<p>Thinking about visiting Birmingham Southern in January (class of 2010, Mississippi). Does anyone have any info or comments on this university?</p>
<p>What are you going for? This is a decent school. I graduated from there in biology. There are some tougher biology/history classes but for the most part the academics are not too hard. It has a kind of prep school atmosphere (our assignment freshman year in writing was to "write our graduate school essay"!). In other words, the school is very appearances oriented. The alumni network is ok and no one I knew had any trouble getting a job in the birmingham area after college. Lots of kids go on and get their masters.</p>
<p>1) good things: professors take their time with you. perceived prestige of the college in the city and to a certain extent in the alabama-centered southeast region. Generous financial aid. Opportunities to travel and study abroad are made more available and are easier to access here than at public schools, which are far more competitive, but expect to pay a premium for this accessibility. </p>
<p>2) bad things: don't expect a social life or much more than tight-lipped ostracization if you aren't greek. Since you're from the south, you might have seen that one coming, but I think it's really kind of an embarrassment. The school would be pricey for an out of state student and no scholarship there really covers all costs. Birmingham is not the best college town. The facilities are a mixed bag - the theatre/arts/music buildings are in serious need of help but we have a great science center. School is in a bad area. And it does not help things that the school is what it is, in the area that it is in. At all.</p>
<p>I might can answer more of your questions, but have you looked into Millsaps if you like bham southern? I have heard it is a very good school and it's got good name recognition.</p>
<p>I have a son going there now and he is very happy. Faculty really seem to take a sincere interest in the students. Major fundraising is under way to expand and renovate the campus. Frat life provides a major outlet of social life. It is true that the surrounding area is very suspect, but hopefully the school will remain committed to safety and security.</p>
<p>First posting. Wife and D visited last weekend for Fall Preview Day. They really enjoyed the tour, and said the campus was just beautiful. We have been visiting schools all through the south. BSC has modern facilities, student:faculty ratio, and are serious about academics. Tour guides were very informative, and all questions were answered. We are military family, relatively new to Alabama, and evidently BSC is regarded as one of top colleges in the state. Similar to Millsaps in previous post. I went to CC in Missisippi back in the 80s, and in state, Millsaps has great reputation, but outside MS, not well known. I think many of these hidden LAC gems are out there. </p>
<p>During the visit, students at the school verified above statements. Greek life is key to major social hub, however not the end of the world to not be involved, and great access to professors.</p>
<p>Thanks ArmyDad for your post. I just discovered this school and am wondering if it might be a possibility for my daughters. I like what I see on the website and the "Colleges that Change Lives" endorsement is a good thing. The cost of this top 100 LAC college is reasonable and merit aid is apparently generous. According to the web site, my girls stats could get them a nice scholarship that would bring the price down to what our in-state publics charge. Here's my concern: we live in the North and I wonder if attending school in the deep South would be too much culture shock. I see that around 90% of kids are Greek! I associate Greeks with cliques and heavy drinking/partying. Am I wrong? Can anyone who knows the school chime in and give an opinion of whether BSC could be a comfortable social fit for a Yankee girl? My daughters are open-minded but would, at first glance, have very little in common with the stereotypical socially conservative, religious, private college-attending southern belle. I know it's a broad question, but would like to know if they could expect to generally feel welcomed at BSC or might it be a challenge for them to gel with the campus community?</p>
<p>Parent100, I share in your concerns. BSC seems to be a solid LAC with much to offer. D is in same boat, with GPA and entrance scores to get generous merit aid. Being from the south, I will tell you that southern U's can be big shockers. From personal experience, Alabama, Auburn, UGA, Florida, FSU, OleMiss, NCState, and LSU are VERY Greek centric, and these universities' students could transfer easily from one to the other without noticing much change in the social scene as a whole. Having been on each campus, and Greek houses at each school, I can say this with confidence - your general assumptions on greek life at southern state universities are correct. </p>
<p>With that said - schools like BSC, Spring Hill, Millsaps, Davidson, and Furman (to name a few) have Greeks on campus, but they are not nearly the focal point as in the big state U's in the south. All the students D talked to at BSC said the academics were rigorous, and required a lot of time and energy. Small student to faculty ratio gets students more attention, which gives little wiggle room for slacking off. Sororities required good grades, and seemed to focus more on community works than keggers. D does show interest in greek life, and the more subdued sorority life at BSC vs the overt ones at other schools probably suits her better if she goes that route.</p>
<p>She is visiting UofA on the 23 of this month, so it will be a great contrast to the recent visit at BSC. </p>
<p>Thus far, the BSC visit has left a very positive impression, and it is in her top 5. We will no doubt visit again in early spring.</p>
<p>I started this thread but haven't been on in a while. Great input from everyone. We live in south MS and are therefore "southerners". We are open minded fiscal conservatives and have raised our children as such. Oldest is a senior and looking at colleges all throughout the south, to include Ole Miss, LSU, Milsaps, and Birmingham Southern. My wife and son toured BSC recently and loved it. He has just been notified that he is a Presidential scholarship recipient (16k per year). Although we are proud of him and would love to see him go to BSC, he can get a complete or near complete scholarship to a public school. Don't know what we are going to do, but I would like to mention that student loan burdens are nothing to take lightly. I am a physician and b/c I went to a state public school, I had NO student loans. My friends from the LACs had BIG loans to repay. At this point, we are going to see if he qualifies for some more merit aid.</p>
<p>I have seen mentioned several times the issue of the area surrounding BSC as a less than desirable place. My wife didn't notice this. Did she miss something?</p>
<p>My son is not really typical "Greek" material and is definitely more of an independent thinker. I can only hope that he fits in with the school he ends up with. To those from the north and northeast, I think the south is probably more open minded than you think.</p>
<p>Is it good for black students?</p>