I have been wanting to go to the University of Alabama for quite some time now, but looking at reviews online I have found some things that worry me a little bit. A little about myself, I am an A student. I love football, country music, hunting, and fishing. Truth is, while I am not like a total redneck, I am kind of a country boy. I understand that in any flagship university there is going to be a large diverse student body, but the reviews I am reading suggest that almost everyone there is fratty and fancy. I just don’t know if I will fit in there. Any comments about whether or not this is true or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
Short answer fron an Asian guy whos not in frat and not fancy but happy:Resounding NO. You will find people who are fit to be your friends
Haha I was starting to think I wouldn’t fit in. Thanks for replying
In a university as large as UA, it would be pretty difficult to NOT find someone who has the same likes and hobbies as you do.
Yes - a large, very diverse student body! My son (a UA student) is in NO way remotely “fratty” or “fancy” … comfortable just being himself… Don’t worry – there are plenty of guys there that do their own thing and dress as they are most comfortable. Lots of country music lovers there, too! (And yes, I did see some guys walking around during finals week in their rather short, flat-front, non-khaki colored shorts! But I saw MORE of them in other more “normal” types of shorts, and jeans.)
I went to my first Bama football game last year. At a tailgate, I met a student from deep south Alabama, near the Florida panhandle. Proud southern country boy. He and his uncle were grilling up some venison from a deer he just caught yesterday. We had a lengthy discussion about politics, football, religion, the economy, the middle east, and other stuff. He had an actual plan in his mind on how to use football to solve terrorism. This total redneck (his own proud admission) was funny, engaging, down to earth, and smarter than me. I had a new appreciation for the student body. The venison was amazing, btw.
My own son, while certainly no country boy (from New York), is as far from fratty and fancy as you can get. Same goes for his housemates from Florida and Rhode Island.
UA has a fishing team, fyi.
@Chardo, LOL…you don’t catch a deer, you shoot 'em. 
And FYI, many of those frat boys are known to go hunting and fishing and own chocolate labs. They’re also known for wearing the PFG and Chubbies.
Greeks are only about 1/3 of the student body. Besides, I know fraternity guys who are the most country you ever saw. You’ll find all kinds at UA. RTR!!
http://urec.sa.ua.edu/scfishing.cfm for the official page of UA’s Fishing or Bass Anglers Team. They also have a FB page, but CC does not allow one to post FB links. I wonder if that applies to university FB pages too?
Thanks for the replies y’all. Do all frats require nice dress or are there any frats that you would more likely see someone wearing jeans and boots?
There are lot of different types “boots and jeans” type guys and gals at UA. You might see people wearing $200 jeans and $300 boots just as often as you’ll see people wearing $20 jeans and $30 boots.
I will say that fraternities have many different types of brothers. You’d likely find many brothers just like yourself. You would have to dress up on occasion and some do have dress codes for pledges (usually Levi’s and a specific color of polo shirt).
Alabama has some great hunting and fishing. Fishing and boating were prohibited on campus a couple years ago, though there are plenty of lakes and rivers nearby. There is a gun range a few miles away.
Keep in mind that many students won’t have had much experience outside of cities and suburbs so they might not be very familiar with many of your experiences and interests. They will learn from you and you will learn from them.
All fraternities will have some formal events every year for which you will be required to wear a suit, or at least a jacket and tie. Many of them require their pledges to attend all football games wearing khakis, long-sleeved dress shirt, tie, and navy blue blazer. Some have special shoe requirements for pledges. And members usually dress up for formal dances, cocktail parties and such.
Most fraternities expect their brothers to be, or learn to be, well-rounded gentlemen, as comfortable in a suit as in hunting clothes, talking to the CEO of a multi-national corporation as sitting around a campfire.
If you want to spend your entire college career in jeans and boots, don’t pledge a fraternity. But you will still need a suit, or at least a jacket, tie, khakis, and dress shirt for job interviews, inductions into honoraries and other dressy events.
Chevy97: My sons are fraternity members, but they wear jeans and love their country music and football. So you can find plenty of people to hang with when you get to Alabama.