I’m a new poster, but have followed CC for years. My 2019 daughter has targeted Alabama as a good fit … we toured and she considers it a top choice.
I know Bama has a lot of fans here, but most seem to have kids in the Honors Program.
Any thoughts or experience with kids who are more “middle of the road” academically? Based on my D’s stats, she will be a strong student, but will not qualify for Honors. She’s an outgoing, energetic joiner who is interested in Greek life, school spirit, etc. We are from suburban Philly.
I absolutely agree with @DavidPuddy. If you can afford the cost of attendance, many students like your daughter seem to thrive at UA. I’m from suburban Philly as well, so feel free to PM me.
My daughter is going this year and my wife and I attended, Two of our classmates are professors and we have several children of friends there so I am aware of a variety of kids. When you look at the entrance numbers you have a wide swath of students at Alabama though their honors program is stronger than ever. The vast majority of students are not in the honors college and the breadth of things to get involved in has something for everyone. And not that she is interested but you can actually have a good freshman year and get into Honors College off of just that.
Thanks for feedback. My son got into his “reach” school but choose his safety, Kentucky, and is very happy so I know it can work. Our public high school can be somewhat intense, so we all agree a reach or two is great, but I’m not pushing D to look at schools where she’ll be hanging on by a thread.
Honestly, we all (kid, mom, dad) liked Bama more than we expected when we toured in March. It is a beautiful, traditional campus. Tour guides were great. And we liked the part of town within walking distance. Only negative was they may have over-sold football on our tour. I know it’s a draw, including for D, but it did make all three of us wonder a little about academics.
@LucieTheLakie Does your son run into other students from our neck of the woods? I feel as if I’m seeing the logo on more cars around here.
@houndmom, my son just completed his fourth year at UA. He’ll be there for five years because he did a co-op. I do feel like more and more students from this area (especially south Jersey!) are heading to UA. It’s gotten a lot of national press in recent years, and it seems like colleges get “hot” for one reason or another in different areas. I know College of Charleston is popular in some quarters too.
Re football, all I can tell you is that football had no particular appeal for my son - his high school didn’t even have a football team. But he’s really enjoyed going to games and being able to experience two national championships. He’s never missed a home game and it hasn’t hurt him academically at all. He’s made the President’s List all six semesters he had an academic schedule.
Football is a big deal, and it’s truly a lot of fun, but there’s certainly plenty of other stuff for students who have no interest. Greek life is a big deal, too, especially sororities, although the majority of students are not in a fraternity or sorority. None of my son’s closest friends were involved with Greek life (including several young women), but he’s had roommates who were. There’s room for everybody.
If your DD is serious about joining a sorority, I suggest you research it ahead of time so you know what all is involved. It can be expensive, and she’ll likely need recs, but plenty of OOS girls rush and are happy in their sororities.
@houndmom They may oversell football because it allowed the publicity and funding to build the school where it is today with the most national merit finalists of any public university in the country. And that football team should not make you wonder negatively about academics as it was one of seven recipients of the 2017 American Football Coaches Association Academic Achievement Award along with schools like Northwestern.
Ok. I understand the financial gain that comes with nationally prominent sports. But our tour seemed to work football into every conceivable topic. (And we all agreed our tour guide(s) did a great job)
Other than that, I would say Bama is still a front-runner for my daughter.
Does anyone have experience with their kid joining the Honors Program after Freshman year? Is it still worth it?
@houndmom, I have heard of students entering the Honors College after freshman year. There are also plenty of students who enter the Honors College as freshmen who, for whatever reason (other academic commitments among them), do not complete the coursework to graduate with University Honors. Members still receive priority registration and that perk alone is worth considering if your DD decides to apply later.
Re the football thing, I’m not sure when you toured, but I suspect the heightened focus may have had much to do with this past season’s success. Regardless, the success of the football program, and university athletics in general, creates many other opportunities for students - everything from state-of-the art athletic training programs, broadcast journalism, PR, etc. Even engineering students have benefited from their proximity to the football program:
I’m really not arguing that Football revenue doesn’t make a positive contribution to Bama’s academics and infrastructure. When we toured Kentucky several years ago, they pointed out that the new Science Building was being funded by Athletic Department (aka Basketball).
Thanks for the link to Honors College admission. I guess if she’s motivated, she can gain admittance Sophomore year.
Foolish, yes, but I was drawn to the comment section of the NYT article you linked … wow. I think some people confuse vitriol for intelligence. Every region has its issues and challenges, but so many accusations based on tired stereotypes …
Honestly, my husband and I support our kids looking at schools in different regions to experience something new … sounds as if a number of NYT commenters might want to leave their “bubble” for a change of scenery!
Your tour guide may have had a lot to do with the amount of football mentions! Apparently it was a subject of high interest for him/her. Your description matches that of me, my husband and our twins. We are all not super outstanding, not awful, just average. I think I and my son actually did a little better in college than high school, and my husband and daughter did about the same. We all had wonderful experiences (although son went to a different school), 3 of us were in the university band, and we all enjoyed a rewarding Greek life.
OOS students at Bama have been embraced by Greeks - no worries there. I do encourage you to get recommendations from sorority alumnae. All sororities require them, but it’s kind of ignored in the NE area of the US. It’s VERY important at SEC schools, though.
@southlander The Greek houses at Bama are amazing … 5th SEC school we toured (either with 14 S or D) and I didn’t think even Ole Miss compared.
My D has had a few people offer to give her a recommendation, including one girl in our neighborhood who just finished her 1st year at UA.
Now time for stupid questions - does recommendation need to come from a specific Sorority? Will recommender need to be active or alumni (alumunus? no Latin in my past) of UA or is it ok if she went someone else?
@houndmom - My OOS DS just finished freshman year. He really like UA. I know you didn’t ask this but I figure it’s best to mention it anyway. There are a number of posts on the UA parent FB page from OOS parents asking about scholarships after freshman year because OOS tuition at UA is really expensive. Some parents believe that even if their kid doesn’t get a large merit scholarship before freshman year that they can still get one if they do well once they are at UA. It doesn’t work that way. While there are some scholarships they are usually for small amounts. Honestly my DS would not be at UA if he didn’t have free tuition. It’s just too expensive.
^^ While I agree it’s naive (and potentially disastrous) to expect major merit money to come through after freshman year, “too expensive” is all relative. PA top in-state options aren’t a whole lot cheaper than Alabama full price out of state. (Penn State - University Park averages $36k in state; Alabama OOS averages $44k.) And I think it’s more likely to be able to graduate in four years at UA than at Penn State in certain majors. (Another area to really do your homework on for any school.)
I have friends who sent their son to Georgia Tech, full pay. It cost more than Penn State, but it was a heckuva lot cheaper than MIT or an Ivy for a full-pay family, and they would have been full pay pretty much anywhere their son went. So, yes, if you’re expecting after one year of good grades for UA to suddenly cost what West Chester University costs a Pennsylvanian, you’re in for some true heartbreak. If you’re comparing it to the full-pay cost a popular private university (e.g., Villanova), it will seem like quite the bargain.
@houndmom Please see the Panhellenic website for rec requirements for each sorority. Most require them to be from that sorority’s alumni or, if they allow actives, they must be from other schools. An active from Bama can not write a rec letter. There is also a parents sorority page on Facebook with members that can provide tons of information and insight.
Good points. We are very fortunate that cost is not an issue. As Lucie pointed out, Pennsylvania instate options are expensive, and I live in an area where the $60-70K colleges abound … and many people pay full fare. Bama looks like a great financial deal to me!
I recall my 2014 S making a Pro/Con list when he was deciding on two colleges - an OOS public and a nice private. The last con he listed for the Private was “$100K more over 4 years” We saved, we were willing to pay, but it didn’t break our hearts when he opted for Public U.
houndmom, recommendations come from sorority members and are sent by them to their chapters at UA, either by mail on paper or electronically. Preference is for sorority alumnae. Some sororities will only accept from alumnae, some will accept from either alumnae or student members (“actives”) from a different schools. Only one or two will also accept from actives at Alabama AFAIK.
You will want to give your recommendation (“rec”) writer a resume, photo, and transcript either on paper or via e-mail - ask her which way she would like it. You do not send anything to the UA chapters. You need at least one rec for each sorority at UA, if at all possible. Go to the Uapanhellenic.com site to see which sororities. Two do not participate in fall recruitment with the others and you do not have to have for them - Alpha Delta Chi (Christian sorority) and Sigma Delta Tau. Sigma Kappa will be colonizing just after the scheduled recruitment, and I would get a rec for the, also. If someone offers to write a rec for a group that you already have covered, accept their offer! 1 is all you need, but 10 will not hurt and it will please the writer. Let your writers know they need to be submitted by July 1 if at all possible. And your daughter will want to sign up as early as possible as the cost to register increases after July 1.
We have a Facebook page, Alabama Sorority Recruitment Moms and Dads, that has loads of help and advice specific to sorority recruitment. Please join us!
Bama is also on D19 list for next year but she is concerned because she does not want to join any sororities. How is life for those who don’t pursue the greek life?
