<p>^^ If he felt that strongly about it, it probably wouldn’t have been a good fit. When I used to hear people at D’s HS say that the kids pretty much end up where they belong, I thought it was hogwash. Having gone through it now, and seeing where D and her friends ended up, there’s a lot of truth to that.</p>
<p>Hey, I’m not saying my son made a good decision, I’m just saying why he made it. He was also put off by what seemed to be a huge Greek culture, and the conservative values of the state in general. As I said, I wish he had taken a closer look - he refused to spend any time on the campus when there were actual students there. I had hoped he would at least spend the night with some honors college students so he could see if he could avoid the sports and frats, but he was very stubborn about it.</p>
<p>Well, if someone is going to be very stubborn about an issue, then there may be no changing their minds no matter what. It really won’t matter if their assumptions may be wrong, they’re not going to be open to seeing that. Instead, they’re going to latch onto anything that reinforces their perspective.</p>
<p>My nephew definitely spent four years at 'Bama and never attended a single game. </p>
<p>I just love hearing all the good things about my beloved alma mater here! I am a third generation 'Bama graduate (lo, these many years ago!), and grew up in Tuscaloosa where my father was on the faculty. Roll Tide!</p>
<p>One of my best friends is going to Bama on a full ride scholarship. I can say with complete confidence that the football team WAS a factor in attracting him to the school. Other factors are there too, obviously, but I’m pretty confident if Alabama wasn’t a football school, he would be going elsewhere.</p>
<p>Had to chime in…DD came for football and the amazing Greek Life (oh and the ceiling of Bruno library). Since she was ACT challenged (had a 3.9 GPA with lots of AP’s and DE’s) there was no scholarship (we would not have taken advantage of one any way…always had the philosophy that since we are blessed with the ability to pay we would not take monies away from those who need it). DD grew up in a home where football was like church…we worshiped it every weekend. DS was a 4 year, all state starter…our home was filled with big, beefy o-linemen. From the day she was born she was carted to every high school, Mizzou and Chiefs game. While we looked at many schools that did not have “power house” football teams they were quickly eliminated. I am not saying that education isn’t important…she is getting both her undergrad and masters concurrently, having successful semester after semester…Deans and Presidential lists each time. (after a brief bump in the road freshman fall semester (note : if someone tells you are taking too many hours and too rigorous a schedule for what you want to do…listen to them!!). I think what really sealed the deal for her was when we did our tour. A former law professor of DH is now on faculty at Bama. He is good friends with Nick Saban. This lovely gentleman took us to dinner after we had spent the day on campus…with a stop by football practice where DH and DD were invited “up in the tower” to watch a few minutes with Coach Saban…it was a no brainer after that. I have 4 amazing kids…each chose their college university for different reasons…but the important thing is that they each had or are currently having an amazing experience. In my opinion it’s just not about the classes and the academics but it’s about all of the experiences too that make these students in to well rounded individuals.</p>
<p>My daughter was offered a National Merit Scholarship Full Ride to Alabama. When I asked her if she had any interest in attending Alabama, she looked at me like I was crazy. To each his or her own.</p>
<p>When I first mentioned Alabama to my son, he said, “I am NOT going to Alabama”. When I showed him a picture of the suites online, he was suddenly more open to it. The visit sealed the deal and the rest is history. He loves UA! He is not a sports fan and will not attend a game, but he seems to enjoy watching the games on TV with his suitemates.</p>
<p>My daughter was offered a National Merit Scholarship Full Ride to Alabama. When I asked her if she had any interest in attending Alabama, she looked at me like I was crazy. To each his or her own.</p>
<p>If she had actually visited, she may not have had that reaction. She may not have enrolled, but I doubt she’d still have the same “are you crazy” opinion.</p>
<p>We are from the same town as ursdad. There are 3 of my DS classmates attending Bama next fall. All 3 visited the campus and loved it. 2 years ago the President of our HS Honor Society and NMF also chose Bama. Every year more and more make the move. Wise choice.</p>
<p>EastCoastGirl: my D1 is an NMF going into her 4th year at Alabama and has loved every minute of it. She wanted the full college experience & is a huge sports fan. My D2 is also an NMF who will be graduating next week. She applied to UA, but she didn’t ever have that “fall in love” moment like D1 did. While she likes hockey, baseball & softball, she doesn’t “get” football. She’s been to 2 UA football games & they didn’t move her (crazy, right?) Plus it was “too big.” As she was going through the app process, I kept highlighting other NMF scholarship friendly schools & told her that if she didn’t want UA as her safety there were others to choose from. But she’d always say no, that she liked UA better than those “other” schools. She loved the professors & administrators we met during our visits. </p>
<p>Based on what she liked at other schools, we made sure she knew of options within UA. Since she’s a liberal arts fan, we made sure she applied & interviewed for Blount Undergraduate Initiative. While she was accepted, it didn’t sway her. Now that it’s May and she’s made her decision, it’s obvious that UA wouldn’t have been a good fit for her. She would have found her place, and made her way and obviously gotten a good education. But she’s found a place that made her excited and happy, which met all her previously stated criteria (not too big/not too small at 9000 students; Liberal Arts focus; AWP endorsed creative writing program; and NO FOOTBALL. LOL) </p>
<p>As Beth’s Mom said, the kids end up where they belong. And parents do too 
My DH & I plan on taking advantage this fall of both the full SEC college game day experience in Tuscaloosa AND the wonderful foodie culture and beach locale of lovely Charleston Yay us. It’s wonderful to see both our girls in places that make them happy.</p>
<p>I know this really burns parents,</p>
<p>but the football team for Alabama is one of the best marketing tools for the state and university system…let’s keep it real when you travel most anywhere in the civilized world “Alabama” usually does not draw a very nice picture. If the football team and it’s success gives off the perception that Alabama is an academic powerhouse of the South so what is wrong with that? We know it’s not a Duke/Vanderbilt/Emory/Elon/SMU or Rice when we have conversations about southern schools, so why rain on the university’s parade.</p>
<p>^^^ Life long Dallas Native, SMU does not play a huge role in the culture of Dallas. I’d say a good portion of the residents of the Dallas Metroplex have never even seen SMU. To be honest, I’d say many consider SMU to be more of a “local college”. While they do have a very good academic reputation I would not rank them with Duke/Vanderbilt/Emory, etc. </p>
<p>As for the comment about the picture that people think of when they hear the word “Alabama”… those are the closed minded people that believe all Hollywood stereotypes. Same people that believe that Dallas is littered with oil wells, pickup trucks, longhorn cattle and we still ride horses everywhere, wearing guns in holsters clearly visible. Or all of New Jersey is just like Jersey Shore. I consider those to be people with small minds that are too afraid to leave the little box they live in and never venture out of it not even for vacations.</p>
<p>Alabama, the state, and the University of Alabama are two different, though related entities. Part of the reason why Alabama’s ranking is still relatively low is due to perceptions about its location in Alabama. I’ve often said that if UA was located in Palm Springs, California, there wouldn’t be as many threads about people wondering if they’d fit in on campus despite being from a more northern state. </p>
<p>The admissions office gets many inquiries from students wanting to apply or transfer to UA because of the football program, which is to be expected due to the popularity of football in the US. However, these inquiries are dwarfed by the number of students wanting to attend UA because of the quality education, beautiful campus, warm weather, attractive student body, merit scholarships, or any number of other reasons. UA is not all about sports or Greek life, even though some may choose to believe so and/or focus on making their UA careers centered on those two things. </p>
<p>It is also worth noting that many people enjoy football games for the people watching, good food, or the huge amount of money it contributes to the local economy. Similarly, the song “Sorority Girl” by Luke Bryan does not reflect the experiences of many students who choose to join Greek-lettered social organizations at UA. </p>
<p>It’s been well documented, including on the evening news, that I first considered UA because of the merit scholarships and upon visiting campus, found a community that, while sometimes a little rough around the edges, offered everything I wanted in a college experience and then some. In the end, I was able to attend a great school, experience life in another part of this great country, and meet many friendly, intelligent people, and graduate not just debt free, but with UA owing me money. </p>
<p>I think that one thing we often fail to think about when looking for colleges is that college is more than just a few years spend in and around a specific campus, but is rather a lifetime membership to a family where, as mentioned during the graduation ceremony and at several other events, one is highly encouraged to return often and remain an active member of the UA family.</p>
<p>Roll Tide Roll!</p>
<p>Well said, Sea Tide…Last night, my DS’s HS principal commented that Bama is taking her High school’s best and brightest and yes, they are…ROLL TIDE Y’ALL!</p>
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<p>My daughter attended SMU her freshman year and thought the tuition was a rip-off, given the quality of education she experienced. She told me to stop wasting my money and transferred.</p>
<p>Malanai…I completely agree with your daughter! As a native Texan, I am most familiar with the Texas schools on that list. I found it very surprising to see Rice & SMU listed on par with each other…Rice is head and shoulders above SMU academically. The times I was on the SMU campus, I found it to be very “precious” & snooty, never so with Rice, even though they are the stronger school. </p>
<p>That said, when we started DS’s college search, we told him we were not interested in paying for a undergraduate “pedigree”. Why overpay for an undergrad degree, when the dirty little secret is you’re likely supporting their grad schools!? There are plenty of very strong state schools out there. Our belief is the boy will do well, no matter where he goes, based on his own hard work. We were looking for a college that had strong science/engineering, either a smaller school or one where DS qualified for the honors program, a nice campus setting (especially no snow!) and a strong school spirit. And at Alabama, our son has found that, plus so much more. </p>
<p>And as a bonus, I expect the boy will be at every single football game he can get tickets to, it’s in his blood…:)</p>
<p>Not for me. I am considering Bama cause i will prolly be NMF and the AP/Clep credit is amazing. But in no way will i consider it for football.</p>
<h1>RaisedaBoomerSooner</h1>
<p>While I agree that a significant contingent of students apply to UA because of the football team, it was Alabama’s capitalization on that success that compelled many students to consider it. A number of other schools have very good teams, and you don’t see near the number of OOS students considering those schools. </p>
<p>It’s also worth noting that many of the states which send the most kids to UA have public universities with either weak sports teams (Illinois and New York) or whose sports are relatively good, but whose flagships schools are quite selective and are out of reach for the slightly above average student (California and Florida).</p>
<p>It’s also worth remembering that the overwhelming majority of OOS students at Bama are not scholarship recipients. While the scholarship numbers may convince parents that smart students go there, and thus it’s a “good” school, UA’s success in bringing in the huge numbers of OOS students is an indication that other factors beyond simple merit scholarships are at work. Btw, a number of flagships offer great merit aid to OOS. My school is one of them.</p>
<p>We just arent impressed with NY State (public) colleges. There are very selective highly ranked NY publics like Binghampton and Geneseo but the big campus/school spirit type atmosphere just isnt there.</p>
<p>Can’t say the Coach Saban & UA football played a huge factor in S1’s decsion to attend as an OOS student. The generous academic scholarships are what put UA on his radar, plus the fact that he liked the idea of a big school experience in a warm weather climate at a school that had a solid business school. And the fact that it would be a chance to have a signifcantly different college experience from his in-state options in the PNW. Being a former HS athlete, though, he definitely considers the football program’s successs a huge bonus and loves the big-time college football atmosphere in the fall.
S2 has now decided to follow in big brother’s footsteps and will be attending UA this fall as well, for all of the same reasons that S1 based his decison on other than he will be a CE major. The fact that he went to visit last fall and was able to attend the Texas A&M game probably did not dissuade him at all…
As parents, we could not be happier for our boys given the tremendous experience that S1 has had at UA to date.</p>