Birmingham Southern vs. Spring Hill in Mobile

College Search & Selection
1

<p>H.S. Junior DS is thinking about Univ Alabama and Auburn (among others) so I was looking at Alabama schools in general, and I came across Birmingham Southern (Methodist, very Greek) and Spring Hill (Jesuit). We don't know anyone who has ever visited let alone attended either. Any input on either of these or on any other smaller Southern schools?</p>

<p>I've never posted my son's general characteristics before. His GPA is about 4.1 weighted, not sure about unweighted - 3.6 or so? Took ACT Sophomore year for practice and scored a 31, so likely to pull the 32 needed for free tuition at Univ Alabama. Not likely to be make NMSF. Only one AP score so far, Biology 4, but will have more. Major undecided. H.S. athlete (golf and baseball) but will not play in college. Enjoys marching band, jazz band, community service, and is active in church youth group. Laid back, doesn't like to cut throat competition for grades, but not a slacker. Not interested in any big reach schools, which is fine with us. Socially liberal, economically conservative, white kid at a strong public majority African American h.s.</p>

<p>Son thinks he prefers large schools ("Big" Football games to watch) but is willing to look at small schools. (DH and I think a smaller school might be good.) We prefer not to pay $50,000+ a year for college. DS will not be eligible for need-based aid. We are trying to look at some schools this year (junior year). DS loves the gulf (beaches, possibility of deep sea fishing) and LSU is high on his list; Mobile sounds appealing, and generally speaking, I really like Jesuit schools. </p>

<p>Before anyone suggests Tulane, let me refer you to the Dumbest Reasons thread. (DS thinks it sounds like Too Lame.) Thanks in advance for any thoughts on Birmingham Southern, Spring Hill, or any other schools we should consider :)</p>

2

<p>Hi,</p>

<p>I’ve been on both campuses. Both are LACs…what will your son’s major be?</p>

<p>BSU is nice, but small (1500 students) and a bit female-heavy. That can be a negative to males. I know that Collegeboard lists their male/female ratio as being close, but when I toured the campus last year they told us the ratio was about 65% girls and 35% males. So, don’t know why Collegeboard says differently. It’s very obvious when you visit the school because they have much less male housing.</p>

<p>With the school being so small and not anything to do immediately off-campus, that can be a negative. A student has to drive to downtown B’ham to do anything off-campus. That was a big negative to my boys who like being able The school is located off of I-20, west of B’ham. </p>

<p>The physical size of the campus is good for its population…good open space on campus…not crowded feeling.</p>

<p>BSU is also going thru a big financial mess. That doesn’t bode well for future scholarships. </p>

<p>Spring Hill is also small (1300) and a bit girl-heavy. According to their own website… (, 64% female, 36% male) even though Collegeboard says 57%/43%. The small size of both schools was a negative to both my kids. </p>

<p>Good school in the Jesuit tradition. Several of my kids’ high school classmates go there. Both of my sons got decent scholarship offers from Spring Hill, but to get considered for better scholarships, the school requires an on-campus interview…which my kids did not attend because they had better offers elsewhere. </p>

<p>Small schools have their good points, but the negatives…such as fewer course offerings, fewer choices for class times, fewer prof choices, fewer housing choices, and fewer on-campus dining venues can be be a negative to some kids, especially if there aren’t any off-campus dining venues very close by.</p>

3

<p>No such thing as a bad Jesuit college, in my view. Spring Hill is small but has a big history, particularly in the civil rights years. Loyola New Orleans is also a strong Jesuit college with same very good faculty, adjacent to Tulane. Its a pretty campus.</p>

4

<p>Thank you very much! Knowing that you have to drive to Birmingham is enough to bump Birmingham Southern off the list.</p>

<p>What’s the neighborhood like around Spring Hill? Are there restaurants the students can walk to?</p>

<p>Same question for Loyola New Orleans? </p>

<p>Maybe I can mapquest these two and look at the satellite views.</p>

5

<p>Loyola New Orleans is up town New Orleans and immediately adjacent to Tulane. Its a beautiful part of the city and not far from the famed Garden District. Really strong faculty at Loyola. A gem of a school. Its not Georgetown, Fordham or BC or Holy Cross, but its a wonderful school. Restaurants are not a problem in New Orleans, lol.</p>

6

<p>I’m a college freshman from Birmingham, and I have four close friends at BSC. I also had 8 relatives attend there, including my father. It was definitely on my list. I even did an overnight visit. I would’ve considered it more if it wasn’t 5 minutes from my house. </p>

<p>Campus: It’s gorgeous. You don’t realize you’re in Birmingham, and that’s coming from someone who has lived there her whole life. It seems completely isolated, and it is very well kept up. There’s a beautiful fountain and a lake, too. Everything is so green and scenic. </p>

<p>Location: If you leave the gates of campus, you’re not in the nicest area. However, the interstate exit is maybe a mile away, and from there you’re within 5-10 minutes of a ton of great areas. Since I’ve lived in the city for 18 years, I might be biased, but honestly there is not too much to do in Birmingham. However, honestly? I’m at a school in a big city right now, and I really don’t leave campus that much anyway. Birmingham has a pretty decent music scene and usually gets a bunch of big name bands. There’s a great music festival in May, too. The shopping is fantastic, and I’m a girl who hates to shop. I just know people travel from out of state just to shop in Birmingham. We also have a minor league baseball team, and it’s moderately fun to go to those games… it’s more of a social thing unless your son really loves baseball. If he loves football, he’s set because football is HUGE in the state in general (though Birmingham doesnt have a team. University of Alabama Birmingham is only about 10 minutes from BSC, though, and they have a decent team. Plus, Tuscaloosa is only 45 minutes away, and, if he goes to BSC, he will have no problem finding people who are going down for a game on Saturdays. Also, if your son does just need to get away, Atlanta isn’t far at all. Neither is Memphis. Or the beach. Or a great lake. And there are a ton of great places to eat just 5-10 minutes from campus. Honestly, driving to the city is not that big of a deal at all. Birmingham isn’t the safest place, I’ll admit, but it is SO easy to figure out which places to avoid. And since so many kids from Birmingham go to BSC, I’m sure he’d make some Birmingham friends who know where to go. It’s really easy to avoid sketchy areas. I’ve never gone through one. </p>

<p>Social scene: This was one of my major cons to BSC. Greek life is HUGE. Like, overwhelmingly so. Everyone was identified by their sorority or fraternity, it seemed. Now, granted, I have a friend there now who is the exact opposite of a sorority girl, and she’s actually in a sorority (she describes them as the “weird” sorority, but she views that as a major pro), and she loves the school in general. She has made great friends so far, and some are involved in Greek life and some arent. But I will be honest. It overwhelmed me. I didnt like it. Even so, when I toured, everyone was insanely friendly and outgoing. Typical southern charm/polite attitude. But also very preppy, it seemed. </p>

<p>Academics: I don’t know too much about the academics. I do know that it is a really good school and growing in acclaim. Five of my relatives who attended are now very successful lawyers, and everyone I have spoken to who went to BSC raves about it. </p>

<p>Scholarships: I know that BSC is having some financial issues right now. They gave out too much scholarship this past year. However, instead of taking away the money, they’re cutting some programs. I know the dance team was cut, and so was the Accounting department. Various other departments were cut, too, so you might want to look into that. But, when I applied, BSC had this great thing where they automatically give you scholarship soley based on your GPA and test scores. So, for example, if you have higher than a 1400 on the SAT and a 3.75 GPA, you get a certain amount. I’m not sure exactly what it is, but there are three different levels, and they cover a good portion of tuition. Again, not sure if that’s still the case what with their recent financial issues, but that’s an easy thing to check. I understand how important it is, though. BSC was the cheapest out of all the small, southern liberal arts schools I looked at. </p>

<p>I can’t really think of much else to say, but I’d be happy to answer any questions! I’m not an expert, but I don’t mind helping if I can. </p>

<p>Also, as far as other schools like BSC go… I’d consider looking into schools like Centre, Rhodes, Davidson, Hendrix, and Trinity University. Maybe even Wake Forest since it sounds like your son would really love just a balance between a large sports school and a small, community-ish school.</p>

7

<p>*With the school being so small and not anything to do immediately off-campus, that can be a negative. A student has to drive to downtown B’ham to do anything off-campus. That was a big negative to my boys who like being able The school is located off of I-20, west of B’ham. *</p>

<p>Oops…somehow part of my sentence went AWOL…LOL…</p>

<p>Should say…</p>

<p>That was a big negative to my boys who like being able to just cross the street and have immediate access to many off-campus hangouts in a safe area.</p>

8

<p>We knew what you meant!</p>

<p>It is my understanding that for transportation for fun, Wake Forest is like Birmingham Southern. You can’t walk across the street from campus to a neighborhood that has off-campus shops or restaurants. You need a car or you are stuck on campus or you need to ride with friends who have cars. (This is what a friend’s daughter reported to after her freshman year there.)</p>

<p>If my son goes out of state to school as he would like, unless he wins the lottery :wink: between his 18th birthday and the first day of freshman year, he will not likely have a car.</p>

<p>This is all very helpful.</p>

9

<p>Hmmm… Don’t tell too many people that BSC doesn’t have football. They compete in Division III in the SCAC conference and have only lost one game this season. The majority of their sports programs are in the transition stage from DI to D III.</p>