<p>I have to comment here, especially after reading the last post. I DO encourage you to visit the campus. I think your wife might be pleasantly surprised! My daughter chose UA even though she visited Duke, UNC, Wake Forest, Davidson, Furman, Columbia, Wash U, Vanderbilt, U of Chicago, and Northwestern; also other Alabama colleges (Auburn, Samford, Birmingham Southern, and UAB). Of those schools she only applied to Auburn, Samford, Wash U, Vanderbilt, and UA. She was accepted by all she applied for and received full rides from Auburn and UA, partial from Samford, and 3/4 tuition to Vanderbilt. My point is that she considered several "name brand" schools and received significant offers from all of them except Wash U. She chose UA because the National Merit offer was too good to pass up and mostly because she loved it! Granted, we live in Alabama and it is only 2-1/2 hours from our home, but UA is where she really felt she would get the best education for the expense. She will begin post-graduate work in 3 years with no debt. She has had many opportunities to get involved on campus and in the Tuscaloosa community. I understand the prejudice against southern colleges and to some extent, the prejudice is true. There is a lot of emphasis on Greek life (BTW my daughter pledged a sorority) and there are many distractions (football, partying, etc.) but your child can receive a quality education if he/she chooses to do so. As other posters have noted, UA is on the rise and it's a good time to buy in!!!</p>
<p>Hi! Try this website called LVUTV. It's a nice way to sort of virtually tour the campuses and get an insider look at the schools you're interested in. It's got interviews with students about dormlife, sports, greeklife, faculty, classes, etc. Here are a few videos where the students talk about what the dorms and campus are like at University of Alabama: University</a> of Alabama - Tuscaloosa : AL : Student Reviews & Ratings : Live Video U. Hope this helps, good luck!</p>
<p>It's truly sad that the bias still exists to this day. Granted, I was guilty of it! I wanted nothing more than to go up north to Boston University, or anywhere in Boston for that matter, or to a Big Ten school. Alabama was never a serious consideration on my list even though everyone kept telling me it was by far one of the best schools in the country for Journalism. I just viewed it as a ton of George Bush worshiping Republicans who constantly drank (I'm a Liberal FYI haha) so it was a big turn off. I started to have a change of heart when I applied over the summer and was accepted. I went to visit and LOVED it! However, that love faltered a bit as months went on b/c there were no students there and the town was virtually dead. About two months ago I went back for the "University Day" and saw the whole campus and town in full swing and fell in love all over again. The myth of it being a ton of narrow minded people who lean right is just not true. Granted, nearly every university in the south gets a "Conservative" stereotype. Yet, when the president of the SGA is a self proclaimed Democrat and the majority of the student senators are Democrats, your perceptions begin to change.</p>
<p>Also, just as a side note, the mayor of Tuscaloosa is very young (Late 20's early 30's) and has done an enormous amount to expand the options for college students at Bama. He understands the entertainment that college students seek and has convinced the whole business community to revamp their focus on the college students.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the info everyone.</p>
<p>Turns out D just got a full tuition grant from Washington & Lee the other day and we haven't seen it yet either. With vacation travel and visits planned to other schools I'm afraid we won't have the chance to see AU before May 1 deadlines come up for the others. Logistics won't allow it, unfortunately. :(</p>
<p>This is from the first page about bring the undergrads up to 28,000 and that 'Bama kind of has lax requirements for admission. How long did it take UA to build up to 25,000? And how long until you think it becomes more selective, or how long to catch up to UGA or UF?</p>
<p>And, I'm not going to lie, I'm a Yankee and when someone mentioned UA was good with the merit money, I just laughed and was like no way I'm going to school in the South, except for a school in Florida. Well reading this forum and these **** Ohio winters have changed my mind, and if I don't get into Notre Dame, I'd happily go to 'Bama.</p>
<p>Hawaiiboy 15, we went for a tour and information session in late December, and we loved it. The day we were there, it was 22 degrees! Because of the temps, the admissions department asked that there be a bus available for the tour! UA's campus is lovely. The people are friendly. Yes, the merit money is a big attraction for anyone -- to graduate with little or no debt. Our son was very impressed with the people he met, as well as the campus and its opportunities. He, too, is awaiting word from other schools, but UA definitely moved up on his list.</p>
<p>I think as of now we are at > 25000. The goal was to have 28,000 by 2013, but we will surely have that much by 2010-2011, especially if the trend continues as it has for the past few years. I would like to stress that whether or not Bama gets shafted by rankings, if you (or your child) is a top student then he or she will have no problem accomplishing whatever he or she desires. It truly depends on what you input. There are several opportunities for undergraduates to do research, either for class credit or for pay. All of my professors so far been over backwards to offer their assistance, as long as you are performing your duties as a student (mainly attend class and show that you are trying). I am often amazed at the caliber of my classmates and it is not an exaggeration when I say they could have easily been scholar students at the 'top universities' in this country. Now the city of Tuscaloosa is not a big city so outside of school activities the town is dead in my opinion. But Birmingham is 40 minutes away and Atlanta only a few hours away, so if you really want to go a large city for a weekend, that is not a problem.</p>