ASU Obama Scholars Program: Eligibility, Coverage, and Renewal

The ASU Obama Scholars Program is Arizona State University’s need-based scholarship for low-income Arizona residents, covering tuition and fees for up to four years and adding a housing and meal allowance in the first year for Pell-eligible freshmen who enroll full-time on an ASU campus straight out of an Arizona high school.

Who Qualifies

Eligibility is tied to residency, timing, and income. Every criterion has to be met; there is no partial award for falling short on one.

Arizona residency sufficient to qualify for in-state tuition. Native American high school seniors who meet Arizona residency criteria for tuition purposes are also eligible.¹
Enrollment as a full-time, first-year student for the fall semester immediately after graduating from an Arizona high school.²
Total annual family income of $42,400 or less, as reported on the FAFSA.²
Federal Pell Grant eligibility, also determined by the FAFSA.¹
Enrollment in a campus-based degree program. ASU Online students are not eligible.¹

There is no separate scholarship application. ASU considers you automatically using your admission application and FAFSA, and awards go out on a funds-available basis.³²

What the Award Pays For

For students entering in fall 2025 or later, the scholarship covers actual tuition and fees for up to four years, meaning eight consecutive fall and spring semesters. In the first year, it also contributes a standard allowance toward on-campus housing and a meal plan. After the first year, that housing and meal piece drops away, and the award covers tuition and fees only. Students admitted to Barrett, the Honors College, keep the housing and meal allowance through their second year if they live on campus.²

The dollar amount is calculated as a gap. ASU takes your estimated direct costs, subtracts your Student Aid Index from the FAFSA, subtracts any grants or outside scholarships you’ve received, and subtracts $3,000 in Federal Work-Study. Whatever remains is what the Obama Scholars award covers.² The work-study portion is money you earn through a campus job and receive by paycheck, not a credit applied to your student account, so you may see a balance on your account early in the semester even though the award is working as designed.⁴

Several costs sit outside the program. Books and supplies, parking, student health insurance, major-specific class fees, housing or meal plan charges above the standard allowance, and summer-term enrollment are not covered.⁴¹

Deadlines to Hit

Because awards are made while funds last, filing early matters. Three annual dates drive the process:

January 15: FAFSA complete and ASU admission application submitted.²
May 15: ASU housing confirmed to receive a housing assignment and preserve the housing and meal portion of the award.²
July 1: All requested financial aid verification documents submitted.²

If housing is not finalized by August 1, the award is adjusted to a commuter budget and the housing and meal funds come off.¹

How To Keep the Scholarship

Renewal is checked each year, and five conditions apply:

Cumulative ASU GPA of 2.50 or higher.⁵
24 ASU credit hours completed by the end of each academic year.⁵
Continued Pell Grant eligibility.⁵
FAFSA renewed by January 15 and verification documents completed by July 1.⁵
Satisfactory academic progress and compliance with the Student Code of Conduct. A violation leading to suspension, expulsion, or administrative withdrawal ends the scholarship.¹

Missing the GPA or credit-hour standard does not end the award immediately. You get one probation year at the full award amount. If you still haven’t met the thresholds after that year, the award is reduced to cover tuition, fees, and books. You can earn the full award back by reaching a 2.50 cumulative GPA and 24 completed credits at the end of any later academic year, and ASU summer coursework counts toward that recovery even though the scholarship itself does not pay for summer terms.⁶¹

If You Don’t Qualify: Other ASU Aid for Arizona Residents

Obama Scholars sits inside a larger package called the ASU Advantage Program. Students whose family income is above $42,400 but who still qualify for the Pell Grant may receive the ASU College Attainment Grant, which covers tuition and fees for up to four years for Pell-eligible Arizona freshmen.⁷ The state-funded Arizona Promise Program adds last-dollar coverage for remaining tuition and fees after other aid is applied.⁸ For Arizona students who don’t qualify for Pell at all, ASU is introducing a $3,000 renewable University Grant beginning with fall 2026 enrollees.²

What sets Obama Scholars apart from these companion programs is the first-year housing and meal allowance and the built-in work-study component. The College Attainment Grant and Arizona Promise cover tuition and fees but not room and board. At the lowest income tier the program serves, it is the most complete package ASU puts together.

Where the Name Comes From

ASU created the program in May 2009 after inviting President Barack Obama to deliver the May 13 commencement address without offering him an honorary degree. The university announced at the end of the ceremony that it would expand its primary need-based scholarship and name it for him, doubling the qualifying family income threshold from $25,000 to $60,000 and tripling the number of scholars from roughly 500 to more than 1,600 entering freshmen that fall.⁹ By January 2017, nearly 2,300 students had graduated as Obama Scholars, and ASU reported investing more than $200 million in the program.¹⁰

1
ASU EOSS. President Barack Obama Scholars Program
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ASU Tuition. Special Financial Assistance Programs for Arizona Residents
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ASU Knowledge Base. What Is the Obama Scholars Program
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ASU Knowledge Base. Why Doesn’t My Obama Scholarship Cover Everything
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ASU Knowledge Base. What Is the Renewal Criteria for the Obama Scholars Program
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ASU Knowledge Base. What Happens If I Am Not Meeting the Obama Scholars Program Renewal Criteria
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ASU Knowledge Base. College Attainment Grant Program
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Arizona Board of Regents. Arizona Promise Program
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ASU News. ASU Establishes Barack Obama Scholars Program
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ASU News. Nearly 2,300 ASU Grads Flourish Thanks to Obama Scholars Program