A family member mentioned to me today that - in her humble opinion - UA is too “preppy” for our DS. He is a computer science, tech-y, science-y sort of kid. He’s the type to pair camo with stripes. Fashion is not his strong suit.
Would he be able to find his tribe at UA? He loves his fellow science-y,gaming friends. 
He’s a good-looking guy but has no sense of it whatsoever. He reminds me of a big puppy who hasn’t grown into himself completely yet.
Said family member lives in rival SEC territory, so perhaps there is a little bias going on here. 
She was telling me that UA students dress up for football games (??). I can’t get my son to dress up for church.
lol…the boys in the College of Engineering, where CS is located, are not that preppy at all.
The preppy boys are more likely to be found in the B school.
There are most definitely gaming/geeky/scienc-y guys in the STEM majors…a whole lot of them
The Greek kids dress up for football games. The non-Greeks do not. The non-greek boys just wear shorts and a spirit T.
My kids have never dressed up for a Bama game…ever.
look at the CS page at Bama. Do these kids look preppy? lol…no
http://cs.ua.edu
There are preppy students at every college. UA doesn’t even have the reputation of being the preppiest school in the SEC.
Students wear all kinds of clothing at UA.
When we visited the school last fall, the preppy dressed students were a VERY, VERY small percentage.
Most kids I saw were in T shirts and shorts. Didn’t seem preppy at all.
Phew, thank you CC’ers! It seems to me that UA is big enough for everyone to find a niche somewhere.
SouthFloridaMom9: Oh yes, your son could definitely find his “tribe” at UA! My son entered last fall and is definitely not into fashion! The student body is diverse and young men in particular can be found wearing ALL sorts of different dress. Yes, there are some preppy types that dress preppy every day. But there are MANY more, particularly in Engineering, who wear… whatever! My son (engineering major) wore gym shorts, t-shirt, and black Nikes (or flip flops) probably every day last fall 
… and he was certainly not alone! The trend lately (not just at UA but in general I think) seems to be going a little more towards dressing up a bit / sometimes. For my son, that means he now wears flat-front khaki shorts more often than gym shorts 
But still most days, it will be a t-shirt --versus the nicer button-down with the rolled up sleeves or a polo. For football games…you see everything! But my son decided to get a couple of nice button-downs that he could wear to some of the games with khaki shorts…and for other games, he’ll probably go super casual (basic Bama t-shirt). A lot of girls DO wear dresses to football games, FYI.
Holy crud @Atlanta68 - you just found his tribe!!! =D>
My DS, freshman engineering, will be the one in his pajamas, bathrobe, and fuzzy slippers. He wore a khakis and polo uniform to school for thirteen years.
^
Yes, I think my older son rolled into class a couple of times in his flannel pj pants…altho he probably wore his flip flops instead of slippers.
My kids also wore khaki pants and a polo for a school uniform during their school years. I think they best liked not having to wear a BELT anymore!!!
My kid will be the one in the black video game T shirts (pac man, space invaders, etc).
^ post #6 - thank you for posting that series of pics regarding Mallet! Who knew about Darties!?
Darty-on, Garth and Wayne!
When I think of preppy, I think of places like Yale and Princeton, calling people “Old Sport” having an IV at the end of one’s name and polo club membership. That’s really not bama. Most people drive pickups and Tahoes, not Jaguars and Bentleys (excluding the Chinese).
“Preppy” means something different than it did when I was a kid, when @Mandalorian’s description was particularly apt. Today, I think it’s used as a stand-in for “wealthy” (whatever that means exactly) and/or status-conscious. So it’s all relative.
Having attended an Ivy where the men wore trousers non-ironically with lobsters embroidered on them, well-dressed students in khakis and polos just seems “collegiate” to me. But, I will say, Bama kids seemed to pay a lot more attention the their wardrobes than the kids on Penn State’s main campus, even though I would imagine the income level of the average family at each school to be similar when adjusted for any regional differences in the cost of living.
So what exactly is thIs family member’s concern? That your son’s wardrobe is too casual, or that he might be intimidated by displays of wealth? There are a lot of very affluent kids on campus, but they’re not the majority, I don’t think.
Also, “genuine” preps attended prep schools (i.e., private college preparatory schools). I’m pretty sure the majority of Bama students are coming from public schools. Even at Ivies today, the majority of students were educated at publics.
@LucieTheLakie - our relative is probably worried that our son’s “geek” factor is a little high for 'Bama. I.e., maybe a hard-core STEM school would be better.
I really don’t think it’s an issue, though. UA sounds big and diverse enough that there is something for everyone, especially the way they are working hard to attract good students from all over the country.
We don’t worry about displays of wealth too much - desensitized to all that stuff from living in SoFlo the last decade and a half (where there are amazing polarities in wealth or lack thereof). No matter what you have down here, there’s always somebody who has (ALOT) more, and somebody who has much less.
@SouthFloridaMom9 - Geek factor a little high for Bama? No way! My son and his roommates are all geeks and nerds! Visit first, then decide! He will love it!
Yay @Nerdyparent - that’s great to know!
I had the same concern initially for my Midwestern sci fi loving ironic t clad son!
We’re seriously considering UA for our geektastic son who wants to major in CS. I saw that there is specific engineering housing so that could be a great place to find said tribe.