A Few Questions From Likely Matriculant

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
1

<p>Hello,</p>

<p>I was accepted to UA with a Presidential (full tuition) and $10k from the college of engineering. After some acceptances/denials from other schools, I now believe that Alabama is the best fit for me, but before I put in my deposit, I have some important questions.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>I have decided to switch my major from chemical engineering to chemistry. I know that this switch will void my extra $10k, but are there any automatic departmental scholarships that I would get from the CAS? (1490 SAT, 4.0 UW GPA etc.)</p></li>
<li><p>I did not really read into the Honors Program when I applied in November. After reading through threads, I would definitely want to be a part of it while at Alabama. I applied on Feb 27, which was before the “recommended” deadline of March 1. Do I still have a chance of getting in applying so late, and how long does a response usually take?</p></li>
<li><p>Should I be admitted into the Honors Program, do I have a chance at getting favored, honors dorms by the time I receive my response?</p></li>
<li><p>I hope to attend medical school after my undergrad. Does UA have large group of students with similar aspirations? Also, will there be enough opportunities for research and clinical experience at such a large school?</p></li>
<li><p>I currently reside in Hawaii, and go to a school with 3 times as much Asians as whites, and absolutely no Hispanics, Blacks, or Indians. (I am Half Indian/White) Do Asians fit in well with this crowd? I am not too worried about this, but I am still curious.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Thank You!</p>

<p>:)</p>

2

<p>Congratulations on your scholarship and admittance to The University of Alabama!</p>

<ol>
<li><p>There are CAS scholarships. I don’t know if changing your major at this point will be in time to get any of those scholarships.</p></li>
<li><p>You will make it into the Honors College.</p></li>
<li><p>Not sure. Call housing.</p></li>
<li><p>Not sure of your definition of a large amount but there are many students that start out in pre-med. M2CK’s son is one of them. He graduated last year and has been accepted to 2 med schools!! </p></li>
<li><p>Yes there are Asians and they are thriving at the college! My D’s roomie is one of them. There are 2 parents on this board with students at UA that are from Hawaii. Malanai’s son and Rose808’s D. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>Welcome and Roll Tide! :)</p>

3

<p>Aloha, Kieran 0696. As mentioned, my son attends UA and loves it. By the way, he is part Indian, part Caucasian as well. 'Bama also has a sophomore Japanese-American from Hawaii who’s found no difficulty adjusting or fitting in. I’d be happy to put you in touch with her, Rose808’s daughter, and my son if you’re interested. Also, if you’re on Oahu and would like to get together to discuss everything and anything about UA, send me a PM and let me know.</p>

<p>Stoked that we may be getting another top scholar from the aina. :)</p>

4

<p>*4. Not sure of your definition of a large amount but there are many students that start out in pre-med. M2CK’s son is one of them. He graduated last year and has been accepted to 2 med schools!! *</p>

<p>just to clarify. My son graduates this May (not yet graduated). Yes, he’s been accepted to 2 US MD med schools so far (1 public, 1 private) and we’re hoping for one more acceptance (notifications go out this month). He’s a Chem Engineering student. All of his premed friends have MD acceptances as well. He traveled to one interview with two other classmates and they all received their acceptances the next week. </p>

<p>As many premeds do, my son applied during the summer between junior and senior year. Bama does do Committee Letters, which are a big help for admittance. </p>

<p>And, in case you don’t know this…All US MD schools are excellent. There are no “so so” MD schools in the US. They’re all well-funded, have amazing facilities, teach the same things, and getting accepted to any of them is an achievement. US MD education is flat. </p>

<p>BTW…as a Bama student, even if you’re not instate, if you apply to USA SOM (aka South), and if you have strong stats (high GPA and strong balanced MCAT) and interview well you will likely be accepted and be given instate rates…which is essentially a good scholarship. While there are no “safeties” for med school, this can be almost as good as one. </p>

<p>Bama has many premed students. I’m guessing that about 1/3 of the ChemE students are premed. Likely a good percent of Bio and Chem majors are as well.</p>

<p>there are actually more Asian (and Hispanic) students on campus than the numbers suggest. The int’l students from Asia do not get counted in the numbers. That’s just the way it is with college diversity reporting. Only domestic students get counted as Asian, Black, Hispanic, etc.</p>

<p>Also, since many Asian students are in STEM majors, they will be more concentrated in the classes that you’ll be taking.</p>

5

<p>3. Should I be admitted into the Honors Program, do I have a chance at getting favored, honors dorms by the time I receive my response?</p>

<p>You will get admitted. Send an email to the Honors program to see if your acceptance can be more quickly done. Check your email first, it may already have been done. </p>

<p>As for honors housing…you will have that option, but you need to deposit (school and housing) so that you’re “in line”. Even if there isn’t any honors housing left by the time you choose, don’t despair. Usually a spot opens within the later weeks and you’ll get an honors bed. You’d just have to be diligent. Others will tell you how to do that if that situation arises.</p>

6

<p>Kieran, my son is a freshman at UA and asian-american; what caught our eye about BAMA is actually the more than 50% of kids are from out of state. UA is considered a national university in terms of scope of attracting the best and the brightest.</p>

<p>BAMA is a very nurturing university. They treat my son like they are lucky to have him and not the other way around like some other universities in the country. </p>

<p>Hopefully, you realized that they also have International Honors and other honors program that you should apply and you can use your Presidential scholarship to study abroad. The opportunities are numerous and UA has been more than helpful.</p>

<p>My son is pre-med, and there are enough organizations and programs on campus to be involved in to broadened your horizon; for example, UA will help you in shadowing doctors in different specialties near campus. </p>

<p>Because of my DS special interest in College Basketball, he is on Coach Grant’s Men’s Basketball Crimson Tide staff…Beat the Gators…ROLL TIDE!~</p>

7

<p>Along with joining the pre-med association at Bama, [Alpha</a> Epsilon Delta - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://www.aed.ua.edu/]Alpha”>http://www.aed.ua.edu/)
get on the Listserv for the Premed advising. Parents can be on the Listserv as well. Go to this site, scroll down, and click on the Listserv link and sign up for notifications.</p>

<p>[The</a> University of Alabama Health Professions Advising Website](<a href=“http://prehealth.ua.edu/]The”>http://prehealth.ua.edu/)</p>

8

<p>Thanks for all the thorough responses!</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>I was also wondering about ChemE vs. Chem at UA for PreMed. I am very split on this. I feel I would like ChemE more than Chem, but I fear a drastic reduction in GPA and slim chance of medical school. Would you mind touching upon how students who major in ChemE generally do in terms of GPA/Med School admissions? I’m a dedicated student, but certainly no super-human.</p>

<p>Thanks. :)</p>

9

<p>Have a look at these various flowcharts and compare which set of classes looks more ‘doable’ (for lack of better word) for your situation: [Chemical</a> Engineering - Undergraduate Programs - Chemical and Biological Engineering - The College of Engineering - UA](<a href=“http://che.eng.ua.edu/undergraduate/chemical-engineering/]Chemical”>http://che.eng.ua.edu/undergraduate/chemical-engineering/) ? The big thing to keep in mind are the courses that are only taught a certain semester. Eng’g at UA requires being aware of these various flowcharts, and planning from the get-go to stay on track. Good luck.</p>

10

<p>And be aware of this, from the Chemistry Dept. website ([Undergraduate</a> FAQ](<a href=“http://www.bama.ua.edu/~chem/undergraduate/undergradprograms/ugrad-FAQ.html#5]Undergraduate”>http://www.bama.ua.edu/~chem/undergraduate/undergradprograms/ugrad-FAQ.html#5)). I especially agree with their statement about being sure you want to go into the health field, as going on that track can limit your options later, due to not having taken the more rigourous math and science reqs earlier. Hope that helps in making your decisions! </p>

<ol>
<li>How does the pre-health track differ from the other chemistry tracks?
The pre-health track is equivalent to the BA degrees offered at many schools. It offers an increased focus on biology compared to the regular degree, while the mathematical requirements are less (1 semester) than the traditional BS degree. This degree satisfies all requirements for health professional programs (medical, dental, veterinary, etc.). Due to the less rigorous math and chemistry requirements of this degree, students may not be qualified for chemistry graduate programs or BS chemistry jobs should they not gain acceptance to a health professional program. The pre-health track is suggested for students who are very sure they wish to purse a health professional career and feel confident that they will be accepted to these programs upon graduation. The regular BS track will provide a wider range of options upon graduation for students who are less sure of their future career plans.</li>
</ol>