<p>Hi, this is my first time posting on this website, just to let you know. Anyway, I have sent my application to Bama and plan to apply to the University of Arizona and UCF. I was wondering if anyone could tell me the benefits of going to each school? Not sure if I need to give any info, but I’m a hs senior in NJ (male) planning to major in either nursing or biology</p>
<p>You obviously like yer big schools! 
“Fit” is the most important thing to consider when choosing a school, provided all choices have your major/program and you can afford each of them. People here can debate comparisons all day and night, but you have to decide by visiting each school, which one is right for you. Someone did some survey of UA students, which said that the majority of students attending UA just ‘knew’ within a very short amount of time after arriving on campus that this was the place for them, like within 15 minutes or so. It is just that astonishing, and you will just know one way or t’other.
Re nursing, UA is extremely competitive - the average GPA was over 4.0 for this past intake. (There is a thread on this somewhere here.)</p>
<p>Thank you! Not sure if I will be able to visit any of them until later in the year, but it’s good to know what to expect if I do. I really like whole school spirit of UA, but am not sure if it is too “Southern” or if I would have a great social life if I didn’t join a frat</p>
<p>All nursing programs are going to be competitive. I live in Tucson and the UofA is a great school. The University Medical Center is just north of the main campus which provides a great opportunity for medical training. From what I hear UofA has a great nursing program. A friend of mine went through ASU nursing program and had no problem getting her choice of jobs after. NAU has a good physical therapy and nursing program. Another school in Arizona that isn’t well known nationally is Grand Canyon University in Phoenix. It has its own cadaver lab for undergraduates in the medical field. Each school has a different feel.
The biology department at the UofA when we toured the campus last spring the had nice labs and classrooms, but I don’t know how they are ranked. I’m assuming since they have a medical school that the biology program is good. Tucson has a great location- 6 hrs to San Diego, 4 hrs to the beach in Mexico, and 3-4 hrs to skiing. The city is very laid back but like most colleges there are a lot of parties in and around campus. We get a lot of students from all over. The Greek life is very active and most students get involved with attending sporting events. </p>
<p>I will be visiting UA this weekend and can give you a comparison of the two when we return. Although I love the UofA campus, my daughter wants to try something new. …so we are off to Alabama. </p>
<p>Like others have mentioned it is best to visit the campus and get a feel for the school. We have toured several different universities and have walked away from each one with a better idea to whether or not it is a good option for my daughter. The school she thought she wanted to go to in the Pacific Northwest after visiting turned out to be a no. I would have hated to send her there only to find out that it wasn’t a good fit for her.</p>
<p>If you have any questions about the schools in Arizona let me know. </p>
<p>Are you a NMSF? Usually when I see those three are being considered, the student is a NMSF.</p>
<p>Bio or BSN…are you considering PA school? med school? as well? </p>
<p>U. of Arizona Alum here, Tucson was great and loved the school…my niece is the Assoc. Dean of Students at the UCF Med. School, Great Med School and large campus (in Orlando) and DS just got accepted to Alabama Honors College, handwritten note from Dean Sharpe asking if he’d remembered to apply to CBHP and a nice letter Jacqueline Morgan asking if he’d consider applying to University Fellows. The reason for the detail? With those links to the other schools, Alabama by far has shown the most proactive approach to attracting my son to that campus. Just too attractive of a situation not to consider. I was won over in the first five minutes in the initial meeting with the Honors College. PM me if you’d like any other details on the other schools.</p>
<p>My sons are considering U of AZ for Engineering. They are interested in the honors program, and we will visit in November. Do you have any knowledge of either the honors program or engineering? We live in CO, but may have an opportunity for both to get great scholarships to U of AZ.</p>
<p>I wasn’t involved in the Honors program at Arizona (but heard it was good) and the kids in the Engineering program worked their rear-ends off just like we did (School of Architecture). Optics department is one of the best in the country.</p>
<p>@kmywest Are you visiting AZ in Nov or Bama? If your post is about AZ, then can we ask if your sons will visit Bama? The award is much better. If I remember, your sons are both NMSF, and the Bama award is much bigger than the UAz award.</p>
<p>I actually just found out today that i am a national merit commended scholar (whatever that means), but the Presidential Scholarship and Alabama is what sparked my interest in the school, which would pay full tuition all four years. I didn’t see any scholarships like that for OOS students at the other schools but if anyone has any information on merit scholarships at those schools it would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>jww732, UA offers some guaranteed scholaships based on your ACT or SAT scores. I have added a link so you can see. If you had a 32 on you ACT you would get full tuition. I don’t believe commended national merit scholars are eligible for a special award though.
<a href=“http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out-of-state.html”>http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out-of-state.html</a></p>
<p>Then I am in luck! I have a 33 ACT and a 3.81 GPA. is that all you need? Like if you have those two things you automatically receive the scholarship?</p>
<p>Yes, that is what you need…and you need to apply by the deadline…Dec 15.</p>
<p>I sent my application on Sunday, but do I also have to send a scholarship application to receive the scholarship? Sorry for all the questions</p>
<p>Supposedly, you don’t. But the app is easy so submit it in case there is another scholarship you could get as well. </p>
<p>Our recruiter last year told us that our DS did need to apply for a scholarship and she pushed him pretty hard to do so.</p>
<p>I think students should submit the scholarship app. It does seem that some get scholarship letters before they submit their app, but I think that it is a good idea to do so. The website says that you have to submit it, so to be safe, submit it.</p>