Hello, I really like both of these schools but I cannot choose between them. I want to major in business or political science. I know both have a lot to offer but my parents are pushing for Auburn based on stereotypes of 'Bama. What is there do around each campus? what is the personality of the campus like? I am very interested in rushing a fraternity.
In another thread, you shared that you live in Montana. What are your parents thoughts about the University of Alabama ? They do realize, I assume, that Auburn is also in the state of Alabama. Auburn has 65% of the undergraduate students from the state of Alabama, while the University of Alabama has far less at 40% residents, therefore any accurate stereotype of Alabama might apply more to Auburn.
Well, they are not the biggest fan of Univ. of Alabama but my brother goes to Auburn and they want me to go there with him while he is there. They are worried that it is too big of a party school and the academics are not as good.
Your parents thoughts are not unreasonable. Because Auburn has an engineering major / school, the academics may be more demanding for engineering students. Bur Alabama’s mid-50% range of ACT scores is 23 to 32 while Auburn’s is lower at 24 to 30.
Additionally, Alabama has an outstanding law school which is currently ranked at about #25 out of 200 US ABA accredited law schools.
In short, Alabama is better than its reputation.
How does cost compare for you?
Alabama may have attracted more out-of-state students with a higher top range of test scores through its automatic-for-stats scholarships.
Publisher wrote : “In another thread, you shared that you live in Montana. What are your parents thoughts about the University of Alabama ? They do realize, I assume, that Auburn is also in the state of Alabama. Auburn has 65% of the undergraduate students from the state of Alabama, while the University of Alabama has far less at 40% residents, therefore any accurate stereotype of Alabama might apply more to Auburn.”
It is not true that Auburn has 65% of the in state students. Auburn’s enrollment is 65% in state and UA’s is 40%. See the difference? Since UA’s enrollment is much larger than Auburn’s, it enrolls about as many in state students as Auburn, but yes it does enroll far more out of state students.
Also, you mentioned UA Engineering in reference to Auburn Engineering. While Auburn has had the better rep for a while, UA now enrolls just as many if not more undergrad Engineering students AND the average ACT of its incoming freshman classes is higher than Auburn’s. Auburn’s Graduate Engineering programs are ranked ahead of UA’s, for now. But for undergrads, it is basically a tie, and UA’s facilities are just as good if not better than Auburn’s after a major expansion in UA’s Engineering facilities from 2003 through today at UA.
After reading the above posts, I agree with your parents. Better to select Auburn & attend school with your brother.
If you are not among the scholarship recipients at Alabama, and not in the Honors College, then Auburn may be the better choice for you.
If you do well during your first semester at Auburn, you can still be admitted to the honors program or college at Auburn.
No need for you to subsidize scholarship students & honors college students at a university if you are not going to enjoy the benefits.
My dd struggled with the same decision. She really loved both schools and could see herself at either. We left the entire decision up to her. You have great choices.
She chose Alabama and has not had any regrets. She started listing all the things that she loved. There was a lot of overlap. They both had great honors programs. She connected with the professors she met and she felt both were very beautiful campuses. She was awarded scholarships at both and they both were in her budget. Some things that put Bama over the top: Alabama had better dorms and guaranteed housing for first years. Alabama had better housing options off campus (lots of units, different price points, walking distance), Alabama was significantly less expensive. The honors guide that she met was set up for amazing internships and she was a bit more impressed with the career services of Alabama. She felt Tuscaloosa/Northport was a more vibrant area where Auburn was much more rural. Bama didn’t feel as crowded (?) She liked that she wouldn’t be an outlier as an out of state student.
Auburn had proximity to Atlanta as an advantage and higher perceived prestige/name recognition in her mind.
Auburn historically has had, and probably still has, more prestige in the Atlanta area. I was surprised that a couple of my longtime friends who live in Atlanta (both attorneys) thought that Auburn is a private school.
Between the two, the Greek system is more prevalent at Bama. But then, we are talking about southern public universities. So, we are talking about degrees. Both are large public universities, so even were you not interested in Greek life, you can find opportunities at the University. In my experience at the two universities, Bama is the more cosmopolitan and Auburn is the more country, but YMMV. My two kids are both interested in these universities, but are split. My daughter prefers Bama and my son prefers Auburn (no rhyme nor real reason).
Tuscaloosa cosmopolitan??? Really…it is the bigger city. Auburn is surrounded by a more rural area but not what I’d call country and continually shows up as one of the best places to retire in the US by Forbes, Southern Living, and other sources…they are also one of the top 100 Livability towns in the US - the only town in Alabama that made the list. So, it actually is quite a lovely place - hence, “the lovliest village on the plains”.
Did you actually read what I wrote? I said Bama is more cosmopolitan, which it is. Auburn is smaller and has a higher in-state population, ergo it is less cosmopolitan than Bama. If you want to talk about the livability of the two areas, then I would suggest that you actually talk to locals and not depend upon national click-bait articles.
Of course I read what you wrote, I even repeated it? I spend a lot of time in Auburn, and have spent time in Tuscaloosa as well. I still question why you describe Bama as more cosmopolitan - the attitude is still very southern, Your sense that just because Bama has a larger student body or there are more out of state students make it more cosmopolitan is a very simplistic measuring stick and not one I’d think was very reliable. BTW my father graduated from Alabama, son turned down that outstanding Honors college offer for 5 years and $150K+ at Bama, so I do have some understanding of both schools and the locations. I feel like I hurt your feeling and you are defending your territory…certainly didn’t mean to do that. Click bait articles, really? I subscribe to Forbes.