AUBURN vs ALABAMA

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Assuming cost isn't a factor, being admitted is assumed, and football is irrelevant (I'm hearing the Roll Tide!/WDE! already), how do these two compare, especially (but not limited to) -
- Campus/location/dorms
- Amenities/student services
- Academics (esp. history of art)/extra curriculars/clubs, etc
- General impressions/student body
- Greek scene (the lesser the better, for me)
- Study abroad
- Honors colleges/programs, if applicable
- LITERALLY ANYTHING, I want to know everything there is to know about how these compare</p>

<p>Please and thank you!! :)</p>

2

<p>I mean, taking out the financial and football aspect, they are essentially the same. Both are huge party schools. Alabama’a Greek Life has pretty big Greek life and so does Auburn. But with Alabama’s Greek life reputation (racially) I guess id say Auburn is better</p>

3

<p>Then this is truly a “you have to visit” scenario. Alabama will give you more merit money hands down - lots of money. My son liked the Auburn campus better than the Bama campus but there are many that feel the other way. Greek is prominent at both but doesn’t appear to run the campus at Auburn. Honors college at Auburn is not difficult to get into but the courses can be rather difficult so it’s not as easy to stay in. If you have good gpa/scores and are invited to the Talon Scholarship Day at Auburn you should do so, it’s very nice and you learn a lot more about Auburn than on the general tour. There is a general “niceness” about Auburn - upbeat campus as you walk around students look you in the eye and smile and nod and some say “War Eagle” (had to do it).</p>

4

<p>Is Art History going to be your major?<br>
Bama tends to be stronger in the Liberal Arts.</p>

<p>Are you OOS? If so, then the costs wont be the same…likely not even close if you qualify for merit…</p>

<p>Tuscaloosa is more suburban city-like, Auburn is more rural/farming.</p>

<p>Both have popular greek systems, but both have lots of students who arent Greek.</p>

<p>Bama has more OOS students.</p>

<p>All schools these days have extensive study abroad choices. I doubt if there would be much/any difference there.</p>

<p>What are your stats?</p>

<p>bama has a much more extensive Honors College and admits by stats.</p>

5

<p>I’ve (informally) visited Alabama’s campus a few times, and thought it was alright. Admittedly, I was there for other reasons, but it didn’t “wow” me. I’m touring Auburn next week, and was invited to a “Very Impressive Tigers” tour next month, so I’ll be returning if I like it the first time. I will probably formally tour Alabama at some point, too, of course.</p>

<p>Art History is going to be my major, and I am instate. What I do like about Alabama is it’s location - city vs suburbs - as I’m not a fan of the suburbs. Still, both are a far cry from a true major metropolis. </p>

<p>Stats - 4.0 W/32 ACT on the first attempt, intending on retaking and taking SAT in the fall, URM and 1st gen college, top 10% in class (I think I covered everything stats-wise, but let me know if I missed something).</p>

<p>Edit: I’m kind of ashamed to admit this, but I might be leaning towards Auburn since a few of my former classmates are going there, and current friends (in my year) are probably headed there. I’m really, really trying to not let this influence my decision, but I’m afraid it might be. It’s not like a few aren’t headed to Bama, but still. (This reminds me of when a family friend asked me in 8th grade where I wanted to go to college, and I named some obscure distant place, and she asked if I wouldn’t miss my friends - “Well, I’ll make new friends!”. I was probably smarter then, lol). Therefore, I’m trying to keep this as unbiased as possible.</p>

6

<p>Sorry Irlandaise, from what I’ve heard there is no objectivity in the Auburn-Alabama rivalry, LOL. Either you’re wit 'em or agin 'em. I sat between alums from both in grad school.</p>

7

<p>I don’t think any campus really wows anyone when just informally being there for other reasons or just driving thru. You dont get a sense of the campus and what the school offers.</p>

<p>What did you get on your PSAT?? are you a likely NMF?</p>

<p>Before you visit Bama, do this…</p>

<p>set up your campus tour online…try for an early morning visit.</p>

<p>then…</p>

<p>In the email include:</p>

<p>Student’s name and contact info</p>

<p>Date and time of the Campus tour that you’ve reserved.</p>

<p>GPA and test scores (include likely NMSF if applicable)</p>

<p>Likely majors*</p>

<p>Career interests (including med, law, etc)</p>

<p>Anything particular that you want to see. *For instance, If you have an interest in meeting some Art History profs, let them know.</p>

<p>Honors Recruitment</p>

<p>Susan Alley
Assistant Coordinator
270 Nott Hall
205-348-5599
<a href=“mailto:susan.alley@ua.edu”>susan.alley@ua.edu</a></p>

<p>Neil Adams
<a href=“mailto:neil.adams@ua.edu”>neil.adams@ua.edu</a></p>

<p>Susan and her assistant will arrange the rest of the day…meeting with faculty, honors people, touring honors dorms, etc.</p>

<p>Sometimes mail goes to their SPAM folders, so call them if you haven’t heard back within a few business days. These people do an excellent job and work very hard</p>

8

<p>Haha, fair point! Although, I’ve only lived in Alabama a few years, so haven’t had enough time form a true opinion ;)</p>

9

<p>PSAT was, I believe, a 206 or 209 - so probably not NMF, unfortunately. I’ll be sure to set up a tour with Alabama, it’s just more out of the way than Auburn is. Would it be better to wait until the year starts, or do it over the summer?</p>

10

<p>My subjective take is that for someone who isn’t into the Greek system, Auburn might be a slightly better choice. I share the impression that Greeks don’t run the show at Auburn to quite the same degree as at Alabama. Alabama is more diverse both in terms of out-of-state students and in terms of the racial mix. Alabama has a slightly better reputation for liberal arts like art history. But I also think that personal preference after visiting is a perfectly good way to choose between them.</p>

11

<p>Alabama does have a fine tradition in the arts. Prize-winning authors Harper Lee and Gay Talese are both 'Bama alumni.</p>

12

<p>Do you have a sports preference? You are considering two arch-rival schools!</p>

13

<p>Why just Auburn and Alabama? As a high stats URM from Alabama, you might get some enormous offers from other colleges.</p>

14

<p>No sports preference at all, I don’t think I’ve ever watched a football game in my life, haha. The rest of my college list consists of some LACs and a few other universities, but more than anything, I’m looking to graduate with the least amount of debt possible (as our EFC for all intents and purposes is $0 lol), and those two seem like the ones to look at for that.</p>

15

<p>With your stats, as a URM from Alabama, you are a potential admit at some Ivies. With an EFC near zero, you might get a full ride from one. In general, the Ivies have the most generous aid for high need students. I have to believe an art history degree from, say, Yale or Brown carries a lot more opportunity than one from Auburn or Alabama. Might be worth applying.</p>

16

<p>Haha, that seems like a bit of a stretch, I don’t think I have a shot at an Ivy (or to be honest, a whole lot of interest in one). I think in the past four years, my high school has sent one student to an Ivy - and we’re a very good high school. We send a good number to the “Southern Ivies” each year, though. But my GPA and ACT is really, well, “good” in comparison to theirs, and I don’t have really anything impressive else about me. </p>

<p>Honestly, I don’t know if that’s the environment I’m looking for? Maybe it’s just the stereotype I have of people that would want to attend an Ivy, southern or otherwise, or maybe I’m shying away from a place where people might be concerned with prestige. I don’t know.</p>

<p>I really ought to talk to my counselor soon, since she might know where I have a better shot of getting in, and probably where I’m best suited to, as a person. </p>

<p>I know I’m going to have to end up going for a PhD, too, so I might keep the Ivies in mind for then!</p>

17

<p>I graduated from Auburn, and never went to a football game after my freshman year. Never talked about it either, and nobody noticed. Was not in a fraternity, and had lots of friends.</p>

<p>Perhaps because of my attitude about football, I don’t hate the Crimson Tide either. Then again, when I was in high school I wanted to go to Tuscaloosa, but 'Bama did not have Navy ROTC. Both are excellent schools. It just depends on what you want.</p>

<p>Both Auburn and Tuscaloosa are not far from Birmingham; the largest metro area in the state. However, Auburn is a whole lot closer to Atlanta (an hour and a half), which is a far cooler city than Birmingham.</p>

18

<p>Haha, having been to both Birmingham and Atlanta, I can definitely agree with you! Atlanta’s a really big draw to me. I probably wouldn’t mind going to football games either way, but it would definitely be as a social outing, not any real interest in the sport :)</p>

19

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<p>Alabama: 32.7% of women in sororities, 22.1% of men in fraternities
Auburn: 31% of women in sororities, 21% of men in fraternities
<a href=“University of Alabama Housing & Campus Life | CollegeData”>http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg05_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=469&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“Auburn University Housing & Campus Life | CollegeData”>http://www.collegedata.com/cs/data/college/college_pg05_tmpl.jhtml?schoolId=488&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>A quick peek at some sororities’ web sites indicates that some appear to be highly racially segregated. That may be of concern, given the somewhat largish participation at both schools, so it may be worth investigating.</p>

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<p>Your stats would pick up the full tuition scholarship at Alabama automatically, but that would still leaves about $14,000 per year to cover. If we assume a Pell grant of $5,645, that leaves $8,355 that you would have to cover with a federal direct loan (up to $5,500) and/or work earnings – doable, although you may find better scholarship offers.</p>

<p>Here are some more large scholarships to look at:
<a href=“Automatic Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - #300 by BobWallace - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>Automatic Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - #300 by BobWallace - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums; (automatic for stats)
<a href=“Competitive Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - #50 by BobWallace - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums”>Competitive Full Tuition / Full Ride Scholarships - #50 by BobWallace - Financial Aid and Scholarships - College Confidential Forums; (competitive)</p>

20

<p>I attended Auburn and majored in Interior Design in what is now the College of Architecture, Design and Construction. I took Art History courses and architecture history courses and really enjoyed them. I don’t know much about a major in Art History, but if you get at all interested in design - Auburn in strongest in architecture and design (nationally ranked by professional architecture publications). Auburn also has it’s own art museum - The Jules Collins museum. The museum houses Auburn’s private art collection and hosts various traveling exhibits. It also recently received a gorgeous turned wood bowl made from one of the Toomer’s Oaks and donated to Auburn by the artist. </p>

<p>I personally loved football games and I suggest you give them a chance - plenty of people go that don’t like football just to spend an afternoon hanging with friends. I was in a sorority, but can attest that Greek life doesn’t completely dominate campus - the majority of my friends were non-Greek. One thing that’s nice about the sorority system at Auburn is that the chapters have rooms and halls in the dorms, which helps make being in a sorority more affordable and more accessible. </p>

<p>Best of luck making your decision - and there is nothing wrong with being comfortable because your friends are there, just be sure to branch out and be open to meeting new people. </p>