Clarifying as well - You automatically get scholarships for certain scores on standardized tests (ACT, SAT, PSAT) plus a certain GPA (there's a chart that explains it). Getting partial, half, or full tuition is easy, the one I had for 2 years at Auburn when I enrolled there before UA (who also offered a scholarship worth about the same amount) was free full tuition, $2500 or so (I don't remember exactly) to study abroad, $1500 for a laptop, and like ~$4k total extra cash from various other scholarships during my first year. This was for the highest guaranteed option and not really much else besides a few misc temporary scholarships.
The other schools I applied to offered everything or nothing basically, with a few exceptions:
University of Tennessee - This one sucked. I got screwed out of a $200,000+ scholarship with incredible benefits because I was a white male. I ended up getting an of state waiver or full tuition or something, but losing that other scholarship was a heartbreaker.
University of Alabama - Where I currently attend now, they offered the same deal as Auburn and University of South Alabama basically. I assume they all compete on roughly the same level for that scholarship and receive funding for it equally.
University of South Alabama - See above, but I also qualified for some scholarship for automatic acceptance to their medical school after I graduated provided I kept certain grades and scored well, etc.
Georgia - I don't remember receiving anything substantial from them, not even an out of state fee waiver. I didn't really look into it because Georgia stayed far down my list throughout my applying everywhere.
Harvard - Sent me a letter inviting me to apply, with an application fee waiver or some other token incentive, I don't remember exactly. I didn't end up applying.
Vanderbilt - I applied there and really didn't want to, and I didn't visit it either. I think I got waitlisted or something. There was no way I was going to go here anyway unless I got one of their ridiculously competative scholarships I had no shot at since their tuition would have put me in debt for 2/3 of my life, literally.
Duke - Strangest college I visited, and the most academically acclaimed, yet, the class I visited there was the least intellectually challenging of all of the other colleges I visited. The architecture is old and ominous, there's a huge population of gays and Asians. I applied here and got in, but if I was offered a scholarship I don't remember the amount because it wasn't enough to make me want to consider the school
UNC - A generally nice college, like GA and UT. I could see my experience at GA, UNC, and UT being as least as good as my experience at Auburn. Same situation with tuition/scholarship prices here as Duke basically.
Washington University at St. Louis was pretty cool when I visited it with my sister, I can't remember if I applied there or not.
There is another private school that I can't remember the name of ever, that was so incredibly posh. The entire campus looked like a carefully manicured golf course, my mom said she wanted to retire there.
