<p>Frosh are expected to live on campus unless their parents live in the area. Sophs, jrs, and srs can live off campus. I paid about $530 per month for my son’s share of their very luxury apartment (it was actually a 5 bedroom cottage in a complex where all housing are cottages). <a href=“http://www.retreatalabama.com/[/url]”>http://www.retreatalabama.com/</a> He could have found a cheaper and nice place for about $450 a month for “his share”.</p>
<p>Oh, goodness ! Looking at so many things I am getting a bit buggy! Thanks !</p>
<p>$530/mo is very reasonable for that kind of apartment. One great advantage of Alabama is the living costs are significantly less expensive than CA. I’m understanding the strong recommendations now. :-)</p>
<p>Keep in mind, that while not in the dire straits of California, many Southern states have really slashed education spending for the last 5 years or so. The impact has been felt most greatly at the directional (non-flagship) schools. So simply because a school is small, doesn’t mean it will have small classes.</p>
<p>There are students from all over at Alabama and Southwest airlines flies from Birmingham making it somewhat easy to get home. (Troy, for example, is no where near a major airport.)</p>
<p>I think you are right to be looking at honors programs at the various schools. I have a son who will be one year behind yours in the process (rising junior, wants to major in CS) and he will be looking into the honors programs at Alabama and other large publics.</p>
<p>I don’t have any personal experience with Louisiana Tech, so I’m afraid I can’t give you the details you asked about.</p>
<p>I would expect Alabama to be less likely to generate culture shock than Louisiana Tech, because (1) Alabama has more OOS students, (2) La Tech is in a small town and not close to any urban centers, and (3) Alabama has quite a bit higher average test scores (ACT 22-29 mid 50% vs. ACT 20-26 mid 50%).</p>
<p>Regarding Troy, their CS program is not ABET accredited and they do not have engineering, so they are lacking some of the “critical mass” of tech students that you would find at Alabama and Louisiana Tech.</p>
<p>^^
That would be true. Bama has 3900 students in the College of Engineering. The engineering complex is like a small college within the school…beautifully laid out, very aesthetic, well-funded, and close to dorms.</p>
<p>I had the pleasure of attending a luncheon last week for Bama’s CoE and Dean Karr was the speaker. He’s very engaged with his students and knows what it takes to succeed. He is an excellent motivator and very down-to-earth (not some ivory-tower-educrat). He’s also very willing to respond to inquiries. I sent him a recommendation 2 years ago and not only did he send me back a hand-written letter, but he implemented my suggestion (to open a UA CoE office in Cummings Research Park).</p>
<p>Congratulations, Mom2. Clearly you are a big UA supporter. Do you still have student/s there or do you work at UA? Looked up Cummings Research Park. Do many UA COE/CS students find employment with companies there, given the connection to UAH?</p>
<p>Louisiana Tech, I’ve been told, really does have some of the worst dorms anywhere! Take a concrete football stadium, and fill the unused space under the bleachers with dorm rooms - and no, the windows don’t face the field. They face the parking lot. Yuck!!!</p>
<p>In the middle of Louisiana’s peach orchards - so if the kid likes fresh peaches, it might be a perfect fit!</p>
<p>And, if I recall correctly, Ruston, LA is a “dry” town . . . meaning that if the kids want to drink, they have to drive to the next town to do so. Not my idea of a safe situation for college students.</p>
<p>I looked at Louisiana Tech as an option for my son, and eventually decided that the negatives outweighed the positives. But, do some research and figure it out for yourself.</p>
<p>My kid visited all three UA campuses (Tuscaloosa, Huntsville, Birmingham) in the middle of winter when the weather was rather cool and pleasant, and had mixed feelings about all of them. The main campus at Tuscaloosa was a bit large for his taste. Birmingham was way more urban than what he was accustomed to. And Huntsville, in the middle of an industrial park (go figure!), felt just right - small, friendly, and helpful. But, in the end, he still had a strong bias against going to school in the South, and nothing any of the rest of us say seems to have made much of a difference. I’m disappointed . . . M2CK and Longhaul (among others) really had me convinced. I hope your kid will be more openminded.</p>
<p>UAH has changed their scholarships back to cover full tuition and housing for the top level. They had changed it last year to just a % of the tuition and no housing money which wasn’t a good deal compared to UA’s scholarship offer.</p>
<p>[UAH</a> - Financial Aid - Entering Freshmen - Non-Residents Merit Awards](<a href=“http://www.uah.edu/financial-aid/aid/scholarships/new-freshmen/non-residents-merit-awards]UAH”>http://www.uah.edu/financial-aid/aid/scholarships/new-freshmen/non-residents-merit-awards)</p>
<p>Ruston, LA is not “dry”.</p>
<p>Do you still have student/s there or do you work at UA? Looked up Cummings Research Park. Do many UA COE/CS students find employment with companies there, given the connection to UAH?</p>
<p>Both of my kids have graduated from UA. S2 graduated with a ChemEng’g degree in May and is starting med school in about a week.</p>
<p>YES! Many UA students find employment at Cummings Research Park. UAH is located within CRP, but that doesn’t hinder Bama students from finding employment there at all.</p>
<p>Mom2 - Congratulations on all fronts! And best of luck to S2. </p>
<p>dodgersmom - would you elaborate more on your pros/cons LA Tech? My son is relatively easy going (at least up to now) about location, although one never knows what will happen setting foot on campus. </p>
<p>Clarification to be sure I am reading right… it sounds as if once one is admitted to UA engineering/cs, there is no GPA requirement for the scholarship, as long as a student remains in the degree program? It seems as if other schools require a minimum GPA.
Is this true also for the full tuition scholarships? No GPA requirement?</p>
<p>College of Engineering Scholarships 2013-2014</p>
<p>The following scholarships are in addition to the University-level scholarships offered.</p>
<pre><code> Out-of-State
Students who have a 27-29 ACT or 1210-1320 SAT (math and verbal scores only) and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA will receive $1,500 per year for four years.
Students who have a 30-31 ACT or 1330-1390 SAT (math and verbal scores only) and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA will receive a tuition supplement to bring their University-level scholarship offer up to the value of tuition. In addition, they will receive $2,500 per year for four years.
Students who have a 32-36 ACT or 1400-1600 SAT (math and verbal scores only) and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA will receive $2,500 per year for four years.
</code></pre>
<p>Students must maintain enrollment in a College of Engineering degree program to receive any College of Engineering scholarship.</p>
<p>Also engineering co-op programs are a good way to offset some college costs and get practical experience.</p>
<p>[Cooperative</a> Education Program - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://coop.eng.ua.edu/]Cooperative”>http://coop.eng.ua.edu/)</p>
<p>From the scholarship FAQ at Bama:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Thank you, Bob. I really appreciate your input.</p>
<p>*What are the requirements for maintaining scholarships awarded by Undergraduate Admissions?</p>
<p>Students must maintain a University of Alabama GPA of “3.0” to maintain scholarships awarded by Undergraduate Admissions.*</p>
<p>There’s more to it than this. if the student doesn’t have a 3.0 for the fall semester, then he has spring semester to bring it up to an average of 3.0. (the review is after ONE YEAR…not after one semester). If after spring semester, he still has a GPA shortfall, then if he gets a 3.0 for the NEXT fall semester, he’s fine. Bama has this relaxed policy for GPA to help kids keep their scholarships…especially eng’g students.</p>
<p>Good to know, thanks Mom2.</p>
<p>Okay… you all convinced me. Son will be applying UA as he qualifies now, re-taking the SAT or taking the ACT to get his score up just a bit from 1360 to 1400+ and then applying at LA Tech (the full ride is nothing to sneeze at and would love the option to have it on the table, even if the dorms are crummy and there may be serious culture shock issues. His closest friends needs a full ride and qualifies so if they were there together it would help. It’s an option.)
Also will be applying to UC… maybe Merced, smaller UC, smaller town, wouldn’t be quite as over the top as UC Davis or UC Santa Barbara, where he would be eaten alive. What are the federal loans available called? $5,500 per year, or $6,500?</p>
<p>UC Merced won’t be that much cheaper than other UCs, although it is less selective and may give a better chance of a Regents’ Scholarship. UC Merced also has a more limited selection of majors than most other UCs. CSUs (Cal Poly, San Jose State, etc.) have significantly lower list prices than UCs.</p>
<p>Typical UC financial aid methodology without a Regents’ Scholarship is to assume a student contribution of $8,500 to $9,500 from a $5,500 Stafford loan plus $3,000 to $4,000 of work or work-study. That is then added to federal EFC to get the net price, with the rest of the in-state cost of attendance covered by grants. You can check that on the net price calculator at each campus.</p>
<p>A Regents’ Scholarship (at least at Berkeley) replaces the student contribution with an additional grant. It would give an honorarium amount (varies by campus) for students who otherwise would not give financial aid.</p>
<p>Thanks, ucb. All good to know.</p>