Chicago girl considering a Southern Life?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
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<p>Hi All
My DD is a junior and several people have highly recommended University of Alabama to us. We are looking for a school where she could get a lot of merit money, as FAFSA thinks we don’t need financial aid (oh so very wrong! lol)<br>
We have scoured the website and I have read many threads here on CC.</p>

<p>I still have a few concerns and questions.</p>

<p>First of all here are her stats: 4.2 gpa waiting for ACT scores, but previous was 28.<br>
Major: Athletic Training
Other schools looking at: Iowa State (her sister is there and she really does not want to go to the same school as her sis)
Nebraska - heading there later this week to tour
FSU & UF
Cincinnati
Miami of Ohio
U of Kansas
Sure to add a few others, but this is where we are right now. Merit money is huge for us. </p>

<p>Most important: STRONG Athletic Training program! Seems to be a good one, but we will need to visit and tour the facilities and hopefully talk to someone in the program.</p>

<p>DD wants a big college experience and athletics is very important to her. She wants to play CLUB soccer with a strong team. she is not ready to give up her sport yet. (she is a top ranked keeper at the National level, but she has decided that she does not want to play in college) We are leaving major scholarship money on the table at other schools, but does not matter as she is done after her senior year…her choice.</p>

<p>Greek is important to her…her sister is a G-Phi at Iowa State and she has seen how much being in a sorority has meant to big sis. She is afraid that recruitment could leave her out…has read posts about too many girls trying to go greek and not enough spaces for them all.</p>

<p>Concerns: Northerner in a whole different world. Every one is so nice down South! LOL I know that U of Alabama has a large percentage of OOS, but are they mostly from surrounding states? Is she going to be in a situation where she is out of place? Cultural differences? She is pretty urban and a little alternative in her music and her views. </p>

<p>She is a bit concerned about bugs…I know it sounds crazy, but we have lot of family in TX and there are lots of issues w/ spiders, snakes and roaches. Any issues?</p>

<p>Honors college…Her stats would qualify her for the Honors college…is it possible to be in the honors college and still have time for greek life? </p>

<p>Any of you Northerners who have kids having great experiences I’d love to hear from you! I’d also like to hear about any ‘challenges’ you might have had being so far away and in a totally different environment.</p>

<p>Gotta tell you all I am rather excited about the prospect of her attending school here! Never thought she would even consider it. We are planning a visit hopefully in June so she can apply early. I am a college football fanatic! You have no idea how much it would mean to me to be able to say ‘Roll Tide’! </p>

<p>We also looked at U of Alabama - Birmingham, but they do not have her major at that campus.</p>

<p>I love CC and I’d like to say Thank You to you all for taking the time to read this and help me!</p>

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<p>We have quite a few posters from the Chicago area whose children either already attend or are going to attend UA, so your D would be in good company. I myself am from the Seattle area and really enjoy UA. While a good amount of the OOS students are from surrounding states, there are many students who are not from the South. </p>

<p>I’m not very familiar with the Athletic Training program, so I will leave that for others to comment. She would definitely be able to play club soccer, join a sorority, and be in the honors college. Since she has excellent grades, it will be easier for her to get into a sorority provided that she keeps an open mind and considers multiple sororities. Parents of girls in sororities will remind you that it is VERY important that she submits recommendations, preferably multiple ones, to each sorority. As for bed bugs, I haven’t heard about any on campus or in Tuscaloosa.</p>

<p>Life in the South is really not as different as some people would like you to believe. Tuscaloosa and Birmingham have most major stores and restaurant chains. People are very friendly in the South and are generally very supportive of the University. Sure there are some minor differences and cultural references used, but overall it is very easy to adapt to living in Alabama and to find friends that share ones interests. To me, one of the most interesting differences about living in Alabama is that I occasionally find myself speaking with a southern accent. :)</p>

<p>Feel free to ask us any questions you may have and while campus will be less busy during June, you should still have an excellent visit. The admissions application should be up around July 1st.</p>

<p>Roll Tide!</p>

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<p>Hi Buzy! I’m glad you jumped in :)</p>

<p>Just wanted to comment about the bugs: I’ve never once heard D mention any type of bug, snakes, spiders, etc. I’m not saying there aren’t any, but I would have gotten quite an earful if there had been anything like that in her dorm. Common sense of course, that if you leave food out in an area that has multiple groups of people living in it, it could invite unwanted friends, but none have visited my D’s suite.</p>

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<p>LOL Thanks Rob…Yah I took your advice and thought I’d just jump.</p>

<p>Florida is sort of down on her list now that she has experienced palmetto bugs…We were in Tampa and one flew on her. Thought she was gonna have a heart attack. Poor kid.</p>

<p>Thanks for the insight on your daughters experience. I’m sure you will be seeing me here a bit more. We are trying to find dates now to come down.</p>

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<p>Hi,</p>

<p>Glad to hear that your D is considering Bama! </p>

<p>Bama is a gorgeous campus, with very good academics.</p>

<p>Bama campus is very different from UAB. Bama has a more traditional looking campus.</p>

<p>Have you seen this video? This is of the College of Arts and Sciences, but it gives a good view of the campus. </p>

<p>I don’t think UF and FSU are going to give her merit. I’m not sure about those other schools as an OOS student. Do you have any figures for what test scores are needed for those schools?</p>

<p>Of course, your D’s GPA is fine, but her ACT needs to come up to get significant merit at any of these schools to put a good dent in OOS costs. :)</p>

<p>that said, I would have your D take the ACT again. I would also have her take the SAT, since it’s easier for some to do better on the SAT for merit purposes because Bama only uses the CR and M sections on the SAT for scholarship purposes. </p>

<p>I don’t want you to be disappointed like another family recently was. That student had a great GPA, but they didn’t realize that schools consider ACT or SAT more. That student had been accepted to a few schools known to give merit, but the student didn’t have the test scores to get a good amount. </p>

<p>What is your target for merit or cost?</p>

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<p>SeaTide I like your perspective. I guess I was afraid of a more clicky environment. Are you Alumni? You mentioned that you now live down there. </p>

<p>Does anyone have any experience with the Athletic Training program?</p>

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<p>Mom2collegekids Since costs at Alabama are much lower for OOS than some other schools merit in the range of $7,000 would be great. $10000 + would be amazing. Her sister is at Iowa State and received $12000. With 3 in college in 2012 my FAFSA should also help.</p>

<p>She is planning on taking the ACT again this month and again in June. Since our HS has 4000 students and 10,000 in the district we have a state testing date at the end of the month. I am glad that you told me about the SAT. I will have her sign up and take is as soon as possible.</p>

<p>Nebraska and Iowa State are both pretty generous. U of F is probably not going to happen, but FS is very reasonable and they do give good merit money. Miami of Ohio is going to be a huge stretch and only if she gets her ACT up to 30. I have not had too much time to look deeply into Cinn. I was told by another CC’er that they were generous with my dd’s stats w/ merit.</p>

<p>What do you think her current stats will get her at Alabama if nothing changes?</p>

<p>4.2 gpa/28 ACT Lots of extra cur along with NHS Nothing huge and off the charts, but good solid stats. Oh also, she made it to National ODP Camp for soccer and was chosen to all tournament team at national championships this year. she is one of the top keepers in the nation - but not going to play in college. Lots of time committed to soccer and still kept grades and other extra’s going. Will that count for anything?</p>

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<p>I’m a current sophomore at UA.</p>

<p>I’m sure if she looked hard enough she’d find some cliquey people, but overall, people are always looking for new friends. :slight_smile: By looking at many OOS schools, your Daughter has already shown that she is willing to go out of her comfort zone and try new things.</p>

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<p>DD from western Chicago suburbs will be a freshman next year majoring in communications. She wanted big school, honors and sororities. Advice has been she can have it all. She did her formal visit to campus in January at Honors Weekend and saw the inside of the honors dorms; the deal was sealed. A friend with a daughter pursuing a PhD degree in sports management was told that SEC schools are the benchmark in her field. I would imagine the bigger the athletic program, the more athletes, the more sports training opportunities there would be available also.</p>

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<p>Buzy: the OOS scholarship specifics are located at: [Out-of-State</a> Scholarships - Undergraduate Scholarships - The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out_of_state.html]Out-of-State”>http://scholarships.ua.edu/types/out_of_state.html)</p>

<p>Since she already has the 28, she would be in line for the Collegiate Scholar:
An out-of-state first-time freshman student who meets the December 1st scholarship priority deadline, has a 28-29 ACT or 1250-1320 SAT score and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA will be selected as a Collegiate Scholar and will receive $3,500 per year ($14,000 over four years). </p>

<p>If she can bump up to a 30 (or 1330 CR+M SAT) she’d be eligible for the UA Scholar:
An out-of-state first time freshman student who meets the December 1st scholarship priority deadline, has a 30-31 ACT or 1330-1390 SAT score and at least a 3.5 cumulative GPA will be selected as a UA Scholar and will receive 2/3 tuition for four years.</p>

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<p>{{sigh}} we will be taking the ACT again…gotta get that score up to 30! Her gpa is solid…praying for the next score report. Should be here in the next week or two.</p>

<p>Going to sign up for the SAT too per mom2kids advice.</p>

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<p>buzymom – this native Bostonian loves the South and could never return to the frozen North! DS will be attending Bama in the fall, and, while he is technically a Southerner, born and bred in NC, his parents (DH and I) moved down here from Vermont back in the day. </p>

<p>Mom2collegekids is a transplant, too – from California.</p>

<p>So, yes, there are a lot of OOS kids from southern states, but, in many cases, their families are Yankee transplants.</p>

<p>Plus, as this forum shows, a lot of OOS kids are coming from New England and the Midwest.</p>

<p>The South is different, but personally I think it’s mostly different in a good way.</p>

<p>Diane</p>

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<p>I don’t have any knowledge of this program beyond what is on the website, but it sounds like it might provide an introduction of the Athletic Training Education Program (ATEP):</p>

<p>[ATEP</a> News](<a href=“http://www.ches.ua.edu/departments/hhe/atep/news.aspx]ATEP”>http://www.ches.ua.edu/departments/hhe/atep/news.aspx)</p>

<p>The University of Alabama Jr High & High School Athletic Training Student Aide Camp Staff invites you to learn about athletic training from the athletic trainers who provide medical care to some of the best athletes in the nation! The camp is designed for jr high & high school students who are interested in gaining athletic training knowledge & skills. The program will address current concepts in athletic training and is taught by certified athletic trainers who work at The University of Alabama.</p>

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<p>The fact that scholarships are almost completely based on scores can help some people (like me, who has a low GPA and high scores) but can hurt those who have it the other way around. I just wanted to second the suggestion to try the SAT – I got a 29 on the ACT, but a 2260 on the SAT, which is equivalent to around a 33 ACT.</p>

<p>Good luck to your daughter! I couldn’t be more excited to be a freshmen at Bama next year! I also come from OOS (New Jersey) and my suitemates are from Oregon, Florida, and Georgia – so I guarantee you there is no shortage of OOS students, even those from different regions.</p>

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<p>Just guessing but with the 4000 school, are you in dist. 204? Would be happy to discuss any specifics since DS is a first-year from there. Also fwiw RobDs DD has a roommate from 203.
Nothing negative to say about the N/S issue, but it would be silly to say there are not differences, many of them pluses, a few quirks but DS is happy as a Chicagoan in Alabama.</p>

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<p>MY daughter’s friend took the ACT in Dec. and earned a 27. He took the 3 tests in the Real ACT book, then took it again in April and earned a 30. So encourage her to study. It is doable and worth her time. </p>

<p>UA will consider ACT test scores through October, and SAT through November of senior year. Just another note. Regular applications and scholarship applications must be received by Dec. 1st to be considered for scholarships.</p>

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<p>My daughter will be entering this fall as either an Athletic Training or Exercise Science major. She is unsure currently because she is a triathlete and is training a minimum of 15 hours a week this time of year. Therefore, the clinical hours and internships required of ATEP are a concern and she’s got to make some decisions about how important triathlon is going to be to her during college. That said, when we made our first campus visit last May we spent time with the Athletic Training folks. While their office space is less than impressive (think basement!), their program is great. And what better place to learn to work with athletes than a school with such an impressive athletic program. They seemed well connected and she was impressed with both the on-campus and off-campus placements they could offer. They have a good pass rate on the AT exam (a killer I hear) so that meant a lot as well.</p>

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<p>With regards to raising test scores, a lot of people swear by the “Ziggi method.” Ziggi is a long time poster here on CC, and he posted a few years ago with his “method.” We never tried it but it’s worth a shot! Here’s the link: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/68210-xiggis-sat-prep-advice.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/sat-preparation/68210-xiggis-sat-prep-advice.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>I will address Greek Life…especially since I just returned from a HUGE Weekend of Greek related events. Yes, recruitment at UA is competitive but if you have recs for each house, maximize your options and present the “best you” you will be fine. the recommendations are key as well as above 3.0 GPA About 1/3 of the campus is Greek and they do play a very active role in all aspects of UA life…that being said there are many non-greek students who also a fantastic contributors and are big assets to UA.
I would suggest that you DD contact Greek Life and register for recruitment. They will send her a huge handbook in June that will detail the recruitment process as well as describe the parties, what to wear and will have pics and info for each house on campus . If you have other questions I am a alum of one of the houses on campus and have a daughter in another…just pm me :).</p>

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<p>I will reinterate the Ziggi method for improving scores.</p>

<p>We also kept lists of SAT vocab words in a few places…in the car, by the bedside, on the fridge, and on the kids’ bathroom mirror. Lists can be found here:</p>

<p>[SAT</a> Word Lists : Vocabulary Word lists for the SAT](<a href=“http://www.majortests.com/sat/wordlist.php]SAT”>SAT Word Lists : Vocabulary Word lists for the SAT | Major Tests)</p>

<p>More tips:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Use Collegeboards SAT test prep book. Another good one to use is Princton Review (for more practice tests.)</p></li>
<li><p>Sign up for the SAT question of the day and do them.</p></li>
<li><p>Read the beginning sections of the practice books.</p></li>
<li><p>Don’t worry about timing when **first **doing test practice. Mark any questions that you guess at. Go over why you got questions wrong. Go over the guessed questions…even the ones you guessed right to find out why that answer was right, and why the others were wrong.</p></li>
<li><p>Use the ACT REAL Test Prep Guide practice book (all of these books are available on Amazon.)</p></li>
</ol>

<p>6) If you can get your hands on a good number of practice tests (prep books from the library), have your child go thru the math test sections just looking for problems that are hard and/or that your child has never seen set up in such a way before. The point is to see how various problems are set up so you’re not wasting precious test time just trying to figure out what the problem is requesting you to do.</p>

<p>7) This is important for the SAT Math…the multiple choice part of the SAT sections tend to include answers that are “correct” if you don’t complete all that you’re asked to do. Here’s a simplified example. </p>

<p>If a question were Multiply 8 by 5, then divide by 10, then multiply by 20, then add 15…then some of the multiple choice answers would be …40…4…80…95 So, a child may not complete all steps when he sees the answer 80 and think he’s “done” …when he’s not. So, a student needs to be sure that he’s completed all steps. Again, the example was super-simplified, so a real problem would obviously be more complicated and more likely a student would skip a step. </p>

<p>8) In truth, it doesn’t hurt you to guess, especially if you can narrow down to 2 answers. Don’t worry about that “penalty” for a wrong answer. If you have a few questions that you can narrow down to 2 answers, chances are that you’re going to guess right on some which makes up for an partial point penalty for a wrong answer. </p>

<p>9) Make sure your child understands idioms and other grammar rules. That is an area that kids frequently miss questions and valuable points. </p>

<p>BTW…anyone who has a child with a college email account, can sign up for free Premier membership with Amazon…this gives you the quicker shipping for free for one year. If you have more than one child with a college email acct, then use one for one year, and use the other later for a second year. (Thanks to Robotmom for that tip! :slight_smile: )</p>

<p>I had one child score better on the ACT and the others scored better on the SAT…so you never know until you try both.</p>

<p>Also…the COA on Bama is higher than actual costs…especially if a student is going to rush and live in housing that sorority girls often choose…like Tutwiler. Also, the meal plan cost can easily drop significantly after the first year. The first year’s req’d meal is high…after that, you’ll realize some savings there. Of course, if your D pledges, then she is allowed to choose the Greek meal plan which is cheaper.</p>