<p>At the risk of inciting World War III…I’m going to venture to ask yet another question re the rivalry between Bama and Auburn.</p>
<p>One thing has puzzled me about the academic stats for the two schools. According to cappex dot com, Alabama’s average SAT scores range between 500 and 600 (or so), while Auburn’s range between 550 and 650 (or so). Yet Auburn admits about 80% of its applicants, right? Whereas Alabama admits closer to 60%.</p>
<p>Something here is not making sense to me.</p>
<p>It could be that the Auburn applicant pool is more self-selecting, but somehow I doubt it. I dunno.</p>
<p>Also–does anyone know the average SAT scores for the Bama Honors College? How about for Auburn’s Honors College?</p>
<p>Auburn gets less applicants than Bama does. Bama got about 20,000 applicants last year. Auburn probably got around 12,000. </p>
<p>Bama is more committed to admitting students who have come from a more challenged background…which is why some kids have lowish stats. Bama is committed to helping kids who have come from areas where K-12 education has been inadequate and giving them an opportunity for a college education. </p>
<p>Bama is more committed to diversity with about 11-12% African Americans.</p>
<p>Bama is the more favorite university in the state. That’s not arguable. The sales of licensed spiritwear prove that year after year. There are over 4 million people in the state and the majority are Bama fans.</p>
<p>I don’t know if Auburn publishes its stats for its honors college. It’s honors college is not nearly as developed as Bama’s is.</p>
<p>In my high school daughter’s English class yesterday (in Maryland) the teacher divided the class into groups of 4. Out of the 4 in her group, 3 applied to Alabama. I thought she was kidding me but she wasn’t!</p>
<p>Freshmen University Honors Program Mean ACT 30.5
Computer Based Honors Program 33.0
International Honors Program 30.8
University Fellows Program 31.9
Freshmen University Honors Program Mean SAT 1313
Computer Based Honors Program 1485
International Honors Program 1329
University Fellows Program 1347
Freshmen University Honors Program Mean High School GPA 4.0
Computer Based Honors Program 4.2
International Honors Program 4.0</p>
<p>Not to nit pick, but actually, UA’s acceptance rate for last Fall was down to only 54 %. With the campus bursting at the seams, it is only going to keep going down. </p>
<p>I think there is a certain amount of self selection that explains the differential. However, I also think the high yield rate is also a big factor. A far higher percentage of UA’s accepted applicants decide to enroll at Bama. And with that higher percentage, comes a somewhat higher percentage of students with less than stellar test scores. But if you look at the percentage of top scoring students at both schools, the differential is non existent. If AU had the same yield rate, it would probably have lower avg. test scores than UA.</p>
<p>Mom2ck – those Honors stats are very impressive! They are higher than the average stats for UNC Chapel Hill, which admitted DS but so far has not awarded him one speck of merit aid.</p>
<p>So–are the Honors programs kind of like a college within a college, tightly knit and all? (I am not trying to sound like an elitist intellectual snob–honest! DS hangs out with any and all kids his age; if someone’s friendly toward him, he’s friendly back. But I do think he would love being in an intellectually stimulating environment…and a “college within a college” would be less overwhelming than a humongous university.</p>
<p>the Honors College is like a college within a college. </p>
<p>Since honors college classes are small, I think kids get to know each other better. of course, being in honors dorms also exposes kids to more honors kids as well.</p>
<p>I know that the Honors college building is undergoing some kind of remodeling, so I’ve been wondering if it’s going to get a “social gathering area”. There is an honors computer lab, but I think a social gathering area would also be a nice thing to have.</p>
<p>Thanks, M2ck!! One more pesky question, if it’s OK. </p>
<p>Can a rising sophomore apply for CB Honors or UFE Honors, if he or she did not apply for freshman year? IOW–can a student get into either of these programs after freshman year?</p>
<p>Don’t want to be greedy or anything but that extra stipend sure could come in handy. And, by sophomore year, DS might actually be ready for more intensive research and all.</p>
<p>While Auburn does not have as big a student body as UA, (30,232 vs. 25,078 for 2010) the number that applied was more like 15,000 for the class entering in fall, 2010, as opposed to 12,000. Auburn is slightly more expensive, and that may factor into their lower numbers (besides the popularity issue). Auburn 2010 frosh avg. ACT was 26.9, and the avg. GPA was 3.79. They did post a record number of National Merit Scholars (134) this fall, and their first-year retention rate is usually just slightly better than UA’s (around 86% vs. 83%) Since UA’s overall frosh. student numbers are higher, this last stat is probably proportionally negligible.
M2ck is absolutely correct however, that Auburn’s honors college is newer, has fewer students and has less course choices currently available. The housing situation at Auburn is also pretty skimpy, with the Villages being the only thing comparable to all the super suites at UA. Auburn has a recent Rhodes scholar, however (Jordan Anderson 2009), two Rhodes finalists for 2010, and a 2011 Gates Cambridge Scholar – all students from the honors college.</p>
<p>audellmom – would you happen to know Auburn’s Honors College average SATs? (Still committed to Bama here – have even paid the deposit – but would not mind learning what the options are.)</p>
<p>Here’s the number I ran across when D and I were doing some honors college research: Please note: this number is from the 2008 entering freshman class profile, that was featured in a 2009 Auburn honors college task force report:
avg. HS gpa – 4.05
avg. ACT score: 30.83; SAT (1600 scale) 1370
539 Freshman students, 339 from Alabama
52 valedictorians
119 Auburn presidential scholars
30 NMF finalists (I don’t know what the total number was in 2008)</p>
<p>I am assuming that the ACT number and the SAT number has gone up slightly from 2008, since their enrollment has increased some and the number of NMF has more than doubled (it was 64 in 2009) – it would be probably safe to guess that ACT avg. is now 31. The current SAT score avg. may be tougher to guesstimate, since from what we’ve gathered, Auburn is more of an ACT school.</p>
<p>LadyDianeski , when we were at Auburn in November for presidential scholars day, they stated the average ACT score for honors college was just under a 32( I think they said 31.9, but not positive about that exact number).
I think if you look at the common data set for both schools, the numbers are better for Auburn except that Alabama admits a lower percentage of students.</p>
<p>Full disclosure here – My D is still on the fence as to where she wants to go – Auburn or UA. My husband and I want her to give UA a more serious look than she has, but she claims she has not made up her mind. Either way, she’ll be at Auburn or UA – the NMF scholarships at both schools are too lucrative to pass up.</p>
<p>This is an interesting thread. I have been monitoring the UA thread for awhile now. My daughter was accepted to UA Honors program with the full tuition scholarship (ACT 32/3.89 UW GPA). </p>
<p>I’m on the fence about UA because I want to make sure UA is a good fit for her. Starting out the college process she was very interested in Ivies/Stanford/Northwestern because she wanted to be extremely intellectually challenged both in her classes and with the student body in general. We are waiting to hear back from those schools but we won’t be offered nearly the same type of offer from them as got from UA.</p>
<p>Not having to pay tuition would enable her to take advantage of study abroad options, would leave her free from debt when she graduates (giving her opportnities to go to grad school or join The Peace Corps). On other hand, she does not want to go to a school that is a “party” school or “heavily” Greek. And UA does have some of that reputation. </p>
<p>But if the Honors college is like a school within a school maybe it would still be a good fit for her. She is visiting UA spring break so that will probably be a make it or break it moment for her.</p>
<p>I’m just curious if there are any other parents out there that have struggled with the same issue?</p>
<p>waudio1 – I’m not a parent, but I’ve struggled with the same issue, and I know my parents have as well. I’ve been at boarding school for three years, so I’m used to receiving a excellent education, and I’ve felt as if, when forming my college list, I’ve had to choose between my ideal social life and my ideal academic experience. I ultimately decided on Alabama (about 99.5% sure now, but I am waiting to hear from a few high ranked private schools) for the same reasons you mentioned – the amount of money saved will allow me to go to grad school and the honors college seems to allow exceptional academic opportunities. The feeling I get is that if your daughter is living in an honors dorm and chooses roommates who are similar to her, I don’t think she will experience pressure or party or be too exposed to Greek Life if those things do not interest her.</p>
<p>I’m sure other people on here will jump in and give you recommendations for your visit, and you will probably come out sold on Alabama. Good luck to you and your daughter!</p>
<p>Yes. Son was a 2010 NMF, attended a top flight college prep academy, and has high ambitions/standards. One visit to Bama, audiences with Dean Sharpe and President Witt, and we were sold.</p>
<p>Absolutely no regrets here. Son is having a fabulous, stimulating, fun experience. He will graduate debt-free with a double major, positioned to pursue graduate studies, if desired, without having to face a stifling financial burden. His return on investment will be huge.</p>
<p>If you told me two years ago my son would be attending UA, I would have referred you to a psychiatrist. Now all I have to say is . . . Roll Tide!</p>
<p>It was sitting in on two different Honors classes at Bama that did it for my son. In Nov. we went on a personalized tour, and Jami Gates arranged for DS to sit in on a seminar class. When we went for Capstone Scholars, we asked for another tour on Friday so that DH could see the place, and so DS could sit in on a technical Honors course (Statics, I think). What impressed DS most was the engagement and participation of the students. He’s an Engineering major who’s spent four years on Great Books and Latin studies (in addition to his math and science, of course) because he has intellectual curiousity… and he was excited to see it in others. </p>
<p>He was offered the same full ride at Auburn, and at Texas A&M (a great engineering school which is closer to our family and a church where many of our best friends go) as well. But neither of them showed him the same commitment to the life of the mind that he saw at Bama - by either the school personnel or the students he saw while visiting classes. Even the fact that he only made the ‘reserve pool’ for CBH didn’t chill his enthusiasm. </p>
<p>The UA Honors college was visibly different to us - enough to take him 1200 miles away from home to a school that many of our friends know only as a football power.</p>
</p>
Oh well–the NMF deal is certainly plenty!</p>