate for four years, non-resident fees included, is unusual for a public university and it quietly saves more than most scholarships do.
And remember the naming trap, because it is the one that costs families here. The Southeastern Honors Scholarship is the automatic merit grid. The Honors Program is a separate application with no scholarship attached. Knowing the difference will not save you money by itself, but assuming they are the same thing will absolutely cost you time you do not have.
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.
Leo Dimilo
Leo built CollegeReadyParent after going through the college affordability maze with his own daughter and finding that almost nobody would give a straight answer about what a school actually costs. Everything here is free, ungated, and checked against the schools’ own published pages.