<p>For those who have seen it, toured it, or attend UA, how would you describe the campus? Is it attractive? </p>
<p>What is the surrounding area like? Is it a good college town?</p>
<p>I have visited the campus a few times, and I think it's a really beautiful campus. There are a lot of older brick buildings, with a lot of shade trees all over. The quad is large, and a great place to hang out, study, and do pretty much anything.
Tuscaloosa itself is amazing. It's a big small town, with a lot to do. Everyone is friendly, and the people are very pleased to have the college kids around. I've stayed in hotels both on and off campus, and everyone shows their Bama pride.</p>
<p>Thanks SewRad. I'm very glad to hear that Tuscaloosa is a student friendly town. </p>
<p>We are considering a visit to UA, but don't want to take the time if it won't be a serious contender. A beautiful campus and "good" college town are not the most important factors, but pretty high on the list. We've been able to find a fair amount of info regarding what UA offers academically, but not too much about the campus and surrounding area. </p>
<p>I have to be honest though - never in my wildest dreams did I think AU would be seriously considered. However, the more we learn about it, the more it piques our interest. </p>
<p>Any other comments would be appreciated. Thanks again.</p>
<p>My DS and I are visiting campus March 24th. I spoke with a parent of younger son's teammate that relocated from the Birmingham area a few years ago. The parent had wonderful things to say about the Univ of AL and area. I also spoke to a current student athlete's parent that said the community supports and treats the students (and athletes) with great respect.</p>
<p>Thanks momof3. I hope you have a great visit, and it would be great to get your impressions after you get back. </p>
<p>I spoke to a friend today who is a fairly recent Ole Miss grad, bur he says he's been to UA many times. He said the campus is really nice and the people there are great. He didn't give Tuscaloosa particularly high marks, but said the community shows a lot of UA pride.</p>
<p><strong><em>bump</em></strong></p>
<p>Any others?</p>
<p>110 views and only two responses?</p>
<p>I liked the campus. Not spectacular, but certainly a very nice campus. The people were amazing though. Made my visit awesome.</p>
<p>I was kinda like you. Didn't really think about UA(at all), but now it's a serious contender for me. With the NMF money, it is food+travel+expenses per year. That is an amazing safety. The fact that UA will remain in the running unless I get into one of my top 2 schools(specifically Pomona and Williams) is all I really need to say. I have Michigan and Michigan State instate, excellent schools with excellent campuses, and Bama measured up in every way. I would probably say that in terms of 'beauty' the campus falls behind an MSU(top 10-20 campus in the country IMO). However, it does not lose by a giant margin, and seems to be a great mix of history and modernity. There has been a ton of recent construction that has resulted in a lot of the creature comforts in addition to raw aesthetics, and also provides confidence that the buildings that seem out of place will be replaced in due time.</p>
<p>Tuscaloosa is probably not Ann Arbor, but would compare to East Lansing. That is, with much less campus/town/police tension from what I've heard. But, from a students perspective, East Lansing(other than the aggressive police force) is perfect, Ann Arbor better as a visiting parent.</p>
<p>So I would probably give the campus a B, the city an A-, and the people an A+.</p>
<p>Thanks DSC. Of course, I hope you realize some people on these boards will consider mentioning UA and UM in the same sentence a form of heresy Lol. </p>
<p>We watched the tour video on the website, and I agree with your comments regarding the mix of old and new. The physical fitness center, the new dorms, and the stadium are all state of the art. </p>
<p>Glad to hear the people are nice. </p>
<p>Btw, are any of you familiar with a group at AU called The Machine? Not a very flattering part of UA past and present history IMO.</p>
<p>I should apologize to Alexandre I guess. :p</p>
<p>But no, I'm looking at everywhere from Northwestern to Pomona to Williams and everywhere in between. And Alabama measured up. I visited 3 Ivies, Stanford, Berkeley and many more, and didn't feel the need to apply, but I did to Bama. (admittedly, I would probably have applied to Stanford now, and my list was somewhat reach heavy, so an easy in with $$$ was nice, but my point stands)</p>
<p>DSC, I feel virtually the exact same way as you.</p>
<p>I'm from Ohio, and I also would have never considered Bama without the NMF money. But after visiting, I came back saying that there was no way I could ever go anywhere else, even if I were to get into my reach schools (like Harvard, Yale, Princeton). Now that sentiment's changed somewhat, and it worries me a bit... truthfully, I hope I get rejected from all my most prestigious schools, so that I don't have to make a tough decision.</p>
<p>The Bama campus is nice, but definitely neither the best nor the worst that I've seen. The buildings were nicer than some of the other colleges with similar rankings, but I personally did not like the omni-present roads across campus. Quite honestly, in "aesthetics", I would give Bama a 'C+', but, coming from Ohio, the amazing weather during the school year definitely boosted my impression to about a 'B'. I did not have the opportunity to see much of Tuscaloosa, but as UA is only an hour from Birmingham, a pretty active city, I can't imagine it to be too bad.</p>
<p>But, like DSC said, the people deserve an 'A+'. Really. Although I really only had the opportunity to receive impressions from people involved in the Honors College and University Fellows Experience, I had never been more impressed by any university at any time. If you're going to be in the Honors College, I don't think you could ever find a more caring faculty.</p>
<p>However, Alabama's rankings on 'the Princeton Review' were, for me, a cause of worry. If you go there, click on rankings and lists, and perhaps you'll agree with me.</p>
<p>Hope this helped.</p>
<p>Exactly caffine, that's the situation we are looking at as well. I'm trying to figure out if some more "prestigious" school is worth an extra $120k - $200k. </p>
<p>I have duly noted the rankings, but I don't know how to interpret what that means exactly. As far as I can tell top students from UA do no worse than top students elsewhere. Are we supposed to think students from UA graduate with something lacking in their education? Do they not get into graduate programs or professional schools? Are they being passed over for the best jobs? I'm not seeing that at all, but yet the idea of Bama is difficult to get comfortable with. However, I'd like to since the prospect of spending so much more money for essentially the same opportunities elsewhere is also troubling. </p>
<p>Thanks for your insights. It helps to know that you had positive experiences there. </p>
<p>Are your sentiments changing solely because of the rankings, or do you have other concerns about UA?</p>
<p>What was it about the people in the Honors program that impressed you?</p>
<p>Okay as a student from the Atlanta area, I can give help you set aside your fear that Bama is some second rate school (It is made up of many metro-atlantans and I have many friends there, so I have good insight). As of right now, Bamas admissions are lax because their plan is to build up the student population to about 28,000 undergraduates. Once that is reached, admission levels will be capped and the standards will be raised significantly (They are trying to get on par with UGA and UF). So yes, it may be easy to get in right now but it is in no way a second rate school. Would a second rate school have the most USA Today Academic All Americans in the country for two years in a row and the most in the past 5? UA beats out schools like Stanford, Harvard, Yale, etc... for this honor. In fact, Harvard finishes right behind Bama. Another huge benefit to the school is that you being work in you major RIGHT AWAY! If you are accepted to Alabama then you are automatically accepted to your major (Assuming no audition is required). For a major like Broadcast Journalism, which is what I'm doing, this is extremely beneficial. At any other school in the country, I would have to wait until my Junior year to even start intensive major work but at Bama, I dive in right away. This, coupled with the fact that they are only 1 of 2 schools in the country to have their own professional commercial news station (All of these reasons would explain why the Broadcast school is #3 in the country). The business school is phenomenal as well and just like broadcast journalism and all other majors, you start intensive work right away. Oh and about that whole "Mentioning UM and UA together is heresy" is ridiculous. My uncle and mother went to UM and I love big blue but, UM could not hold a candle to Bama IMO (A lot of factors went into it). So I urge all of you to give Alabama the credit and respect it deserves because it is a school that is on the quick path to becoming one of the new top public universities. UGA and UF went through these periods and now Bama is following suit. Also, I don't know what campus all of you saw but it deserves NO LESS than an "A" haha ;) . To experience the true beauty, you have to see it in spring, summer, or fall when the leaves are changing color. If you visit in the winter, everything is just dead and a bit bleak yet somehow still pretty. I for one am proud to be attending the University of Alabama in the fall and cannot wait to see what is in store for me and how far the school climbs by the time I graduate in 2012.</p>
<p>Oh and one little side fact for anyone interested in Law, the law school is ranked in the top 30 (Over MANY prominent schools, like UNC-Chapel Hill). This in turn means that the pre-law programs and poli. sci. departments are PHENOMENAL and send students off to premier law schools across the country, while retaining many of their own.</p>
<p>I must confess, I don't have a clue what "omni-present roads across campus" means? I am from central Ohio and my son is a NMF. The two of us are visiting Bama in three days. I know the weather will be better than it is here.<br>
I wish everyone would put aside the "ratings" and evaluate each school on their own merits. Even with offers of great scholarships from top private "dream" schools to pick from, I believe Bama has been shafted by college rankings. Why take on the burden of $20000/year debt for undergrad degree? It has been said many times that where you obtain your undergrad degree if not as valuable as the college selection for your graduate degree.</p>
<p>Thanks Isle. Great insights!</p>
<p>Thanks momof3. Please post here again after your visit. I'm very interested in getting your thoughts.</p>
<p>Also, do not listen to the garbage rankings from Princeton Review. Any big SEC school will be perceived as "conservative" or "Most Nostalgic for Reagan" as Princeton Review likes to put it. I will admit that the whole myth of Alabama being nothing but neo-con's scared the hell out of me. However, from what I have gathered from my friends who go there and from my visits, the political scene is very balanced. Hell, the Student Government Association president is a registered Democrat! UGA gets the same type of bad rap yet, Athens is a VERY liberal town. You quite honestly need to visit the campus yourself and talk to students and come to forums like this rather than read some list published by an Ivy. The Ivy's always have a bias to southern schools. I am from a long line of northern yanks but I will still admit that the Ivy's are full of themselves and feel as though they can pass judgement on the "other" universities of America. UA was constantly getting shafted in the rankings but now it is changing tremendously.</p>
<p>I've only seen the google satellite imagery, but that looked pretty. :)</p>
<p>I drove to campus after flying into Birmingham's Airport. The first exit (#73) brought us into town on the far east side. For the most part, it looked like any divided state route with fastfood, gas, strip plazas and a small shopping mall with a few anchor stores (Sears & Belk's). My son was disappointed because he thought it would be a bigger city. (He did not see the "Downtown" district until today on our departure to Atlanta (Emory University visit). I am very pleased with the campus, programs, dorms and athletic facilities. Campus was very clean. We ate in Lakeside dining hall which had a Starbucks coffee and mini market on the street level. The dining area was on the lower level but the building was built on a hill allowing the lower level to be surrounded by two walls of glass and the ceiling was two stories high. There was plenty to select from and serving stations are well spread out so waiting was only two or three deep at the salad station and grill (burgers/sandwiches made to order).</p>
<p>I struck a conversation with a freshman student that was waiting in the lobby. I asked her how her first year was. Even though she will probably transfer after this year (personal reasons) I asked her to share a high point of her time at Bama. Early last fall she became very ill, requiring a trip to the hospital by ambulance at 3AM. She said that her RA rode in the ambulance with her and stayed until she had to go to a 9AM class. She also said she had unexpected visitors the following day from two Bama administrators. </p>
<p>Our meeting with a professor was welcoming and not just a sales pitch. The professor took the time to listen to my son's interests and was told that class sizes for Mathematics have 60-30 students the first two years and get smaller 20-10 in the later two years. There are also LOTS of computer labs all around campus. </p>
<p>We met with the Dean of the Honors College. We were told that Dean Halli had reserved 45 minutes for us. An hour and a half later, we were on our way. Dean Halli is a caring man and so fun to visit with! My son got such a kick out of the visit saying "Could he be my grandfather, He was so much fun!". </p>
<p>The coaching staff also made the visit very welcoming. He arranged for my son to stay the night in one of the new dorms in a suite with four guys from the team. I felt the new dorms (we toured Lakeside) were very spacious. The common room had comfortable furnishings and each bedroom has it's own deadbolt. The kitchen area was limited but had a full size fridge, sink and microwave. Painting the walls is not permitted but the low tack stickers (10" squares, circles, wide borders) available a Lowes can be used to create wall murals and such. My son met me at the campus admissions office for the bus tour (after an early morning 10 mile run-he's nuts!).</p>
<p>All in all, this visit moved Bama up on the short list. We will know by MAY 1st just like everyone else. Hang in their HS Seniors, it will be here before you know it. Best to all of you. </p>
<p>Momof3</p>
<p>FLVADAD:
I wrote a rather lengthy long overdue reply to your original question this past Saturday and for some reason it was never posted. I am trying to resurrect my thoughts, as I put a lot into it. </p>
<p>But to keep this brief, I graduated from Bama in the late 70's and the campus has always had a soft spot with me as I thought that it was a tremendous experience and a very beautiful campus. I have since been back many times, and interestingly my latest time back was at last years A Day game. I arranged to tour the campus with my daughter (a HS junior at that time) and my son (a HS freshman). The tour was excellent and the tour guide did an outstanding job fielding my daughters questions. After the tour, we even went into one of the buildings that housed the field of study she was interested in and the staff, faculty and grad students that we talked with rolled out the red (crimson) carpet, and genuinely were interested in talking with her. That impressed her.I have never pushed my daughter towards even applying to Bama, but on the drive home, she told me "that it was the best tour that we had been on and that the University had a lot to offer her".</p>
<p>I definitely agreed with her and I cautioned her to do more research into Bama. She did and while she was accepted to all school's she applied to, (still waiting on Wake Forest), she has decided to go to Bama. She will be in the honors college and my wife and daughter went down there in January during scholars weekend, my wife and daughter was extremely impressed with everybody associated with the honors college. </p>
<p>The University is a very well kept secret for a number of reasons, and while I am so proud of the institution, I wish it would stay a secret. But I know what the plans are and hopefully it will work out for the University and the next few classes of students. </p>
<p>So in short, I don't think you will go wrong with the University.</p>
<p>Thanks for all of your replies. Sounds to me like we really need to get there for a visit. D is even more interested based on many of the comments here. Her mother, however, needs lots more convincing. I feel that if I can at least arrange a visit she may come away with a different attitude. At the very least, our discussions about it will be more substantive. Right now the name alone seems to evoke automatic dismissal, which I think is a mistake, not to mention a bit close-minded. </p>
<p>There is indeed a bias IsleofJD. There's a bias against southern schools in general, but schools in AL, MS, and AR seem to be especially snubbed. Part of it has to do with the reputation of the public school systems in those states which feed into the universities. I think that is a fair point to make, but UA is clearly seperating itself from the pack. Undortunately, I keep coming across discussions that lump them all together. </p>
<p>Great review momo3! The fact that Bama made your son's short list says a lot considering he is also looking at schools like Emory. We spent a lot of time at Emory last summer, and although D eventually decided not to apply, we really enjoyed our time there. Your description of the people you encountered during your time there is encouraging. </p>
<p>BBfromNC, I'd say the same about your comments. D has also applied WFU and is waiting. She's expecting something from them tomorrow in fact. She's also been admitted to UNC at this point.</p>
<p>I think Bama might benefit from a Public Relations campaign of some sort. I think the biggest negative they have going is that people judge them very quickly based on old southern stereotypes.</p>